Black is King: A Cross-Cultural Musical, Visual, and Fashion Experience
Black is King, a new visual album written, directed, and produced by Beyoncé is coming to Disney+ at the end of July. After voicing Nala in Disney’s live action version of The Lion King, Beyoncé has pushed her creative vision by reimagining “the lessons of The Lion King for today's young kings and queens in search of their own crowns”, as the Disney press release states. It will be a cross-cultural experience in both terms of music and visuals - featuring several African artists including Burna Boy and Tiwa Savage.
Not only will the vocals and message likely be as breathtaking as her usual standard of excellence, Beyoncé’s fashion choices are always layered with intricate design and metaphor. In Lemonade, her visual album from 2017, Beyoncé and her creative team used fashion as a medium to celebrate Black excellence, while also being extremely innovative and aesthetically pleasing. It was a visual masterpiece — existing at the crossroads between a Southern backdrop and “regal African” motifs. It was brimming with Victorian inspiration, from white slip dresses to body suits and even Beyoncé’s wedding dress. In this way, Beyoncé reimagined the stereotypically white standard of royalty in the Victorian era by placing Black women in the centre of it all, adding African elements to fit her new narrative of Black nobility. Many describe the main theme of the visual album as power: recognizing one’s own power, faltering in emotional situations, and regaining it once more through embodied empowerment.
More recently, Beyoncé’s “Spirit”, from The Lion King soundtrack gives insight into what to expect in the upcoming visual album. There are nine looks in the music video, with bright colours popping against a beautiful desert background. She has repeatedly referred to her work on The Lion King as her “gift to Africa”, and this sentiment rings true with the stunning aesthetics of the video. Her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is also featured - arguably adding to the theme of inherited resilience and power that the singer is highlighting with the lyrics.
Both Lemonade and “Spirit” have deep feminine undertones and portray the richness of the Black female experience through the music and the visuals. Though Beyoncé’s lyrics may not always be political or overtly focused on elements of race, the choices she makes in her music videos and previous visual album perfectly exemplifies how she embraces and subverts history through the lens of Black excellence.
The visuals for Black is King will definitely have similar themes, as it’s meant to celebrate the beauty of Black ancestry. In her Instagram post, Beyoncé described the project as especially relevant with the social and political climate of 2020, arguing “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.”
This passion project is a tribute to the authentic power and pride of the Black community, crafted by a Black female icon. Based on her history of stylistic choices, the fashion and costume design of the project will also be an intelligent and metaphorical experience to witness - linking together creative souls and fashion lovers across the world in anticipation for its release.
By: Alysha Mohamed
IG: @alyshamohamed