Sept 1,2020
By Dray Breezy
Water
We transition to a collage of scenic images set to various voices highlighting the importance of women. Needless to say I agree with everything stated. We’re introduced to “Nala” played by gorgeous South African singer and actress Nandi Madida. We see Beyonce floating in a giant sea and her voice begins to narrate this transitional scene. She speaks about the healing properties of water which brings us into our next video featuring legendary producer Pharrell.
While I’m not the biggest fan of the actual song “Water”, the visuals Beyonce brings to the melody are the strongest in terms of fashion. A custom Alon Livine burgundy latex catsuit shows off Beyonce’s magnificent figure as she balances an enormous water jug on her head. Later we see her and her dancers draped in the light, floral monochrome of Selam Fessahaye and KEAMA. In one scene she appears to be wearing a giant couture lampshade, a abstract fashion statement designed by Timothy White. Another scene she is elevated in all denim, wearing the longest bell bottoms I have ever seen. That look was created by Michaela Stark. We are whisked to the desert where Carter stands alongside Nala, firmly placed in the golden sands, both wearing popular bright fuscia Molly Goddard dresses. One of the best looks in the entire film is Beyonce in a multicolored ruffled dress, shoulders bare, a stunning piece designed by Mary Katrantzou. The dress is an amalgamation of incredible florals and rich hues that would make Crayola jealous. Her hair is lightly bundled into a off balance tower reminiscent of the bushes in a fantasy Dr.Suess world. My eyes couldn’t stop staring at Knowles incredible natural beauty and poise.
We are yanked to one of the many scenes in which Beyonce’s features handsome black men wearing matching color suits and durags. The hood love is real. Our Nala is now featuring a growing role in the film, as she playfully interacts with a fellow thespian. Beyonce subtly drops the name of the film “Black is King”, in reference to the line, “we have always been great”. Powerful stuff indeed Beyonce.
Brown Skin Girl
The joy and bond of motherhood and sisterhood are on full display in the next few scenes. We see Beyonce playing hand games with her daughter, black mothers guiding their daughters at a cotillion, and glimpses of Beyonce’s youngest daughter Rumi. These scenes make the perfect introduction to one of my favorite songs on the album “Brown Skin Girl”.
The entire song is a tribute to the beauty of black girls and women and I love every single minute of it. Featuring the gorgeous Kelly Rowland, the video includes cameos from Naomi Campbell, Wizkid, SAInt JHN, Blue Ivy, Lupita Nyong’o, Adut Akech and more. The sincerity of the message pours through especially in the scenes with Kelly Rowland where the love and deep bond of their friendship just pours through the screen. In addition to the pure message contained within the lyrics, Beyonce chooses designers such as Adama Paris, Schiaparelli, and Monsoori that create haute couture looks that elevate the incredible beauty of all the beautiful brown skin girls featured in the video. African label Tongoro designed two stunning black and white checkered dresses which deserve mention. For the record, Naomi Campbell is still the most gorgeous woman on the planet.
Keys to the Kingdom
Blue Ivy closes out “Brown Skin Girls”, sounding innocent as ever. The interlude between the next musical number is shorter than ever, the camera pans over the legendary facility, it’s The National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos to be exact, and there we begin “Keys to the Kingdom”.
The energy of this track is infectious, it makes sense because this song was a huge collaborative effort. Featuring artists such as Tiwa Savage and Mr.Eazi this song makes use of Kim Krysiuk, Caso, Akil King, Tiwatope Savage, MixedbyGWhite, Ariowa Irosogie, Rich King, Oluwatosin Ajibade, Ronald Banful, and Derek James Dixie. Quite the collaboration. This track has a strong island vibe and Beyonce represents that throughout this video. This video tells a story of a young Nala preparing for her reunion with our young adult Simba. She is surrounded by her friends, and the beautiful actress Lindiwe Dim .The chorus brings us a solo dancer striking her routine in front of African men dressed like 17th century British men in Parliament. There’s so much to unpack in this juxtaposition but I will leave that up to you all to interpret. In the words of Aretha Franklin, I’m more focused on “the gowns, the beautiful gowns”.
Our grown Nala and Simba unite and ride off on horseback and our narrator begins to teach us about rebirth. “We’ve been conditioned to be in a box” a voice explains to us. As we absorb this information, we are taken to a small cabin in a dusty windstorm and there lies Beyonce, cradling a small baby, one of her gerber twins. “Otherside” is a lyrical song, the instrumental is simple, merely a harp, piano, and light bass. The lyrical focus of the song is about spiritual connectedness, the idea that no matter the distance, once connected, that bond cannot be broken. That connectedness doesn’t go away even if she is on the otherside. I hope Beyonce is accepting applications because I’m ready for that entanglement! Beyonce releases the baby on the Nile, in a basket, connecting the audience to the opening scene of the film. The scene represents the spiritual and mental rebirth of Simba into the leader he becomes in the original Disney movie.
Simba takes the mantle of leadership symbolically in the film, floating up to the sky (Pointe City Tower) after a short ceremony featuring the now deceased actress Mary Twala. Special mention to Alon Livne for creating a masterpiece of a dress for the outro of the song.
My Power
Simba has one final boss to battle, Scar. Scar is more of a symbolic figure in this film and Beyonce uses the song “My Power” to illustrate that battle. This video is styled in a similar manner to Beyonce’s “Grown Woman” single. The aesthetics of the video are highly charged, red being the primary motif. We first see songwriter Nija Charles in a piercing lime green dress.The prominent vocalist, Tierra Whack is given ample amount of screentime in this video. She is draped in geometric patterned mega poncho by Delia Alleyne with a candelabra hair style to match created by Simon-Hartman London. She sheds the poncho to reveal an amazing white multi-layered NuOfficial piece. The concept of the video is very futuristic approach compared to other musical breaks. Blue Ivy makes multiple cameos in the video, wearing Mugler outfits that match her mom. Completely badass. Based on her energy Blue is CLEARLY feeling this song. If you’re wondering about Beyonce’s feather outfit, it was designed by Ashi Studio and took over 70 hours to create. We get a phenomenal African dance breakdown on this song from Knowles and her dancers, full of attitude and sauce. The icing on this chocolate cake is Busiswa, donning a Nikiwe Dlova headpiece. Busiswa is a songwriter and poet that brings the absolute heat on her verse! I have no clue what she’s saying, and don’t really care to know, but it sounds hot! Special mention to the pregnant dancer. She brought the fire as well. The song begins to close with a verse from South African musician and dancer Moonchild Sanelly. The song ends with Simba’s symbolic victory over Scar.
Spirit
We once more hear the majestic voice of James Earl Jones, reveling in Simba’s victory and claimage of his ancestry. Beyonce begins to narrate, showing gratitude and appreciation for the gift of existence. This segways to our final song, “Spirit”.
‘Spirit” is a powerful ballad and Beyonce gifts us with the first verse of this song acapella. She is wearing a pleated two piece Balmain outfit reminiscent of a golden Egyptian sunset. Her voice is moving and strong, with inflections like floating remnants of the pop star that she used to be. There is a large, black choir behind her and they are all draped in vivid fuscia. They join her voice and the result is magical, it brought me to tears. The film ends with a short dedication to Knowles only son, Rumi Carter.
“Black is King” is art of the highest caliber. Every shot, every scene has a combination of visual elements that left me stunned throughout the film. The choreography was beyond excellent, credit to Stephen Ojo (Blue man) who handled a lot of the African influenced dance styles. This film has set a high bar in artistic creativity. Every second of this piece has given me inspiration to trust my process and don’t doubt my greatness, I hope it does the same for you.