Regardless of whether or not you’re excited to see Disney’s new star-studded live-action version of The Lion King, we can all agree Beyoncé’s new companion album to the film is something to celebrate. Well, guess what? It’s finally here and, as expected, it’s fantastic.
The 37-year-old Grammy winner announced the arrival of her new The Lion King: The Gift today on Instagram and we’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since. Not only does the collection include confidence boosters like “Bigger” (definitely listen to this before you hit the town) and awesome collaborations featuring Jay-Z, Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar, but Blue Ivy even makes an appearance.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 7-year-old daughter harmonizes with her mom, Saint Jhn and Wizkid in the catchy and empowering tune, “Brown Skin Girl.” She even drops a little solo at the close of the song, proving she definitely has her parents’ beautiful vocal genes. Did we mention Beyoncé gives Lupita Nyong’o and Kelly Rowland shout-outs in the song?
The 14-track album also features a number of African artists as an homage to the land where The Lion King takes place.
“This soundtrack is a love letter to Africa and I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sounds and [sic] did my interpretation of it,” Beyoncé told ABC News in an interview. “I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa…each song tells the story of the film.”
The entire The Lion King: The Gift album is available on Spotify now and is also for sale on iTunes for $12.99.
Calling it now: This is the album of the summer.
