Stars: 5/5
An extrinsic representation of her audio album “The Lion King: The Gift,” Beyonce’s film “Black is King” takes fans on a journey of growth and discovery while highlighting the fusion of Queen Bey’s musical stylings with that of traditional & current Afrobeats.
Noted as her “love letter to Africa”, Beyonce’s album “The Lion King: The Gift” was released alongside the live action version of Disney’s “The Lion King,” although it’s not considered to be the official soundtrack. Within its contents are the words and sounds of the motherland, in addition to highlighting the history and beauty of blackness.
Keeping the same order of the original album, Beyonce opens the film with “Bigger,” a song that speaks to one’s perspective of the world. “Life is your birthright, they hid that in the fine print. Take the pen and rewrite it,” sings Beyonce.
It is in this opening song that she sings to her son, while later walking hand in hand with a young black child along the beach. It’s the journey of this little boy that we follow throughout the entirety of the film, watching him grow and transition into manhood, much like Simba did in “The Lion King”.
In addition to the symbolic references to the iconic song “Circle of Life”, we’re also introduced to African symbolism and traditions in the form of a half painted man and the blessing of the child with incense.
She follows up “Bigger” with a few other gems from the tracklist including “Find Your Way Back”, “Jealous Me”, and “Nile” until she gets to one of my all-time favorite tracks: “Mood 4 Eva.”
With some fans dubbing this track the best song on the album, the visuals accompanying “Mood 4 Eva” are hands down a whole vibe. Set in a chateaux styled mansion, adorned with black art and ornate architectural trimmings, the video sets the stage for black excellence and living life to the fullest. Filled with pops of color and unique fashion, some of my favorite aspects of this song are Beyonce’s scenes on the jaguar-printed car, the synchronized swimming performance and her scenes with long-time hubby, Jay-Z.
The pair catalogs their journey to the top, dropping knowledge about the ill intentions of people not in their corner as well as celebrating the ability to stay focused on their paths while looking past the haters. Set as the third song on my morning playlist, it’s become an anthem that helps to motivate me to keep pushing forward.
Continuing with the storyline, the song “Already” comes shortly after “Mood 4 Eva” and is an ode to black men, celebrating them as kings. Put simply, it’s a banger that I highly suggest putting on repeat and turning the volume all the way up. Adorned with truly breathtaking fashion with African details, Beyonce enthralled the screen with a plethora of dances that makes you want to get up and move right along with her. Like I said, it’s a banger and it doesn’t disappoint.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, its lyrical references remind me of the scene in “The Lion King” when Mufasa is telling Simba to “remember who you are.” “Every king be ruler, be ruler, yeah. Everybody all they conquer, yeah. Every king be stronger, yeah. King to rule them longer, yeah. Remember who you are, ooh. Real king always win, oh,” sang Shatta Wale. Serving as a double entendre, remembering who you are is also important to remembering where we come from as a people and not forgetting the power in it.
Hammering that notion home, the song “Power” repeatedly shouts to the world “they’ll never take my power.” Beaming sounds of strength and resilience, it’s a selection that could ignite the beast mode in anyone. Furthermore, the fact that the song packs a trio of powerhouse female performers makes it all the better.
As if emotions couldn’t run any higher while watching, “Brown Skin Girl” removed the barrier and opened the floodgates.
“We have always been wonderful. I see us reflected in the world’s most heavenly things. Black is King. We were beauty, before they knew what beauty was,” narrated Beyonce just before the music started.
These words resonated with me on a level deeper than I could have imagined. The representation of women of all shapes, sizes and shades of brown, coming from all walks of life with a vast range of accomplishments is the pinnacle of what this means to women and girls that look like me. I must admit that I had to rewind this part. Three times to be exact.
“Black Is King” is a celebration of what it means to be Black through beauty, art, design, fashion and more. It’s a beacon of hope. It’s a reminder of who we are, where we’ve come from and where we’re destined to return. In addition to her musical genius, Beyonce’s artistry in the production of this magical work of art is astonishing. Instantly iconic, “Black Is King” will go down in history as the classic it already is.
