“Black is King” Producer Jason Baum on Beyoncé & the World of Visual Albums

Black is King, Beyoncé’s 2020 musical film that doubled as a visual companion to The Lion King, was lauded as dazzling, seductive, and, well, regal. Directed in tandem by Beyoncé and the directors Ibra Ake, Blitz the Ambassador, Emmanuel Adjei, and Kwasi Fordjour, the visual album dropped on Disney+ with very little fanfare, typical of the star’s preferred announcement style, or lack thereof.

Revel in 80 Seconds Worth of “Black Is King”

If you haven’t yet watched Beyoncé’s Black Is King on Disney+, this new teaser is designed to seep, image after beautiful image, into your frontal lobe until you decide to watch it. It’s a gorgeous sprint through some of Black Is King‘s most arresting images. Like a perfectly crafted remix, the teaser samples from the work of Beyoncé and her vast, prodigiously talented creative team and hooks you in.

Beyoncé’s “Black is King” Has Arrived

On Sunday, June 28th, the BET Awards celebrated its 20th anniversary and 40th network anniversary. Shortly after the show wrapped, I skimmed Twitter for some reviews. That’s when my phone began to ping. And ping. And ping. It was a little after 1 a.m. My phone never goes off past 11 PM— my family and friends know I’m in bed by then. I got a little worried, wondering what was going on.

But then I saw it—Beyoncé.

All Hail Beyoncé’s New “Black Is King” Trailer

We were still floating from Beyoncé dropping the surprise first trailer for Black Is King on us when Disney+ revealed a new, somehow more gorgeous trailer for the superstar’s upcoming visual album yesterday. And Black Is King really does come from Beyoncé—she wrote, directed, and executive produced this project, based on her music from her album “The Lion King: The Gift,” which she crafted for 2019’s live-action The Lion King.