
Beyoncé
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Beyonce Shares Epic Track List For 'The Lion King: The Gift:' JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Eazi, Shatta Wale & Many More
Today, GRAMMY-winning multi-hyphenate Beyoncé offered the world yet another gift, the stacked track list of the forthcoming The Lion King-inspired album she executive produced. The 14-song LP features some of the hottest talent from the States and Africa, including her co-star Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino, her husband JAY-Z and past-collaborator Kendrick Lamar. Rising American artists Tierra Whack, 070 Shake and Jessie Reyez also contribute to tracks, as well as Nigerian powerhouses Mr Eazi, Burna Boy, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Tekno and Yemi Alade, plus Ghanaian dancehall artist Shatta Wale, Cameroonian artist Salatiel and South Africa's Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly.
Both the The Lion King: The Gift album and the new CGI-animated film will be released this Fri., July 19. The Lion King Soundtrack, along with Beyoncé's powerful new track "Spirit," which finds a home on both albums, was released digitally last week. The film's soundtrack and score were composed by GRAMMY-winner Hans Zimmer, with "Spirit" coming from Zimmer, Lebo M. and Beyoncé.
.@Beyonce on “Spirit”: “The soundtrack is a love letter to Africa…it becomes visual in your mind. It's a soundscape.”
See more TONIGHT on '#TheLionKing Can You Feel the Love Tonight? with @RobinRoberts' special at 8pmET on @ABCNetwork! https://t.co/mfhnDwDPg8 pic.twitter.com/mADrEkn1Gy— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 16, 2019
Beyoncé offers vocals on 10 of the tracks on The Gift, including on "The Nile" with Lamar, "Mood 4 Eva" with JAY and Gambino and on "Brown Skin Girl" with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, WizKid and St. Jhn.
"This soundtrack is a love letter to Africa 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," Beyoncé told ABC News in a segment aired on Good Morning America earlier today.
This clip is from her interview with GMA Anchor Robin Roberts; the full Q&A will air on ABC tonight, along with a premiere of the music video for "Spirit."
"We've kind of created our own genre and I feel like the soundtrack is the first soundtrack where it becomes visual in your in your mind. The soundscape is more than just the music because each song tells the story of the film," Queen Bey added.
More: Beyonce Gives A Moving Speech At The 2019 GLAAD Media Awards: "LGBTQI Rights Are Human Rights"
The original Lion King movie was released in 1994 and featured music written by Elton John and Tim Rice, including "Circle Of Life" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." Those now-classic songs earned the pair four nominations at the 37th GRAMMY Awards. John earned a fifth nod and a win; "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" earned him a GRAMMY for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The dynamic duo also offered the creative genius to a majority of new soundtrack.
Today has been a big day for Beyoncé; her moving Homecoming documentary received six Emmy nominations. Along with the star-studded new album, you can finally watch the Beyoncé and Glover-starring film this Fri., July 19. If you can't wait, you can also tune into her interview with Robin Roberts airing tonight, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.