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August 9, 2020

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Beyonce’s new work channels The Lion King

Pop royalty Beyonce released her much-hyped visual album “Black Is King” last week, an aesthetically ambitious video billed as a companion to her 2019 album inspired by Disney’s live-action remake of “The Lion King.”

The highly stylized visual narrative released on the Disney Plus streaming platform runs an hour and 25 minutes and, like “The Lion King,” tells the story of a young boy who navigates a dangerous world, finding himself far from his family.

The album is an ode to the black experience rife with vibrant imagery celebrating the African diaspora, an aesthetic exploration of black history, power and success that also references colonialism, economic disparity and racism.

Beyonce described the work as a “labor of love” that now serves “a greater purpose” than its original role as a companion piece to “The Lion King: The Gift,” given the current sociopolitical climate.

Mass anti-racism protests ignited following the police killing of George Floyd in May as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the United States, disproportionately affecting people of color.

“Many of us want change,” Beyonce wrote on Instagram, rare personal words from the guarded celebrity.

“I believe when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul not told in our history books.”

Powered by lush visuals and her soaring vocals, “Black Is King” places heavy emphasis on notions of family and motherhood along with more philosophical threads of origin and legacy.

A-listers including the superstar’s hip hop mogul husband Jay-Z, actress Lupita Nyong’o, singer/producer Pharrell Williams and model Naomi Campbell appear in the production.

Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles-Lawson and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland are also featured, as well as daughter Blue Ivy and rare footage of her twins Rumi Carter and Sir Carter.

The film follows Beyonce’s venerated 2016 visual album “Lemonade,” which emphasized black womanhood against the backdrop of America’s heritage of slavery and culture of oppression.

Since that Grammy-winning work, Beyonce has prized the visual at the forefront of her art, no longer focused on dominating pop charts.

Simultaneously one of music’s most private but watched stars, the 38-year-old uses her massive social media platform to curate her image and promote her work imbued with broad social commentary on topics including gender and race.

But Beyonce has also faced criticism, especially from outside the US, for deploying what some call stereotypical visuals of “African tradition” ­— face paint and feathers, for example. Many social media users noted that Disney Plus is not accessible in African nations, and that while Beyonce has performed some shows on the continent, her tours haven’t included dates there in years.

“Someone with the range must unpack how our beloved queen Beyonce is reducing blackness and Africanness to aesthetics and the western imaginations of our existence,” tweeted one user Paballo Chauke. “They must also speak about how it’s now profitable to do such gimmicks.”

Still, the Bey Hive — Beyonce’s legion of ardent fans — is elated about the new album release.




 

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