In Beyoncé's 'Black is King,' African Culture Outshines God
Beyoncé in “Black is King: The Gift.” Photo courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment.
(REVIEW) The creativity and musical brilliance of Queen B is evident in “Black is King: The Gift,” a musical and visual album that was released on Disney+ on July 31. Almost every song on Beyoncé’s album is catchy and carries a powerful message of Black excellence, and many contain odes to religious themes—lots about God combined with the African traditions of ancestors.
Beyoncé also served as writer and executive producer of the musical. “Black is King” is meant to be a companion to the 2019 movie “The Lion King,” in which Beyoncé voiced the role of Nala.
In an Instagram post, Beyoncé revealed that the album was a celebration of the “beauty of Black ancestry.”
“I spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs,” Beyoncé said.
After watching the full 85-minute film I realized that the idol of “Blackness”—or Black skin—replaced God.
In the beginning of the film, Beyoncé is standing on a beach dressed in white, her voice-over saying, “Black is the color of my true love’s skin/ Coils and hair catching centuries of prayers, spread through a smoke/ You are welcome to come home to yourself/ Let Black be synonymous with glory.”
Immediately “Bigger” starts to play, with lyrics stating, “You’re part of something way bigger/ Not just a speck in the universe/ Not just some words in a Bible verse/ You are the living word.”
The Bible (Hebrews 4:12) refers to itself as “the living word,” with Jesus, the son of God, described as “the word made flesh” (John 1:14). The teaching ties into the beginning of creation in the Biblical account, where God speaks humans into being.
With practicing Christianity declining, many are looking for identity in something else. For Black Americans, that often means turning to their African roots.
“Between a terrifying pandemic, a major racial reckoning, an existential crisis that climate change presents, and a government that fails to address any of these things, some Black people are turning to African and Black Diaspora traditions as a means of comfort, community, healing, and liberation,” says a Vox article written by Nylah Burton.
In the film, Beyoncé is twice depicted as the Virgin Mother, with one picturing all of her kids. The film doesn’t have a problem mentioning God, but it has a continuous need to make African culture more important than God.
“You can’t wear a crown with your head down,” another voice-over says in the film. “I can’t say I believe in God and call myself a child of God and then not see myself as a God. That wouldn’t make any sense. I wear my Nefertiti chain every day. I never take it off. I know my history. I did my research. I’m a creator of all things.”
The film ends with “Spirit,” the beginning of the song chanting “Uishi kwa muda mrefu mfalme,” which means “long live the king,” in Swahili.
I enjoyed Beyoncé’s “Black is King: The Gift.” I thought it was a fun and deep way to share Black love and acceptance of one’s differences. But as a Christian, I can’t let the color of my skin be the determining factor of who I am. Who I am needs to always be determined in the love of my savior, Jesus Christ.
Princess Jones is an editorial clerk at the New York Post, recently furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She is a recent alumna of Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee, and of the NYC Semester in Journalism at The King’s College in New York City. She previously interned for Religion Unplugged.