Beyonce released the new, visual album on Disney+. The film features cameos by Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o, JAY-Z, Kelly Rowland, Pharrell Williams, Tina Knowles Lawson and others.
With its lush visuals, Black Is King enhances the music of The Lion King: The Gift. The film celebrates the Black experience, African cultures and roots, Black resilience and the importance of the Black family, specifically today’s young kings and queens.
Beyoncé sets out to dismiss the negative stereotypes through which so many Black people are perceived by delivering a visual experience entitled Black Is King, available on the digital streaming platform, Disney+. The visual representation of The Lion King: The Gift strives to inform, empower, and entertain through the connection of sights and sounds. Although it’s said to have been recorded before the recent months’ surge in protests, Black Is King comes at a moment where it’s most appropriate … and necessary. With themes of pride, legacy, and manhood, this film serves as a celebration of what it means to be Black, rather than a constant reminder of its sometimes-crippling burden.
Shortly after the visual album (a companion to the music of The Lion King: The Gift) premiered on Disney+, fans took to social media to marvel over Bey’s latest labor of love. From the intricate costumes to the fire choreography and surprise cameos, the Beyhive seemed to be loving it all.
As one fan so perfectly put it, “Beyoncé just turns up every few years and REINVENTS the visual album. Sets the bar HIGHER. THE AUDACITY.”
ETonline , Consequence of Sound,
