Freedom (Theme from Panther)

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“Freedom”

Single by Various Artists from the album Panther Soundtrack
Released	1995
Format	12", CD Single
Recorded	1995
Genre	R&B
Length	4:59
Label	Mercury Records
Writer(s)	Joi Gilliam, Dallas Austin and Diamond D
Producer	Dallas Austin and Diamond D

Freedom was a 1995 song released on Mercury Records featuring a chorus of over 60 African-American female artists and groups of note in hip-hop, pop and R&B music including Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, En Vogue, SWV, TLC, and Monica.

1 Background
2 Track listing
3 Contributing Artists
4 External links

[edit] Background

The all-star recording of both the song and solemn black-and-white video for "Freedom" took place directly after the American Music Awards in 1994. According to its promotional single's liner notes, the song was a tribute to women of the past like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Shirley Chisholm, and Angela Davis who played major roles in black resistance, as well as the empowerment of women of the present.

"Freedom" is a cover of a song originally performed by underground R&B singer Joi on her acclaimed 1994 album Pendulum Vibe. The song was re-recorded as the official theme for the award winning film Panther. The song was produced by Dallas Austin and Diamond D, "Freedom" reached the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. The song featured female R&B singers, who at the time were popular acts in R&B and/or Pop music. The vocals were arranged by former Vertical Hold singer Angie Stone, and Me'Shell Ndegéocello contributed bass guitar as well.

A music video was also released to promote the song. It went top five on the MTV Jams countdown, and number two on BET's Coca-Cola Video Soul Top 20 weekly countdown.

Retail and promotional releases of the single also featured a rap-only version of the song featuring Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes of TLC, Yo Yo, MC Lyte, Da 5 Footaz, Patra, and Me'Shell Ndegéocello. A music video for this version was also in rotation.

Though the single only peaked at #10 on Billboard's R&B Singles Chart and #18 Pop, the success of the single helped the soundtrack album to reach #5 on the R&B Albums Chart and #37 Pop.