This archive report was first published on 20 July 2019.
July 20, 2019
Beyonce's highly anticipated album 'The Lion King: The Gift' has finally dropped, and it's a love letter to Africa. The 27-track album, curated and produced by the pop queen herself, features a mix of African artists and international stars, including her husband Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Pharrell Williams.
"I wanted to be authentic to what is beautiful about music in Africa," Beyonce told ABC's 'Good Morning America.' "The Gift" is separate from the film's official soundtrack, which includes a rendition of Elton John's iconic 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?' by Beyonce and her co-star Donald Glover.
The album features Afrobeat-heavy songs interspersed with dialogue from the highly-anticipated film, which also stars Seth Rogen as Pumbaa and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar. In addition to pop royalty, Beyonce brought Nigerian musicians Tekno, Yemi Alade, and Mr. Eazi on board for 'The Gift,' along with Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist Shatta Wale.
"I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sounds and did my interpretation of it," Beyonce said on ABC. The album skews toward the visual, what she calls 'sonic cinema.'
"This is a new experience of storytelling," she said in announcing the album. "It is a mixture of genres and collaboration that isn't one sound. It is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip hop, and Afrobeat."
