“The Lion King” will be released on Friday, and so will an album for the film that was executive produced by Beyoncé called “The Lion King: The Gift.”
The superstar singer spoke about the music project on “Good Morning America” this week and said the songs can’t be put into a specific category — mainly because she, the producers, as well as other artists created an entirely different sound. Beyoncé voices the part of Nala in the film.
“The soundtrack is a love letter to Africa,” she explained. “And 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. I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa.”
“All of these incredible new sounds, mixed with some of the producers from America, we’ve kind of created our own genre,” added the singer. “And I feel like the soundtrack is the first soundtrack where it becomes visual in your mind. The soundscape is more than just the music because each song tells the story of the film.”
Some of the artists included on the soundtrack are Donald Glover, who voices the part of Simba, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, WizKid, Tierra Whack and Bey’s husband Jay-Z, as well as her daughter Blue Ivy.
Ivy is also in the video for her mom’s song “Spirit,” which is the last song on Bey’s album.
The visuals for the power ballad arrived on Tuesday, and it shows Beyoncé belting out the lyrics in front of beautiful scenery. It also includes an epic dance scene with the singer and her dancers, all dressed in blue, as they move through a desert.
“The Lion King: The Gift” will be released on Friday, July 19, but the main “Lion King” soundtrack is already out.
