On July 19th, 2020, Walt Disney Studios released the album for Black Is King, Beyoncé’s latest visual album, inspired by The Lion King (2019). The film will premiere exclusively on Disney Plus on July 31st, 2020.
According to Disney’s statement, Black Is King will feature music from Beyoncé’s album The Lion King: The Gift, but the movie will also tell a story through the songs. The story will revolve around a young black king’s journey, inspiring “today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns.”
“Black Is King is a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience […] The voyages of Black families, throughout time, are honored in a tale about a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity. His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny, and with his father’s teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne.”
The visual album, which was written, directed, and produced by Beyoncé was in production for about a year and shot in South Africa, west Africa, Belgium, Los Angeles, New York, and London. Other artists and filmmakers such as Emmanuel Adjei, Blitz Bazawule, Pierre Debusschere also collaborated in the making of the movie, and it has been confirmed that Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell, and Pharrell Williams will all participate as well.
Black Is King will be Beyoncé’s second visual album following Lemonade (2016), and the artist’s latest additions to her filmography after the success of Homecoming, which received the Grammy for Best Music Film, and The Lion King, which was nominated for multiple awards, including the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Given the success of Beyoncé’s previous productions, her keen eye for visuals, and her passion for Black culture and heritage, Black Is King is almost guaranteed to be an unmissable film and a beautiful homage to Blackness that movie lovers everywhere (Beyhive or not) will be talking about when it comes out.
