Growing up in the south as a little black girl, I never felt a connection to my African roots. But truth is, I envied people who could trace their lineage further than two generations to their black past. Where did I come from? Who is my tribe? What is my native language? These questions plagued me. I knew my story started somewhere in Africa, but I had no emotional ties to my continent of origin, in part because I did not know my country of origin, my historical roots.
Beyoncé seems to share this angst. Given the opportunity to create an album to accompany the release of Disney’s live-action remake of “The Lion King,” (in which she also stars), she created “ The Lion King: The Gift” album.
And in true Beyoncé fashion, King B decided to grace us peasants with a “making of” documentary on ABeyC, just days after her visionary Netflix original documentary “Homecoming” was snubbed at the 2019 Emmys.
The hour-long doc shows the blending of the album with the various artists and producers from Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana working together to craft the sound. In the track “OTHERSIDE” you hear a fusion of language with Beyoncé singing in Swahili and Nigerian vocalist Bankulli singing in Yoruba.
One highlight was the creation of the song, “Brown Skin Girl.” Lord Afrixana, one of the artist featured on the album, talked about being teased at school for the color of his skin. In the clip, he said he used to say that he was Jamaican as a way to atone for his skin color. Well thanks to this song, the viral sensation,#BrownSkinGirlChallenge was born. Worldwide, darker-toned girls and women had an anthem to uplift them despite attacks they face based on the color of their skin. Stars mentioned in the song like Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell and Lupita Nyong’o were shown in the documentary dancing to the song where their names were mentioned. For weeks, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Beyoncé’s mother and personal hype-woman reposted videos on her Instagram account of mothers and fathers singing the song to their brown-skinned children. Beyoncé used her talent to uplift a marginalized and underrepresented group of people.
Watching the creation of arguably the best song of the album “MY POWER” took me back to what I was imagining when I heard it for the first time. The song begins with upbeat pacing drums. It instantly made my body feel anxious; the beat pulled me forward, my resting heartbeat escalating to rapid-fire pulsing. I envisioned myself as a lion like Nala and Simba in “The Lion King” rushing back to Pride Rock to fight. Just like in the lyrics you are “ready for war!”
“DON’T JEALOUS ME” my favorite non-Beyoncé song on the album features popular Nigerian artists Tekno, Lord Afrixana, Mr Eazi and Yemi Alade, none of whom I would have discovered if they had not been featured in “The Gift.”
Beyoncé states in the documentary that the album was her love letter to Africa and that love is apparent throughout the film. The music from “The Gift” serves as the documentary’s pulse. An Afrobeat soundtracks her journey, along with the visuals from countries as diverse as Burundi, Nigeria and Kenya. Watching African artists like SAINt JHN, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Tiwa Savage create their songs on the album, you can’t help but dance in your seat to the infectious beats. It’s the sound of the African continent.
Africa does not have a monolithic sound. It’s diverse. “Making The Gift” did not answer all the questions I had as a child. I still don’t know what country I am from or my tribe. What it did do was create an emotional connection and turned Africa from a country I felt far removed from to a place I feel connected to through the sounds of “ The Lion King: The Gift.” It was a beginning.