Beyonce Releases “The Lion King: The Gift” Album

Two days after the box office release of the live remake of “The Lion King”, Queen Bey herself released her own soundtrack album dedicated to the movie called The Lion King: The Gift. Featuring spoken excerpt interludes by many of the cast members of the movie, and songs that feature many top-charting artists, this album exudes Beyonce’s black pride. For the past decade, Beyonce has repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Africa and its culture. This album is merely the icing on top of the cake.

The album features a variety of artists including Jay-Z, Pharrell, Childish Gambino, Tierra Whack, Kendrick Lamar, Burna Boy, Jessie Reyez, Major Lazer, SAINt JHN, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Mr.Eazi, Salatiel, Blue Ivy Carter, etc. Each song features an African-style beat, furthering Beyonce’s dedication of the album to Africa. Her single “Spirit”, which was a letter from her to Africa, was only a portion of the message she relayed through this album. Although each track on the album is a bop that showcases versatility, the most popular song from the album by far is “BROWN SKIN GIRL.” Beyonce dedicates this song to darker skinned women who face adversities daily for their skin-tone. She references famous dark-toned women in the industry such as Naomi Campbell, Kelly Rowland, and Lupita Nyong in the song, and compliments their ownership of their beauty. She sings “Brown skin girl, ya skin just like pearls/ Your back against the world/ I never trade you for anybody else.” This track brought a lot of attention to social media and even caused a debate about who exactly Beyonce dedicated the song to. She responded with an instagram video that showcased a variety of darker skinned women. If no one else loves being black, Beyonce surely does and she definitely has no problem with expressing it to the world. Overall, the album is a skinfolk kind of keepsake. We haven’t had a pro-black album since the Black Panther soundtrack, so ladies here’s your chance. “The Lion King: The Gift” is available on all streaming platforms! Be sure to go listen to “BROWN SKIN GIRL.”