Beyonce offers a true ‘Gift’ of African music in latest album
When I interviewed Nigerian pop duo P-Square in 2015, they made a bold declaration: pop music was coming home. “Our time is now and people seem to be loving listening to African music,” said singer Peter Okoye. “As Africans, it’s our time to shine and I think we are taking over. Our sounds are original, new and fresh in the ears.”
That prediction is coming true. Over the past four years, the music industry has been taking its cues from Africa. This ranges from the myriad African rhythms used in tracks by American producer Diplo and the international rise of Afrobeat stars such as Davido and Mr Eazi, to the Oscar-winning soundtrack for the Afro-centric blockbuster superhero film Black Panther. To ensure the authenticity of the latter, Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson collaborated with the likes of Senegalese singer Baaba Maal and trawled through the sonic archives of South Africa’s International Library of African Music.
The continent’s rich and diverse music industry last week received its biggest boost yet, thanks to Beyonce’s latest project. Described as her love letter to Africa, The Lion
King: The Gift had the pop star curating a compilation of songs inspired by the remake of the 1994 animated Disney classic. That the project has been described as an “alternative soundtrack” to the movie is telling. When the original film came out, music from Africa was limited in its availability and genres. That fed into the 1994 film’s soundtrack and showed an extremely skewed view of African music.
Fortunately, technology has brought the world together. Through music streaming services, we can now access the latest sounds from Africa while appreciating the masters from the past. When you factor all these things together, The Gift becomes a necessity.
Beyonce flew in a host of producers and artists from various African countries to create an album that serves as a superb introduction to what is happening in the African music scene today. Nigerian singer Alade joins compatriot Mr Eazi in
Don’t Jealous Me, in one of several smooth Afrobeat tunes radiating the album, while Cameroon’s Salatiel showcases his sweet croon in Water, an assertive RnB club jam featuring Beyonce and Pharrell Williams. The Ghanaian music genre highlife, a sound characterised by its leisurely tempo and languid melodies, gets an airing, too, with Beyonce singing
Find Your Way Back and the more assertive tempo of Keys to the Kingdom with Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage. Another highlight is My Power. Featuring South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly, the track is pulsating, with a club-friendly vibe that comes from its gqom rhythms, a South African subgenre renowned for its sparse sounds. Interspersed with spoken word interludes from the movie, the album is arresting. As Okoye told me all those years ago, it is original, new and fresh in the ears.