*Disclaimer: I don\u2019t speak for all Black folks, but if you aren’t rocking with\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s \u201cBlack is King\u201d then please exit stage left.
\nBeyonc\u00e9\u00a0has \u2026<\/b>
\n*Disclaimer: I don\u2019t speak for all Black folks, but if you aren’t rocking with Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s \u201cBlack is King\u201d then please exit stage left. Beyonc\u00e9 has saved us all once again. We can all agree that 2020 has been heavy. Kobe Bryant and Pop Smoke’s deaths shook us the first two months. The coronavirus pandemic, still ravaging on, is disproportionately affecting Black communities. Black Lives Matter protests have been in full swing since Ahmaud Arbery’s and George Floyd’s deaths. The world continues to remind us about the perceived insignificance of Black women as 27-year-old Breonna Taylor and 19-year-old activist Oluwatoyin Salau were killed while sleeping and seeking refuge respectively. But for an hour and 25 minutes Beyonc\u00e9’s \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb made us forget we were 2020-ing. The visual companion piece to \u00ab\u00a0The Lion King: The Gift\u201d soundtrack, which Beyonc\u00e9 produced after starring as Nala in the 2019 Disney remake, served as an ode to and celebration of Pan-African culture while reminding Black people to hold our heads up high. \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb kicks off with the 38-year-old artist saying \u00ab\u00a0let Black be synonymous with glory\u201d and serenading a newborn cradled in her arm with the iconic lines from \u00ab\u00a0Bigger\u00a0\u00bb: \u00ab\u00a0If you think you are insignificant, you better think again.\u00a0\u00bb A whole word! The film starts off by setting us up to see the greatness in being Black… which if we’d forgotten, Beyonc\u00e9 would soon remind us off with the visuals and songs to come. If 2020 was beating us down with visuals of Black death and injustice, Beyonc\u00e9 showed us depictions of Black royalty in \u00ab\u00a0FIND YOUR WAY BACK\u00a0\u00bb with the young prince walking with his king and queen parents donned in opulent costumes. \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb would show us the effortless rhythmic movement of Black performers rooted in a rich culture and it would show us the unity with visuals of a Pan-African flag and voice-overs that tell us to \u00ab\u00a0remember who you are.\u00a0\u00bb Onto \u00ab\u00a0Mood 4 Eva,\u00a0\u00bb which showed our prince chauffeured up to a villa in a black car I’m too poor to know the make of and Queen Bey dripped in the finest thread counts while Jay-Z raps: \u00ab\u00a0At the Saxon Madiba suite, like Mandela (yeah, yeah), Bumpin’ Fela on the Puma jet, like we from Lagos, Mansa Musa reincarnated, we on our levels (he ’bout business), That’s a billi’, a thousand milli’.\u00a0\u00bb It’s no secret that there are major racial disparities when it comes to wealth, but the visuals in \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb reinforce the idea that it is OK for Black people to be extra. During a time of collective Black trauma, we tend to feel guilty for feeling joy, but seeing Bey and Jay relish in that luxury reminds us that to be joyful is an act of resistance. Enjoy the finer things in life and treat yo’ self! These reminders to love and appreciate ourselves in all our Blackness are sprinkled throughout \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb with voice-overs of mantras like \u00ab\u00a0You can’t wear a crown with your head down,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0We have always been wonderful,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0We were beauty before they knew what beauty was.\u00a0\u00bb And possibly the most important of them all: \u00ab\u00a0Black men especially we’re told not to love ourselves, we’re told that I’m supposed to hate you because the world will always tell you that you’re something else. You’re too dark, you’re too short, whatever. We need to show black men and women are emotional, are strong, are smart, intuitive.\u00a0\u00bb These words are always important to hear and see reflected in media all the time, but in 2020 especially when Black love and joyful moments are seemingly far and few between. And what a seamless transition to a Black girl’s anthem: \u00ab\u00a0Brown Skin Girl.\u00a0\u00bb Malcolm X once said \u00ab\u00a0the most neglected person in America is the black woman\u00a0\u00bb and that never rang truer than learning of Taylor’s and Salau\u2019s deaths and Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s testimony after being shot. In 2020, when we are still having Black \u00ab\u00a0firsts,\u00a0\u00bb and representation of darker skinned Black women is still lacking across all industries, Beyonc\u00e9’s \u00ab\u00a0Brown Skin Girl\u00a0\u00bb celebrated the beauty of all Black women from Lupita Nyong’o’s \u00ab\u00a0pretty dark skin\u00a0\u00bb to Kelly Rowland’s striking looks causing the levees to break from all that drip. The star of \u00ab\u00a0Brown Skin Girl\u00a0\u00bb though was Bey’s 8-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy. \u00ab\u00a0Black is King\u00a0\u00bb isn’t just for Black folks now, but it’s a legacy that little Black girls years later will be able to look back on and see themselves reflected. Beyonc\u00e9 reminded us that we are worthy, beautiful and important all while employing different elements of Black culture to jog our memories. From the Gospel choir donned in purple for \u00ab\u00a0Spirit,\u00a0\u00bb to Namibia’s Himba tribe in \u00ab\u00a0MY POWER,\u00a0\u00bb putting the spotlight on African pop stars Tiwa Savage and Busiswa and putting dance moves like the gbese and gwara on display throughout the visual.2020 has been rough, but despite everything weighing us down right now we can find some joy in \u00ab\u00a0Black is King.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n