NEW YORK • Pop superstar Beyonce last Friday released her much-hyped visual album Black Is King, an ambitious video billed as a companion to her 2019 album of songs inspired by Disney's live-action remake of The Lion King.
The highly stylised 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 boy who navigates an onerous world, finding himself far from his family.
The album is an exploration of black history, power and success that also references colonialism, economic disparity and racism.
Beyonce calls the work a "labour of love" that serves "a greater purpose" than its original role as a companion piece to The Lion King: The Gift, given the current sociopolitical climate. The police killing of a black man, Mr George Floyd, in May ignited mass anti-racism protests amid the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the United States.
"Many of us want change," Beyonce wrote on Instagram. "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… 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 philosophical threads of origin and legacy.
A-listers including Beyonce's hip-hop mogul husband Jay-Z, actress Lupita Nyong'o, jaRead More – Source
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