This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
On August 3, 2020, Disney+ released Beyonce's visual album Black Is King, which celebrates African culture and features prominent black celebrities. However, rapper Noname has taken to Twitter to slam Beyonce for her portrayal of African culture, sparking a heated debate over cultural appropriation.
Noname, a 28-year-old rap artist, tweeted: "we love an African aesthetic draped in capitalism. Hope we remember the blk folks on the continent whose daily lives are impacted by U.S imperialism. If we can uplift the imagery I hope we can uplift those who will never be able to access it. Black liberation is a global struggle".
She then retweeted a follower who replied to her tweet, commenting: "sis, they're killing us in Zimbabwe. Literally. The world is turning a blind eye to the blatant human rights abuses we're facing every single day. Our black lives clearly don't matter". Noname replied: "they matter to me".
Noname also shared an opinion piece from Essence entitled "Why We Must Be Careful When Watching Beyoncé’s ‘Black Is King’" by Burundian writer Judicaelle Irakoze. The article criticizes Beyonce for "romanticizing African royalty stories" and "dehumanizing our Africanness".
However, not everyone agrees with Noname's stance. One Twitter user defended Beyonce, saying: "As an African living in Africa I assure you Beyonce's dedication to collaborating with our talented creatives to come up with beautiful uplifting art is doing more for us than anything you have done."
Despite the controversy, one thing is certain: Beyonce knows how to start a conversation.
