The trailer for Beyoncé's 'Black Is King' has arrived

It’s been four years since Beyoncé stunned the world with her album and short film for Lemonade, and now she’s preparing to inspire fans with her brilliance once again. On Sunday, Beyoncé debuted the trailer for her upcoming project Black Is King, a visual album that acts as a celebration of Black history, resilience, and culture.The visual album is being released on Disney Plus on July 31 and has been written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé. Based loosely on The Lion King, Black Is King is described in the company’s press release as a film in which “…timeless lessons are revealed and reflected through Black voices of today, now sitting in their own power.” Centred around the hero’s journey, Black Is King follows “a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity. His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny, and with his father’s teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne.”On Sunday, Beyoncé announced her latest project and broke with her own tradition of dropping albums in full without warning. Calling the visual album a labour of love and a passion project, Beyoncé said her work filming, editing and researching Black Is King has been ongoing for the past year. “The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey,” wrote Beyoncé. “We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change. I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books.”Beyoncé said that her goal with Black Is King is to “…present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy.”The 24-time Grammy winner described creating Black Is King as an emotional journey. “I spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs. While working on this film, there were moments where I’ve felt overwhelmed, like many others on my creative team, but it was important to create a film that instills pride and knowledge,” said Beyoncé, adding “I only hope that from watching, you leave feeling inspired to continue building a legacy that impacts the world in an immeasurable way. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people. This is a story of how the people left MOST BROKEN have EXTRAORDINARY gifts.”

 

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I typically keep comments short and sweet, but I just watched the trailer with my family and I’m excited. ?please don’t get me hype?? “Black Is King” is a labor of love. It is my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year. I’ve given it my all and now it’s yours. It was originally filmed as a companion piece to “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack and meant to celebrate the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry. I could never have imagined that a year later, all the hard work that went into this production would serve a greater purpose. The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey. We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change. I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books. With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy. I spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs. While working on this film, there were moments where I’ve felt overwhelmed, like many others on my creative team, but it was important to create a film that instills pride and knowledge. I only hope that from watching, you leave feeling inspired to continue building a legacy that impacts the world in an immeasurable way. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people. This is a story of how the people left MOST BROKEN have EXTRAORDINARY gifts.❤️✊? Thank you to Blitz, Emmanuel, Ibra, Jenn, Pierre, Dikayl, Kwasi and all the brilliant creatives. Thank you to all at Disney for giving this Black woman the opportunity to tell this story. This experience has been an affirmation of a grander purpose. My only goal is that you watch it with your family and that it gives you pride. Love y’all, B

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Jun 28, 2020 at 8:06pm PDT

Black Is King will feature music from her 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift. American musicians Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Tierra Whack, 070 Shake and Canadian Jessie Reyez, as well as African artists Wizkid, Shatta Wale, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, Yemi Alade, Busiswa and Salatiel all contributed to the soundtrack. Disney has confirmed that many of the artists will appear in the film, noting that there will also be some ‘surprises.’Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z, who also appeared on The Lion King: The Gift, can be seen in the new trailer for Black Is King. The couple’s eldest daughter Blue Ivy also contributed to the soundtrack on the single “Brown Skin Girl,” a song that has made the 8-year-old a Soul Train Music Award and NAACP Image Award winner. On Sunday, Blue Ivy became the youngest BET Award winner ever on the same night BET awarded her mom with the Humanitarian of the Year Award.Earlier this month, Beyoncé debuted the new single “Black Parade” on Juneteenth to celebrate and encourage fans to shop at Black-owned businesses. Beyoncé has also been using her social media to protest the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and show her support for the And Still I Vote campaign, which aims to end voter suppression among Black Americans.[video_embed id='1985078']RELATED: Beyoncé to receive humanitarian honour at BET Awards[/video_embed]