New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today marks the premiere of the video for "Catch the Sun" by
Lil Baby - a song from the
Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack, released by Motown Records/Universal Music. Arriving as
Queen & Slim hits UK theaters, the quietly stunning visual will have its broadcast premiere via BET Jams, BET Hip-Hop and the Viacom billboard in Times Square.
In the video,
Lil Baby and his co-star recreate the on-the-run love story of
Queen & Slim. With its dreamlike beauty and captivating tension, the visual perfectly captures the introspective track. It was directed by Cam Busby (Wiz Khalifa, Kodak Black), who also helmed the video for
Megan Thee Stallion x VickeeLo's contribution to the soundtrack, "Ride or Die."
The Atlantic noted, "The Atlanta rapper
Lil Baby offers a reflection that's more meditative than his usual repertoire; on 'Catch the Sun,' he waxes poetic about romance, fatherhood, and his upbringing." 2019 was Baby's biggest year as he passed over 10 billion global streams, earned his first Grammy nomination for "
Drip Too Hard" and won his first award for Best New Artist at the BET Awards, and had three #1 songs at urban radio all to solidify himself as one of the most dominant global forces in rap.
Last month, the first offerings from a merchandise line accompanying
Queen & Slim: The
Soundtrack (Motown Records) were unveiled. The line includes a crewneck, short and longsleeve t-shirts, a cutout t-shirt, a photo t-shirt and a tote bag. A digital soundtrack will be delivered via email upon purchase of any item. The soundtrack is available for download / streaming at all DSPs, while the CD configuration can be purchased at Amazon and other retailers. Buy
Queen & Slim: The
Soundtrack and merchandise HERE.
Starring Oscar nominee
Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out),
Queen & Slim is a powerful, consciousness-raising love story that confronts the staggering human toll of racism and the life-shattering price of violence. The film, from GRAMMY®-winning director
Melina Matsoukas and Emmy®-winning writer Lena Waithe.
Music acts as an additional voice in
Queen & Slim, showcasing a range of talent among black artists across a compelling blend of genres. The 16-song soundtrack, which was nominated for a NAACP Image Award, features new material from Ms. Lauryn Hill, Lil Baby,
Vince Staples featuring 6lack X Mereba, Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG, Coast Contra featuring BJ The
Chicago Kid and Syd, plus classic songs by Roy Ayers, Bilal,
Mike Jones and others. Blood
Orange composed the film's score and is featured on the soundtrack.
Motown Records president Ethiopia Habtemariam, Waithe and Matsoukas served as executive producers for
Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack. AP lauded the collaboration, stating: "Together they're like the perfect aux-cord DJs. They hit play, and they don't miss…" Meanwhile, The Atlantic noted, "The Best Part of
Queen & Slim Is the Soundtrack…Music is woven throughout with an impressive ear for black American artists' complex relationships to the country they inhabit, and to other black people." In addition, Refinery 29 praised it as "a high-octane ride with a tender heart - just like the movie it's made for," while Variety dubbed the album a "bound-to-be-legendary hip-hop soundtrack."
While on a forgettable first date in Ohio, a black man (Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man (a retail employee) and the woman (a criminal defense lawyer) are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.
As they drive, these two unlikely fugitives will discover themselves and each other in the most dire and desperate of circumstances, and will forge a deep and powerful love that will reveal their shared humanity and shape the rest of their lives.
Waithe wrote the screenplay for
Queen & Slim from a story by herself and bestselling author
James Frey (A Million
Little Pieces, Katerina). The film is produced by Frey, Waithe, Matsoukas, Michelle Knudsen, Andrew Coles, Brad Weston and
Pamela Abdy. The executive producers are
Pamela Hirsch, Kaluuya,
Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth. Universal
Pictures and Makeready present
Queen & Slim in association with 3BlackDot and Bron Creative, a Makeready/De La Revolución Films/Hillman Grad/3BlackDot production.