BuzzJack Music Forum _ R&B and Hip-Hop _ The Lion King: The Gift
Posted by: Dexton 16th July 2019, 12:11 PM
Beyoncé’s own project inspired by The Lion King. Supposedly featuring some of her favourite artists and also includes the Nala solo ‘Spirit’ that is also on the movies soundtrack. The full album comes out Thursday/Friday to coincide with the movies official release.
So far we don’t know... anything about the track list but who do you think could feature? Will it be as all-star as the Black Panther soundtrack curated by Kendrick Lamar last year or will it feature more African/cultural musicians? Discuss until we get a soundtrack
Posted by: Theonix 16th July 2019, 02:57 PM
1. Beyoncé – Bigger 2. Beyoncé – Find Your Way Back (Circle Of Life) 3. Tekno, Yemi Alade, & Mr. Eazi – Don’t Jealous Me 4. Burna Boy – Ja Ara E 5. Beyoncé & Kendrick Lamar – The Nile 6. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, & Childish Gambino – Mood 4 Eva 7. Salatiel, Pharrell, & Beyoncé – Water 8. Blue Ivy Carter, St. Jhn, Wizkid, & Beyoncé – Brown Skin Girl 9. Tiwa Savage & Mr Eazi – Keys To The Kingdom 10. Beyoncé – Otherside 11. Beyoncé & Shatta Wale – Already 12. Tierra Whack, Beyoncé, Busiswa, Yemi Alade, & Moonchild Sanelly – My Power 13. 070 Shake & Jessie Reyez – Scar 14. Beyoncé – Spirit
Kendrick *.* Blue Ivy *.* Jay *.* Cannot WAIT for this!!!
Posted by: Jade 16th July 2019, 03:01 PM
The Jadakissnia impact of Moonchild Sanelly being on the album *.* Excited for that song, 'The Nile' and 'Mood 4 Eva' the most!
Posted by: Jordan Lee 16th July 2019, 04:06 PM
I wonder how this will chart.
Will it chart in the main albums under Motion Picture.... (like what TGS and ASIB did) or will be a Madonna Evita and chart as Beyoncé or will it chart as a compilation
Posted by: Jonjo 16th July 2019, 05:13 PM
QUOTE(Jordan Lee @ Jul 16 2019, 05:06 PM)
I wonder how this will chart.
Will it chart in the main albums under Motion Picture.... (like what TGS and ASIB did) or will be a Madonna Evita and chart as Beyoncé or will it chart as a compilation
It'll be a 'Black Panther' situation I think. Whereas the soundtrack is credited as "Original Cast Recording" so will chart in the main chart.
Posted by: troylovesmusic 19th July 2019, 10:30 AM
Absolutely love this Album. Beyonce and Co definitely represented the African Culture on this .
Posted by: lewistgreen 19th July 2019, 03:51 PM
Posted by: Theonix 22nd July 2019, 11:16 AM
Brown Skin Girl is #35 in today's midweeks, it would be good if at least one track from the album charted top 40 as it definitely hasn't had the impact that I expected
Posted by: blacksquare 22nd July 2019, 11:56 AM
QUOTE(Theonix @ Jul 22 2019, 12:16 PM)
Brown Skin Girl is #35 in today's midweeks, it would be good if at least one track from the album charted top 40 as it definitely hasn't had the impact that I expected
Absolutely no impact — even look at the lack of discussion on Buzzjack.
I don't think people even realise there is an almost entire new Beyoncé album out. And it's great.
Posted by: Theonix 22nd July 2019, 01:00 PM
QUOTE(blacksquare @ Jul 22 2019, 12:56 PM)
Absolutely no impact — even look at the lack of discussion on Buzzjack.
I don't think people even realise there is an almost entire new Beyoncé album out. And it's great.
Agreed - Buzzjack isn't the best barometer though, you just have to look at the Homecoming thread to see buzz for Bey is at an all time low here
I didn't know that Raye has a writing credit on Bigger though! It's probably my favourite at the moment although I haven't listened to the full album that much, it's all very strong though and it's continuing to grow on me
This review from the BBC is a very interesting read! I'll post the full article in the post below: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49035502
Posted by: Theonix 22nd July 2019, 01:03 PM
Beyoncé's Lion King album is more about Beyoncé than The Lion King
Following in the footsteps of Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther, Beyoncé has released a 14-track album to accompany Disney's remake of The Lion King.
"This is sonic cinema," said the star, who plays Nala in the film, as she announced the record, called The Gift.
Many of her collaborators are familiar - from Jay-Z and Pharrell to her Lion King co-star Childish Gambino.
But the album also highlights artists and producers from Africa, who rarely get mainstream exposure in the West.
Among them are Nigerian stars Wizkid and Tiwa Savage, South Africa's Moonchild Sanelly and Ghana's Shatta Wale; while the record features lyrics in Swahili, Yoruba and Afrikaans, amongst others.
"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," the star told ABC News ahead of the record's release.
"I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa."
The Gift is a companion piece to the official Lion King soundtrack, featuring songs inspired by the story and its setting, rather than new interpretations of Circle of Life or Hakuna Matata.
And the album is unmistakably a Beyoncé hangout: The star appears on all but four of the songs, and her lyrical preoccupations - motherhood, female empowerment, the general awesomeness of Beyoncé - get more prominence than The Lion King itself.
Songs directly inspired by the film include the light-footed Find Your Way Back, in which Mufasa passes on fatherly advice to a young Simba; and Otherside, a quietly-turbulent ballad about the King's death, which features a brief callback to Beyonce's megahit Halo.
African chants and rhythms are woven into the fabric of the album, lending it a melodic warmth that was missing from the star's last project, Everything Is Love.
Like that record, this is a family affair, with Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z referencing Nelson Mandela and Fela Kuti on the braggadocious Mood 4 Eva; and her 7-year-old daughter Blue Ivy getting her first writing credit on Brown Skin Girl.
The latter song, with its message of black pride ("your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story") bears the least thematic relevance to The Lion King, but the compelling vocal and syncopated clicks-and-sticks rhythm make it an undeniable highlight.
Of the non-Beyoncé tracks, Tiwa Savage and Mr Eazi's Keys To The Kingdom is a laid-back, if inessential, ode to Simba's potential; while Tekno, Yemi Alade and Mr Eazi's Don't Jealous Me, delivered partly in Nigerian Pidgin English, puts a fun twist on Scar's preening superiority.
"Sheep don't run with lion / Snake don't swing with monkey / I can't talk for too long / Got too much gold to try on."
The final track is The Lion King's Oscar-baiting new ballad, Spirit, which premiered earlier this week with a lavish, spiritual video filmed at Arizona's Havasu Falls.
A powerful Beyoncé solo number, it opens with a Swahili chant "Uishi kwa muda mrefu mfalme" (long live the king) - but quickly falls back on musical theatre cliché, right down to final chorus's forced key change.
It feels out-of-step with the diaspora-hopping richness of the rest of the album; ultimately showing that Beyoncé is at her best when she's innovating.
Posted by: Cremey 23rd July 2019, 07:01 AM
It’s odd how this just seems to be passing people by, especially with how well the film is doing as well. I’m loving it. FIND YOUR WAY BACK, ALREADY and DON’T JEALOUS ME are my favourites at the moment but it’s really solid overall.
I love Spirit but its use in the film was one of the things I thought worked least successfully. Would’ve been much better with He Lives in You used then instead I think.
Posted by: blacksquare 23rd July 2019, 09:54 AM
QUOTE(Cremey @ Jul 23 2019, 08:01 AM)
It’s odd how this just seems to be passing people by, especially with how well the film is doing as well. I’m loving it. FIND YOUR WAY BACK, ALREADY and DON’T JEALOUS ME are my favourites at the moment but it’s really solid overall.
I love Spirit but its use in the film was one of the things I thought worked least successfully. Would’ve been much better with He Lives in You used then instead I think.
It seems similar to what happened with the Lorde Hunger Games soundtrack — it's hard to sell a soundtrack album that isn't actually used in the film.
FIND YOUR WAY BACK sounds like a massive hit — it's a shame it's going to go by unnoticed.
Posted by: blacksquare 23rd July 2019, 09:58 AM
My heart
Posted by: Bré 23rd July 2019, 04:48 PM
Have listened to most of the tracks on here out of interest, I feel like I should be enjoying them a lot more than I am as I usually love African inspired music but most of what I've heard has done pretty much nothing for me (even the Kendrick track didn't really impress me, just sounded like a forgettable interlude ) - I have got 3 good songs out of it though, absolutely loving 'MY POWER' and I liked 'DON'T JEALOUS ME' and 'ALREADY' quite a bit too. 'MOOD 4 EVA' and 'JA ARA E' are also fairly good, I can leave the rest ~
Kind of a shame that this soundtrack isn't getting much traction though as Tierra Whack could really use some more mainstream exposure.
Posted by: dannjohn 23rd July 2019, 08:47 PM
'otherside' is the best moment here.
Posted by: troylovesmusic 24th July 2019, 11:59 AM
People need to stop sleeping on this Album it’s GREAT ! . WATER , ALREADY , MY POWER , BROWN SKIN GIRL , DON’T JEALOUS ME and MOOD 4 EVA are probably my standouts but I pretty much enjoy the whole Album
Imagine if this were another big female though her fans would be in full force making a mockery of them.
I don’t get why she released this tbh. The songs aren’t really in the movie nor do they fit the theme of the Lion King in my opinion the solo stuff with no features especially. I think maybe If the songs were in the film it could’ve perhaps done better but her name alone should’ve at least put her on 10x those sales she’s on at least!
It might be a lie tbh as it is The Sun Imagine if this were another big female though her fans would be in full force making a mockery of them. I don’t get why she released this tbh. The songs aren’t really in the movie nor do they fit the theme of the Lion King in my opinion the solo stuff with no features especially. I think maybe If the songs were in the film it could’ve perhaps done better but her name alone should’ve at least put her on 10x those sales she’s on at least!
The Sun article is garbage. That number doesn't include streaming. It has no physical release. Are we really surprised people aren't buying it on iTunes? The Greatest Showman is not comparable — that film and soundtrack are all about the music. This isn't even featured in the film. It's hard to sell something that is for The Lion King but isn't in the Lion King, as well as a Beyoncé album that isn't actually a Beyoncé album. I did think there would be more promotion though, or something. It's ridiculous how most people don't even realise it exists.
Either way, I don't think she cares. It's not a soundtrack, it's an accompanying piece inspired by Africa and African artists with a positive message about black excellence. I think she values that more than anything — it's connecting with the people that have actually listened to it, BROWN SKIN GIRL especially.
Posted by: blacksquare 26th July 2019, 12:48 PM
QUOTE(Theonix @ Jul 26 2019, 01:43 PM)
MOOD 4 EVA has been added to Radio 1's playlist!
The bop of the album!
I'm ready for Beyoncé to drop her rap album in 2020 and watch everyone have a meltdown.
Posted by: Theonix 26th July 2019, 04:18 PM
QUOTE(blacksquare @ Jul 26 2019, 01:46 PM)
The Sun article is garbage. That number doesn't include streaming. It has no physical release. Are we really surprised people aren't buying it on iTunes? The Greatest Showman is not comparable — that film and soundtrack are all about the music. This isn't even featured in the film. It's hard to sell something that is for The Lion King but isn't in the Lion King, as well as a Beyoncé album that isn't actually a Beyoncé album. I did think there would be more promotion though, or something. It's ridiculous how most people don't even realise it exists.
Either way, I don't think she cares. It's not a soundtrack, it's an accompanying piece inspired by Africa and African artists with a positive message about black excellence. I think she values that more than anything — it's connecting with the people that have actually listened to it, BROWN SKIN GIRL especially.
Ugh everything you say is so on point! I haven't even read the article because Sun but comparing it to the biggest non Adele/Ed Sheeran album of the decade is a reach...
I'm really enjoying this now, Find Your Way Back has just hit me big time Bigger is kind of similar to Superpower/the Beyoncé album, I'm just so shocked that Raye wrote an actual decent song!
Posted by: Theonix 26th July 2019, 05:10 PM
Chart positions this week:
The album debuts at #20 on the compilations chart, we've no idea how many sales that will equate to but it's sales only, not including streams.
#42 Brown Skin Girl #56 Mood 4 Eva #59 Spirit (up from #80) #87 Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Posted by: Theonix 26th July 2019, 06:01 PM
QUOTE(Theonix @ Jul 26 2019, 06:10 PM)
The album debuts at #20 on the compilations chart, we've no idea how many sales that will equate to but it's sales only, not including streams.
Scrap that, it sold 1060 which is downloads only - not terrible but still not great :/
Sales of the top 75 singles are:
Brown Skin Girl 12,745 Mood 4 Eva 9,326 Spirit 9,020
Posted by: Nick Jonas 26th July 2019, 06:13 PM
QUOTE(Theonix @ Jul 26 2019, 07:01 PM)
Scrap that, it sold 1060 which is downloads only - not terrible but still not great :/
Sales of the top 75 singles are:
Brown Skin Girl 12,745 Mood 4 Eva 9,326 Spirit 9,020
Yeah, streams don’t count towards compilations.
Posted by: Theonix 29th July 2019, 05:29 PM
Debuts at #2 in the US. Taste.
Posted by: troylovesmusic 5th August 2019, 07:50 PM
She can go ahead and make Already a single tbh . That’s a hit waiting to happen with a killer video and strong radio support . There’s also a Already Dance Challenge going on online at the moment .
Posted by: Dexton 6th August 2019, 03:47 AM
A dance challenge? Come on Bey Embrace the trend and push it already! This album so deserves a hit
Posted by: troylovesmusic 6th August 2019, 07:50 PM
QUOTE(Dexton @ Aug 6 2019, 04:47 AM)
A dance challenge? Come on Bey Embrace the trend and push it already! This album so deserves a hit
Yeah she even posted a few of them on her Instagram story yesterday! Hopefully this makes her think about pushing it as a single .
Posted by: Euphorique 10th September 2019, 02:01 PM
2-21-56-79-124-171-OUT
Wow. Already gone from the US charts
Posted by: Infludexton* 25th April 2020, 06:23 AM
I think this was a great song from the album, it’s very smooth and ballady whilst being very subtle. I do like the Swahili outdo too - Mababu Katika Mawingu meaning Grandfather In The Clouds
Posted by: Dexton 31st July 2020, 04:56 PM
The Lion King: The Gift (Deluxe Edition) released today featuring three new tracks: BLACK PARADE, BLACK PARADE (Extended Version), and FIND YOUR WAY BACK (MELO-X REMIX)
I really like this remix! I think the extended version of Black Parade adds more character to the song also although I’m not entirely sure it was necessary to release a “deluxe version” featuring essentially only one new song and a remix
and I liked 'DON'T JEALOUS ME' and 'ALREADY' quite a bit too. 'MOOD 4 EVA' and 'JA ARA E' are also fairly good, I can leave the rest ~