It has been almost a week since Beyonce Knowles released her visual album for 2019’s Lion King: The Gift album titled Black Is King on Disney+; “a celebration of the breadth and beauty of black ancestry,” as she called it.
According to Beyonce, Black Is King was filmed in so many different locations; from her backyard to the Grand Canyon to South Africa to Ghana. The visual album proudly displays black cultures from all over the world in a state of unabashed opulence.
Released about a year later than the Lion King album, Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles has revealed the reason why Beyonce decided to embark on a project of this magnitude.
Tina Knowles said that Beyonce decided to make Black Is King when she heard the story of Solomon Linda. Linda was the South African composer of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Unfortunately, Linda received NO CREDIT from Disney for the iconic soundtrack. She decided to fix that injustice and show the beauty of Africa from the eyes of Africans; thereby centring Africans and their descendants and changing the history of the Lion King franchise forever.
The only song in Black Is King that actually was in The Lion King is this song. But instead of using Disney’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight, she uses Solomon’s original Mbube and credits it as such. This makes sure that Solomon’s children receive the royalties.
Listen to the original song below:
Since its release, Black Is King has become the highest rated film on Disney+.
