Pop royalty
Beyonce on Friday released her much-hyped visual album “Black Is
King,” an aesthetically 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
stylized visual narrative released on the Disney Plus streaming platform runs
an hour and 25 minutes and, akin to “The Lion King,” tells the story
of a young boy who navigates an onerous world, finding himself far from his
family.
The work is
an ode to the black experience rife with vibrant imagery celebrating the
African diaspora, an aesthetic exploration of black history, power and success
that also references colonialism, economic disparity and racism.
Beyonce had
described the work as a “labor of love,” that now serves “a
greater purpose” than its original role as a companion piece to “The
Lion King: The Gift,” given the current sociopolitical climate.
Mass
anti-racism protests ignited following the police killing of a black man,
George Floyd, in May as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the United States,
disproportionately infecting people of color.
“Many
of us want change,” Beyonce wrote on Instagram, rare personal words from
the guarded celebrity.
“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.”
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lush visuals and Beyonce’s soaring vocals, “Black Is King” places
heavy emphasis on notions of family and motherhood along with more philosophical
threads of origin and legacy.
A-listers
including the superstar’s hip hop mogul husband Jay-Z, actress Lupita Nyong’o,
jack-of-all-trades Pharrell Williams and model Naomi Campbell all feature in
the production.
Beyonce’s
mother Tina Knowles-Lawson and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland
also make appearances, as well as daughter Blue Ivy and rare footage of her twins,
Rumi Carter and Sir Carter.
The film
follows Beyonce’s venerated 2016 visual album “Lemonade,” which
emphasized black womanhood against the backdrop of America’s heritage of slavery
and culture of oppression.
Since that
Grammy-winning work Beyonce has prized the visual at the forefront of her art,
no longer focused on dominating the pop charts.
Simultaneously
one of music’s most private but most-watched stars, the 38-year-old uses her
massive social media platform to curate her image and promote her work imbued
with broad social commentary on topics including gender and race.
But Beyonce
also has faced criticism, especially from outside the United States, for
deploying what some call stereotypical visuals of “African tradition”
— face paint and feathers, for example.
Many social
media users noted that Disney Plus is not accesible in African nations, and that
while Beyonce has performed some shows on the continent, her tours haven’t
included dates there in years.
“Someone
with the range must unpack how our beloved queen Beyonce is reducing blackness
and Africanness to aesthetics and the western imaginations of our
existence,” tweeted one user, Paballo Chauke.
“They
must also speak about how it’s now profitable to do such gimmicks.”
Still, the
Bey Hive — Beyonce’s legion of ardent fans — voiced elation over the release
of “Black Is King,” which quickly became a top trending hashtag.
