Some of Africa’s biggest music stars look set for success on a global scale having been handpicked by US singer Beyoncé to appear on her Lion King-inspired album.

While Nigerian stars like Wizkid and Burna Boy have already broken through to the mainstream in the UK and US, their collaboration with the superstar in The Lion King: The Gift is bound to give their careers a bigger boost.

The 14-track companion piece to the Disney film is filled with sounds akin to music currently rocking the continent. Beyoncé, who curated and produced the project, has called it a “love letter to Africa”.  “I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sound or my own interpretation of it,” she told ABC News.

“I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa.”

Dilution or a new direction?

From lyrics in English, Swahili, Pidgin English, Zulu, Xhosa and Yoruba, the project incorporates several genres from Afrobeats, pop, R&B, hip-hop, and the South African version of house music known as Gqom.

“A lot of the drums, chants, all of these incredible new sounds mixed with some of the producers from America, we’ve kind of created our own genre”, Beyoncé told ABC.

African acts featured include Nigeria’s Tekno, Yemi Alade, Mr Eazi and Tiwa Savage, as well as Cameroon’s Salatiel, and South Africa’s Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly. Several African producers also have credits on the album.

Alade said some artists claim to want to pay homage to their roots but are “all talk and no action”. This is not true of Beyoncé, she told the BBC. “For someone of that calibre to dedicate time and effort to Africa, it goes to show our worth,” she added.

//SC//BBC//