Album retrospective: The Gift by Beyoncé

In 2019, on the same day of the Lion King Live Action Movie Beyoncé released her take on the movie with her album The Gift.

The opus is composed of twenty seven tracks, inviting various artists to perform with Beyoncé being absent in some of the songs (e.g JA ARA E, KEYS TO THE KINGDOM). This is a first for the singer, as her albums were always composed of songs purely sung by her or sometimes with an artist featured. The goal of The Gift was to create a fusion between traditional African music and commercial US music and to give a “sonic cinema” experience. Authenticity was a crucial part of the process of Beyoncé: she wanted to work with African artists and producers to blend R&B, pop, hip-hop, gqom and afrobeat.

A soundtrack of a human tale

Taking roots in the story of the Lion King, we travel through movie extracts and songs, guiding us and letting us create own scenarios. Throughout the album, we have messages of resilience, hope, legacy and empowerment. While this project follows the storyline of the Lion King, we also have a celebration of life and of its difficulties.

Throughout the songs, we explore the various themes, through deep lyricism and rich vocals. BIGGER, the first track of this album, touch upon the subject of the legacy left behind by others before us, and our part in it: “Life is your birthright, they hid that in the fine print, take the pen and rewrite it”. This theme is found again in OTHERSIDE, a ballad touching upon grief, with Beyoncé encouraging her children to not lose hope: “If the sky fall fire, best believe me, you will see me on the other side”.

Songs like BROWN SKIN GIRL and MY POWER and ALREADY celebrate Black cultures and peoples around the world, with messaging of empowerment and beauty with lyrics such as: “Wish you could trade eyes with me, ‘cause there’s complexities in complexion but your skin, it glows like diamonds” (BROWN SKIN GIRL), “Carry all the power, it’s time to realize it, they’ll never ever take my power” (MY POWER) and “Be your own king, make nobody come rule your world” (ALREADY).

But one of the most original track is SCAR. Following the story of the movie character, we go deep into his thoughts and regrets of the life he led. This helps humanizing such a dark and complex character, often regarded as a mere villain: “Don’t you grow to be like me, I’m under sinking to the darkest sea”. This helps humanizing such a dark and complex character, often regarded as a mere villain: “Don’t you grow to be like me, I’m under sinking to the darkest sea”.

THE GIFT is a cultural and musical experience, putting in the spotlight African artists and introducing a more niche type of music to fans of US commercial music.