Beyonce set the world of Christian conspiracy theories ablaze with Black is King

Beyonce Black Is King

Beyonce Knowles Carter understands the internet. She understands our obsession with being the first to engage creative bodies of work, with being the first to put out our opinions and verdicts on the messaging, the quality of execution and the intended purpose of the work. For this reason, Beyonce since her self titled album, has spent a significant amount of each album cycle planning the eventual roll out, ensuring collaborators signed NDA’s and keeping as much detail about these project private until the eventual release. This paucity of information creates a corresponding flood when the project is eventually released, ensuring Beyonce project always become cultural events.

Last Friday, the singer released ‘Black is King‘, the visual companion album to her Lion King inspired project ‘The Gift‘ and while the album itself is a visual representation of the songs from the project, these visuals, as from the playbook, has garnered attention on social media.

“Black Is King” is a consistent ambitious interest-based project for Beyoncé as she wrote and directed the project and also appearing as its executive producer. The film adapts the “Lion King” story to a wider narrative of African history and heritage. It also represents Beyoncé’s latest move as a self-directed business figure.

“The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant… I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books…” – Beyonce

Now with this film came all the debate on the authority of the message that Beyonce was passing across the world in her visual representation of the ‘REAL history’ of the African people. Some critics, especially from Africa had shared some reservations about the film even before it was released, many tagged Beyonce a culture appropriator – for the lot, the sole reason was based on the idea of the film setting Africa and Africans backward with visuals from the trailer that hinted the regression of the African people.

On the release of the film, a few people held firm that Beyonce’s version of Africa is wrong and should be frowned at even as some people based their claims on the idea that Beyonce was trying to sell Witchcraft and Idol Worship back to Africans. This will not be the first and certainly not the last time that Beyonce would be associated with Dark Arts. In 2018, a former drummer of the singer made an unsuccessful request for a restraining order against Beyonce, on claims that she uses extreme witchcraft and dark magic. There have been other claims like this – accusing Beyonce of using witchcraft in her art, alongside her husband.

Black is King did not only open that channel up for discussion as it also seemed to garner the internet of Nigerian Christian conspiracy theorists  in particular Delphine Okobah, who went about dissecting every aspect of the visuals with claims of witchcraft and dark arts.

As one of the most successful and talented Black Women in the World with local and international relevance, it was only a matter of time before Beyoncé Knowles started to attract claims that she had achieved her greatness through dark arts. Beyonce as a member of the Illuminati is arguably the best-established Beyoncé conspiracy theory: that she, along with Jay Z, are members of the secret society that controls the world using mind-controlling tactics.

Where it may be true that Beyonce in Black is King explored  African history and heritage, it feels a bit of a stretch to literally interpret the Black is King  visual album as  some indoctrination play book. Yet here we are. The one description that sounds simple in describing this body of work is ‘explore and embrace the rich legacy of your ancestors because it’s part of you.’

For Black people, old and young, Black is King, if nothing else, should inspire them to learn about the history of their race and the ways in which it has shaped the world and where it is now.

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