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Revisiting Beyoncé's The Gift era to get you ready for Mufasa

Revisiting Beyoncé's The Gift era to get you ready for Mufasa

Revisiting Beyoncé's The Gift era to get you ready for Mufasa
Parkwood Entertainment/Disney+

The Gift/Black Is King is Beyoncé's most underrated project that deserves your respect!

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The teaser trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King is finally here!

Disney is producing a prequel to the beloved Lion King story following Simba's father, Mufasa.

"Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick," reads the official description. "Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny — their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe."

Aaron Pierre voices Mufasa while Kelvin Harrison Jr. will voice Scar. Donald Glover, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Anika Noni Rose, and Beyoncé are a few of the actors reprising their roles from the 2019 The Lion King film, and Beyoncé's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, has been cast as Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala.

Beyoncé and Blue previously starred in 'Black Is King' together

Parkwood Entertainment

We're still a ways out from the upcoming Mufasa film that currently has a December 20th premiere date, so we thought we'd take the time to appreciate the underrated masterpiece that is The Gift, the 2019 album Beyoncé crafted for The Lion King, and the accompanying Black Is King film.

'The Gift' features over a dozen ballads and bangers

Black is King is a visual album, encapsulating all 14 songs that appear on The Gift. It premiered on Disney+ in the thick of the pandemic on July 31, 2020.

Between premiering during the pandemic, getting misconstrued as simply a movie soundtrack, dabbling in Afrobeats before it became more popular in the U.S., and the album "only" debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200, the circumstances surrounding the album have led it to become Beyoncé's most underrated project.

It's chock full off incredible songs, including some of Beyoncé's most moving ballads like "Bigger" and "Nile" alongside club-ready bangers like "Already" and "Water."

It also produced "Black Parade" and "My Power," which Bey performed live during the Renaissance World Tour.

'The Gift' was heavily inspired by Afrobeats and featured many African musicians and producers

The music and visuals were a celebration of Black and African cultures and sounds set to a story that closely resembled the plot of The Lion King. Beyoncé hoped to uplift Black people around the world with this story of searching for identity and finding it within your own beautiful skin, story, and culture.

Artists featured on the album include Jay Z, Burna Boy, Kendrick Lamar, Tekno, Lord Afrixana, Mr Easi, Yemi Alade, Childish Gambino, Oumou Sangaré, Pharrell Williams, Salatiel, SAINt JHN, Wizkid, Tiwa Savagae, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer, Tierra Whack, Busiswa, Nija, Moonchild Sanelly, 070 Shake, Jessie Reyez, and Blue Ivy Carter.

The film took over a year to produce

The stunning visuals were recorded around the world and reportedly took over a year to film, produce, and edit.

Black Is King received two Grammy nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Music Film. It won Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards. "Brown Skin Girl" was nominated for Best Music Video, making Blue Ivy Carter the youngest person ever nominated for a Grammy at the time.

Only three of the songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, and none came close to the Top 40.

Fans are excited to see what Beyoncé does for 'Mufasa'

While Beyoncé produced the soundtrack for 2019's The Lion King, Lin Manuel Miranda is producing the music for Mufasa.

But all hope isn't lost. It's highly likely the film will feature original music, so we might just be getting something from Bey since she's lending her voice to Nala.

But will it just be a soundtrack feature, or will she provide something original?

If y'all want new music for Mufasa, perhaps we all should appreciate The Gift she gave us before...

Yes, Black Is King is still streaming on Disney+.

Get into it!

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Taylor Henderson

Pop culture nerd. Lives for drama. Obsessed with Beyonce's womb. Tweets way too much.

Pop culture nerd. Lives for drama. Obsessed with Beyonce's womb. Tweets way too much.