"[69], Beyoncé wanted to find black synchronized swimmers for the "Mood 4 Eva" video and only managed to find a few in the US, including Philicia and Tamar Saunders. At first, she intended to produce one-minute clips for some of the songs, with them shooting in her backyard in The Hamptons. [32], To research for the film, Beyoncé described how she "spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs". Similarly, with the film, Beyoncé is empowering the African diaspora to connect with their heritage, celebrate their culture and recognize their self-worth. The film serves as a visual companion to the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift, a tie-in album curated by Beyoncé for the The Lion King (2019). Each song was written to reflect the film's storytelling that gives the listener a chance to imagine their own imagery, while listening to a new contemporary interpretation. The prince is reunited with his childhood love ("Brown Skin Girl"). “You can’t wear a crown with your head down. Beyoncé was impressed by his performance and she sought him out, ultimately casting him in the lead role in Black Is King. The representative then revealed who the project was for, but Novokshchenova still had doubts that it was a hoax until she met fellow Jamaican swimmer Nicole Chin Sue at the airport.

TV-14 [89], For the "Mood 4 Eva" video, Beyoncé and Knight had a vision of a Busby Berkeley-inspired synchronized swimming routine, with swimmers creating formations such as a dolphin chain circle through which Beyoncé would swim. 187 of 276 people found this review helpful. ", Jay-Z - Beyoncé’s husband and hip-hop icon featured on "Mood 4 Eva. ",[158] while the other one presented was critical of the use of animal prints, mentioning that it's "perpetuating stereotypical representations of Africans". In a month that has seen her fellow superstars The Chicks and Taylor Swift dropping the most critically acclaimed work of their careers, “Black Is King” shows us that renewed life, like deaths, can come in threes. From Saint Maud to The Wicker Man we've rounded up some of our favorite British horror movies that are guaranteed to keep you looking over your shoulder for weeks to come. Nicholls called it "a dream come true, not just for me, not just for those children that were selected, but for all black children". "[154] Writing for Vogue, Hayley Maitland opined that Beyoncé is "shifting the zeitgeist" with Black Is King, noting that the film's release feels especially timely after the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. [59], Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, handled talks with Beyoncé to release Black Is King on Disney+.

Black Is King therefore shows "how the world could thrive when Black men step into kingship", not one which is based on the "white supremacist ideas of hierarchy, dominance, and oppression", but instead one which embraces an "African egalitarian way" and is "rooted in stewardship to community". The fashion moments, curated by Bey's longtime stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers, are too many to count. "[91] A scene where black men in suits jumping up and down in unison is a reference to the adumu Maasai jumping dance of Kenya and Tanzania, a ceremony in which men in a circle compete for who can jump the highest with a straight posture. In the spiritual plane, the ancestor leads the king's funeral, while the blue man sits alone ("Nile"). [42] Raisa Bruner of Time called the song "a tour-de-force of references: to black history, to African traditions, to her own family and past" and described Beyoncé as "the queen of a generation providing guidance and assembling her listeners with black solidarity". [40] Beyoncé added: "I wanted to put everyone on their own journey to link the storyline. Beyoncé voiced Nala, whose name means "gift" in Swahili. [52][126] It was then subsequently released across various platforms by Beyoncé's entertainment and management company Parkwood Entertainment in association with Disney. Her husband Jay-Z, daughter Blue Ivy, and mom Tina Knowles make appearances, and so does Pharrell Williams and African artists like Yemi Alade, Lord Afrixana, and Shatta Wale, but when supermodel Naomi Campbell, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, and Beyoncé’s fellow former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland pop up during “Brown Skin Girl,” a tribute to Black women, it feels transcendent. , Perhaps Beyonce and Disney would like to put more effort in helping the poor and suffering in Africa by spending the money they wasted on this on providing clean water, proper education for the children and medicines to combat the terrible diseases afflicting many Africans who live in countries where their politicians live in splendour and the children die because of a lack of clean water. [43], Beyoncé called the film "my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year".   |  We are going to be alright." The ancestor reminds the prince of his power, and he assembles an army of women to fight his uncle ("My Power"). The king gives the young prince a small golden scepter and tells the prince that his ancestors look down on them from the stars and will always be there to guide him ("Find Your Way Back"). You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. [80] One look in the "Already" video was a 5:31 Jérôme blue Nigerian lace trench dress with an accompanying Nigerian gele, inspired by the fashion of matriarchal women at Nigerian weddings. It's her company, her thing, her money, and her vision that make this project. The album, which is a celebration of Black culture, was not just shot at multiple locations but also features a diverse cast, including cameos from several internationally-renowned stars and Beyoncé's three children. [7], Sophia Ordaz of Slate noted that as well as the message of the film being "that Black kingship amounts to responsible manhood, Black femininity is just as integral". In 2019, the DWP Academy posted their own choreography for the song after it was first released. She then decided to create full-length videos for each song, and her idea later snowballed into a very large production. The first comes three minutes in: "Let Black be synonymous with joy. [38] The same day, an accompanying tie-in album titled The Lion King: The Gift was released by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. [28] Director Blitz Bazawule described the film as "a phenomenal opportunity to see Blackness represented with universality". [31], Hairstylist Neal Farinah recalled Beyoncé saying to him one Tuesday night: "Hey, I want to talk to you. The film was released globally on Disney+ on July 31, 2020, and was aired the following day across Sub-Saharan Africa on M-Net and Canal+ Afrique and across the Middle East and North Africa on OSN.