Not to mention Queen Bey as being the world’s biggest superstar, but she has acted as a beacon of light and hope in supporting and empowering the black community. So it was no surprise that when she announced a new visual album titled Black Is King it was met with incredible excitement from fans across the internet. Beyoncé stated in an Instagram post the visual album was originally filmed as a companion piece to The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack and is meant to “celebrate the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry”.
Recently the official trailer was revealed by Disney+ (where it will be exclusively streaming) and it looks nothing short of stunning. The trailer also features cameos from the likes of Kelly Rowland, Jay-Z, Naomi Campbell and even Pharrell Williams. Although not much is known about the plot it was revealed in a press release that Black Is King will focus on a “tale about a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity”. It’s no doubt that this release will have a huge cultural impact given its relevancy to the racial injustice, unfortunately, happening all over the world right now.
Black is King Official Trailer from Fox4 News
In Addition, Beyoncé has even made sure that Black Is King will be available to stream in most countries within the continent of Africa by teaming up with MultiChoice Group’s M-Net and Canal+ Afrique. Beyoncé is no stranger to the medium of visual albums given that her 2016 masterpiece Lemonade was also premiered as a visual album on HBO. Lemonade was a huge stepping-stone in her career as it was one of the first times she openly expressed her political views and she hasn’t turned back since.
Black Is King will be arriving globally to stream via Disney+ on July 31st and is set to be one of the most important pieces of media released this year, created by one of the world’s biggest superstars.
Words by Chris Saunders
Graphics by Clare Stephenson
