The Bey Hive was feeling the love on Friday over Beyonce’s release of the album ‘The Lion King: The Gift,’ which the pop queen dropped as a sister piece to her new film, a remake of the Disney classic.
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Beyonce dubbed the 27-track album she curated and produced “a love letter to Africa,” enlisting several African artists as well as a host of stars including her husband Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, her co-star Donald Glover (who also performs as Childish Gambino) and Pharrell Williams — along with none other than Jay and Bey’s seven-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter — as collaborators.
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“I wanted to be authentic to what is beautiful about music in Africa,” Beyonce, who voices Nala in ‘The Lion King,’ told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’
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‘The Gift’ is separate from the film’s official soundtrack which includes a rendition of Elton’s John’s iconic ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’ by Beyonce and Glover, who plays Simba in the film.
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John himself also graced the film’s soundtrack, released 25 years after the original, with a new song entitled ‘Never Too Late.’
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Both albums include Beyonce’s latest single ‘Spirit.’
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But it’s Beyonce’s ‘Gift’ that has her legions of fans abuzz.
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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.
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‘Sonic cinema’
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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.
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Cameroonian urban music star Salatiel sang with Beyonce and Pharrell on the thumping groove ‘Water.’
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“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.
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In classic Beyonce fashion, the album skews toward the visual — what she calls “sonic cinema.”
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“This is a new experience of storytelling,” she said in announcing the album.
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“It is a mixture of genres and collaboration that isn’t one sound. It is influenced by everything from R’n’B, pop, hip hop and Afrobeat.”
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Beyonce also released a sprawling, richly pigmented video to accompany ‘Spirit,’ which features the star and Blue Ivy in matching ruffled pink dresses, their long curls blowing in the desert wind.
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“Your destiny is comin’ close / Stand up and fight,” she sings. “So go into a far off land / And be one with the great I Am.”
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Pairing her powerful vocals with a visual feast, Beyonce makes about a dozen outfit changes in the video including both custom and couture looks, according to Vogue. The clip was partially filmed in Arizona’s remote Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon.
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It also includes the legendary ‘Lion King’ scene where Simba and Nala lock eyes over a pool oasis, which the new film recreated from the original animated take.
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“The soundscape is more than just the music because each song tells the story of the film,” Beyonce said.
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