From ‘Fruitvale Station’ to ‘Sinners,’ Every Ludwig Göransson Score in a Ryan Coogler Movie, Ranked
Ryan Coogler always delivers incredible projects, and right now, his new feature, Sinners, is on fire. Coogler’s debut film, Fruitvale Station, was inspired by real events, and with it, he ensured he was the best new director to watch. With five feature films directed so far, it’s interesting to see that famous Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson created the soundtracks for all of Coogler’s feature films. It shows that the two grew together as creatives, completing and echoing each other’s visions for each film.
Göransson’s compositions give Coogler’s movies an authentic, dynamic, and versatile range of musical storytelling; each soundtrack completes the movie’s narrative flawlessly, showing how good research, as well as trust and friendship, can make a project shine in more than one way. Their collaborations have gotten better over the years, and the two can be proud of what they’ve achieved so far. From the groundbreaking scores for Black Panther to the haunting melodies for Sinners, here’s every Ludwig Göransson score in a Ryan Coogler movie.
5
‘Fruitvale Station’ (2013)
Standout Track: “Fruitvale Suite”
Fruitvale Station is a haunting portrayal of the last day in the life of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old who was fatally shot by the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police at Fruitvale station in Oakland, California. The movie opens with actual footage of Oscar and his friends being detained by the BART police, with a time stamp. It then shows Michael B. Jordan as Oscar, going about his day before the BART police detain and kill him. Jordan does a magnificent job in Fruitvale Station, and his performance marks the beginning of an epic and long-lasting collaboration with Coogler. Jordan has so far appeared in all five of Coogler’s feature films, just as Göransson composed the soundtrack for each.
Göransson and Coogler worked together on the soundtrack, agreeing it should complete the film’s overall emotional impact. Göransson used real-life BART train sounds to twist them into dark ambient landscapes, as well as muted guitar strings. The soundtrack is fairly minimalist, with subtle motifs and dark ambient textures; this restraint makes the film’s most tragic moments even more emotional without overshadowing them, which is what the director and composer agreed on achieving with it. The standout track is “Fruitvale Suite,” which is the closing composition of the film. It’s a haunting and devastating backdrop that magnifies the injustice at the heart of Oscar’s story, complete with somber guitar strings and eerie ambient sounds.
- Release Date
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July 12, 2013
- Runtime
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85 Minutes
- Director
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Ryan Coogler
- Writers
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Ryan Coogler
4
‘Creed’ (2015)
Standout Track: “You’re a Creed”
Creed is a spin-off and a sort of continuation of Rocky Balboa’s story, except this one follows the son of boxing champion Apollo Creed, Adonis Johnson. Giving the Rocky story a revamp through the eyes of Creed’s legacy was welcomed with some skepticism, but the premiere lifted everyone’s doubts as Coogler and Jordan succeeded in delivering another smash hit. Creed was a critical and box office hit, spawning a trilogy – though only the first movie was directed by Coogler. Adonis Johnson heads in his father’s footsteps and asks his biggest rival, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), to mentor him. The other two movies also show Adonis’ journey, with Michael B. Jordan having directed the third installment himself. Creed became legendary on its own and revived the Rocky franchise in a bold and beautiful way.
For Creed, Göransson decided to make the soundtrack a blend of the classic Rocky themes, the 1970s musical landscape, and modern hip-hop elements. The final result became a score that’s dynamic, motivational, and mirrors Adonis’ personal and professional journey into boxing. Göransson also included Philadelphia native musicians, like Meek Mill, to contribute to the training montage track, “Check.” Other artists on the soundtrack include Childish Gambino, Jhene Aiko, The Roots, and Vince Staples. However, out of all the tracks, a real standout is “You’re a Creed,” which takes samples from “Going The Distance” and “Gonna Fly Now” from the original Rocky film and blends them into a contemporary beat to mirror Adonis as the legacy of the Rocky franchise.
3
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022)
Standout Track: “Lift Me Up” (Performed by Rihanna)
Everyone was happy to hear of Rihanna‘s return to music, even if it was as brief and singular as “Lift Me Up.” This track was released about a week before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered, and it was a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was T’Challa in the first Black Panther and who tragically passed after an illness in 2020. Still, as a standout track, “Lift Me Up” was just a minor part of a massively inspiring soundtrack that encompasses plenty of culturally inclusive instruments and themes. The entire movie is a form of grieving Boseman and King T’Challa, who is dead in the movie, symbolizing the five stages of grief. However, by the end, Wakanda Forever is also symbolic of rebirth and an ongoing fight for freedom and against oppression from outside forces that wish to weaken Wakanda; Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s younger sister, steps in as the new Black Panther to defend her nation.
For Wakanda Forever, Göransson expanded upon the first movie’s musical themes set in Africa and added new and original Mayan music to mirror the appearance of a new, underwater nation called Talokan, led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Göransson visited Mexico City and consulted historians in order to faithfully and creatively compose a tribute to Mayan music. A lot of the instruments in the depiction of Talokan were natural and native, such as seashells and flutes; that’s how tracks like “Yucatán” and “Árboles Bajo El Mar” were made, and Namor’s appearance is always announced with seashell sounds. On the other hand, the African motifs were expanded upon from the first movie, adding another layer of a kind of mourning, but also hope and resilience in the face of challenges. Some of the guest performers on the soundtrack are Jorja Smith, Burna Boy, and Tobe Nwigwe, while Vivir Quintana and Mare Advertencia Lirika sang in Mexican Spanish. This score is quite perfect from various perspectives and truly one of the best and most detailed ever; it’s very easy to listen to outside the movie’s context, too.
2
‘Sinners’ (2025)
Standout Track: “I Lied to You” (Performed by Miles Caton)
Sinners is the new standout film from Coogler and another collaboration with Jordan and Göransson. The two often speak about how blues inspired them to compose a soundtrack that would encompass various influences from both the location, the time period, and the movie’s plot. That’s how we got a score that feels a bit like uncharted territory for Göransson – a Southern Gothic vampire soundtrack with Delta blues, gospel, and hip-hop influences. Sinners is set in 1932 Mississippi and follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), who return to their hometown to start anew after escaping gangster life in Chicago. However, their community is facing a supernatural evil threat, and Smoke and Stack find themselves in the middle of that conflict.
As Coogler and Göransson sat down to talk about their influences for the movie and the original score, Coogler mentioned Göransson also served as a music teacher for him while he was developing the movie. The two, now longtime friends, created a soundtrack in unison, which serves as the creative culmination of their longtime collaboration and friendship. Göransson included newcomer Miles Caton, who portrays Sammie in Sinners, to sing a few of the songs on the OST. Caton boasts an incredible blues voice that transports viewers into the era with ease and emotion. That’s how the standout tracks from this incredibly versed soundtrack are Göransson and Caton’s “I Lied to You” and “Last Time (I Seen the Sun),” which Caton performs with Alice Smith, reflecting on Sammie’s internal struggles and the overarching themes of heritage and sacrifice. Other guest artists on the soundtrack include Raphael Saadiq, Brittany Howard, and even James Blake, while Göransson used his father’s love of American blues and his wife’s producing skills to incorporate a more personal touch from his side, too.
1
‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Standout Track: “Killmonger”
Sinners may be the best collaboration between Göransson and Coogler, but Göransson’s Oscar-winning score is still a masterclass in how a soundtrack should be made. It’s a cultural fusion that blends traditional West African instruments with modern orchestration to create a soundscape that feels both epic and intimate. Black Panther is one of the most successful Marvel movies, with Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, who returns home to Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. This follows the events that take place in Captain America: Civil War, when T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka (John Kani), is killed while attending a UN summit. Of course, T’Challa can’t just come and sweep in the title; there are challenges from every corner, including rival tribe leader M’Baku (Winston Duke) and Wakanda-born Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).
When Göransson read the script for Black Panther, he traveled to Africa to research traditional African music for the film, especially stopping in Senegal, where he collaborated and toured with Senegalese musician Baaba Maal, recording his performances and playing alongside him, to have material to use for the movie. The instruments that prevail in the soundtrack are the talking drums and fula flutes, with themes for T’Challa and Killmonger being especially distinct and emotionally resonant. The standout track in the soundtrack, though it’s hard to choose, is “Killmonger,” which is a bold fusion of 808 drums, West African instruments, and orchestral swells. It radiates aggression, anger, and tragedy, perfectly capturing Killmonger’s motivations and pain. Another reason this soundtrack is iconic is that Kendrick Lamar chose to curate an additional soundtrack; he gathered numerous hip-hop and R&B stars in his curated version, including SZA, Vince Staples, Future, Schoolboy Q, and Khalid. This is also the original soundtrack that’s very easy to listen to outside the film’s context, with “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA still being a very popular single. The two performed it in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show this year.
