Beyoncé Renaissance

‘Black is King’ is Beyonce’s latest visual album written, directed, and executive produced by the star. Image: beyonce.com

Queen Bey surprises fans with ‘Black is King’ trailer of visual album

Beyoncé’s ‘Black Is King’ features South African stars like Moonchild Sanelly, Nandi Madida, Connie Chiume and others.

Beyoncé Renaissance

‘Black is King’ is Beyonce’s latest visual album written, directed, and executive produced by the star. Image: beyonce.com

The film, or visual album, is due to premiere on Disney plus on 31 July.

The month of July also marks the one-year anniversary of the remake of The Lion King in which the 24-time award winning artist voiced Nala.

Queen Bey did not only voice Nala, she also recorded new music and organised the companion album The Lion King: The Gift which featured several African artists.

On Sunday 28 June, Beyoncé surprised fans with a one-minute teaser trailer of her visual album titled Black Is King. She wrote, directed and executive produced the album.

‘Lion King’ for today

According to the press release, Black Is King “reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns”.

The film, based on the music of The Gift, features some of the album’s collaborators and has other special guest appearances. These include South African artists Moonchild Sanelly, Nandi Madida, Connie Chiume, Nyaniso Dzedze and Warren Masemola.

moonchild-sanelly
Moonchild Sanelly. Photo: Gallo Images/ Oupa Bopape

It has been described as “a celebratory memoir for the world on the black experience”.

In an unusually frank Instagram post, Beyoncé wrote about the visual album which she worked on for a year.

“It is my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year,” she wrote.

“I’ve given it my all and now it yours. It was originally filmed as a companion piece to ‘The Lion King: The Gift‘ soundtrack and meant to celebrate the breadth and beauty of black ancestry.”

View this post on Instagram

I typically keep comments short and sweet, but I just watched the trailer with my family and I’m excited. ?please don’t get me hype?? “Black Is King” is a labor of love. It is my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year. I’ve given it my all and now it’s yours. It was originally filmed as a companion piece to “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack and meant to celebrate the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry. I could never have imagined that a year later, all the hard work that went into this production would serve a greater purpose. The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey. We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change. I believe that 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 that are not told in our history books. With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy. I spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs. While working on this film, there were moments where I’ve felt overwhelmed, like many others on my creative team, but it was important to create a film that instills pride and knowledge. I only hope that from watching, you leave feeling inspired to continue building a legacy that impacts the world in an immeasurable way. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people. This is a story of how the people left MOST BROKEN have EXTRAORDINARY gifts.❤️✊? Thank you to Blitz, Emmanuel, Ibra, Jenn, Pierre, Dikayl, Kwasi and all the brilliant creatives. Thank you to all at Disney for giving this Black woman the opportunity to tell this story. This experience has been an affirmation of a grander purpose. My only goal is that you watch it with your family and that it gives you pride. Love y’all, B

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on

Tribute to journey

According to the statement, the film is explained as a tribute to the journey of black families throughout time. It tells the story of a young king’s “transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity”.

His ancestors help guide him towards his fate, with his father’s teachings and guidance from his childhood. He earns the character needed to reclaim his home and throne.

The release notes: “These timeless lessons are revealed and reflected through black voices of today, now sitting in their own power”.

Beyoncé in the headlines

Beyoncé has been in the headlines all week — not only for the Black Is King project, but for also receiving the Humanitarian Award at the 2020 BET Awards on Sunday night.

This is the same day she announced the Black Is King visual album.

Her latest single, Black Parade, released on 19 June 2020 was the top-selling track in the United States (US) this past week with 18 000 downloads for the week ending 25 June, Billboard reported.

The song hit No 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart and brought in 7.8 million streams in during the week.