Beyoncé Enlists African Artists & Producers For ‘Lion King’-Inspired Album

From the robust voice cast, which includes Donald Glover, Beyoncé and Chiwetel Ejiofor, to the awe-inspiring teasers, we’ve all spent the last few months obsessing over the release of the live-action remake of the Disney classic, The Lion King.

As if we needed any more reasons to be hyped, Disney just announced that the lion queen herself, Beyoncé, has executive produced an album inspired by the film, The Lion King: The Gift — which she enlisted African artists and producers for. 

(Photo: Disney Studios)

Along with the exciting announcement, Beyoncé also dropped a new track off the project, “Spirit”, which serves as a taste of what to expect. The powerful, anthemic song will appear in the film, during a pivotal scene with Beyoncé’s character, Nala.

Speaking in a statement about what this album means to her, Beyoncé said: 

“This is sonic cinema, a new experience of storytelling.  I wanted to do more than find a collection of songs that were inspired by the film.

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.” 

(Photo: Disney Studios)

In the same statement, she reveals that all the music on the project has been worked on by the most interesting and talented artists, but also produced by the best African producers, in order to maintain authenticity in the storytelling.

The film and the album are less than 10 days away, and we can barely contain our excitement. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing which artists she has enlisted, and will be keeping fingers crossed to see if there will be any Nigerian stars. 

The Lion King: The Gift drops on July 19.

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