beyonce age

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• Beyoncé's “Black is King”: A self-absorbed ode to “blackness” - WSWS
• Renaissance Man: An Exceptional Painter, Musician, and Filmmaker, Blitz Bazawule Counts Beyoncé, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey Among His Collaborators - Culture Type
• Will Rumi and Sir Carter Be Featured in Future Beyoncé Songs? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Beyoncé's “Black is King”: A self-absorbed ode to “blackness” - WSWS Posted: 13 Sep 2020 11:06 PM PDT   Beyoncé's Black is King: A self-absorbed ode to "blackness" By Nick Barrickman 14 September 2020 Black is King is a musical film and visual album written, produced and performed by US singer Beyoncé, and released July 31 on the DisneyPlus streaming service. The work is inspired by music also performed by Beyoncé in Disney's 2019 remake of the animated film The Lion King and features an all-black cast of actors, musicians as well as behind-the-scenes personnel. Beyoncé's movie-album has been referred to by certain critics as a "masterpiece" and holds an overall rating of 98 percent on film aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 reviews. The formulaic film follows a loose coming-of-age narrative starring a young African prince (played by Folajomi Akinmurele). According to interviews, Beyoncé was inspired to create Black is King after learning about the plight of the South African composer Solomon Linda, who was the original writer of the 1960s international hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." According to one account, Beyoncé wanted "to tell the real story of what happened and show Africa in its regalness and its beauty, because we weren't always slaves." Black Is King poster (Disney) The history behind "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is complex. Linda's 1939 a capella song "Mbube" ("Lion") was performed in Zulu and later adapted by a number of folk artists, including Pete Seeger and the Weavers as "Wimoweh" in the 1950s. The musicians may have been under the impression it was a traditional folk song. In 1961, the doo-wop group The Tokens recorded it as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and it topped the charts in the US. Through various circumstances and lapses, some inevitable as music crosses cultural and national boundaries, and others perhaps not so innocent, Linda was never given proper credit as writer for the international hit. Linda's experience is sad and unfortunate. The weakness of Black is King is that whatever may have been legitimate about its aims has been buried under a deluge of identity politics and racialist mythmaking, as well as the self-absorption and hubris that are the trademark of Beyoncé's musical persona. (As it turns out, the only reference to Linda appears in interviews with various individuals involved in the production of Black is King, making his story largely irrelevant to the piece as a whole.) While the size and complexity of the effort are striking, the subject matter and content of the album are decidedly limited. Although certain melodies, choruses and overall set designs are catchy and even arresting at times, this is about the limit of the album's appeal. The main focus of the album is Beyoncé herself. In a work ostensibly dedicated to righting historical wrongs, the singer is nearly ubiquitous, appearing in dozens of designer outfits by a list of who's who from Paris to New York and Los Angeles. One doesn't need to agree with the claims that Beyoncé has committed the cardinal sin of "appropriating" African culture to note her self-focus lends otherwise interesting cultural and landscape scenes a tawdry quality. The visuals and music to the more upbeat "Don't Jealous Me" and "Already" (featuring Lord Afrixana and Shatta Wale, respectively) and "My Power," as well as on the down tempo "Brown Skin Girl," are catchy, but otherwise unimpressive. The dozens, if not hundreds, of artists and personnel involved in Black is King must be credited with crafting an album that is, at the least, very well produced. The drum programming of "Brown Skin Girl" is particularly warm, giving the rhythm and blues-tinged song a lively boost. Associated with a less self-centered project, the presence of these varying influences and elements might mark a powerful testament to human unity and cooperation. The overall self-absorption coincides with the album's notion of the supposed "royal" heritage of the black-identifying population. The themes of heritage, "bloodlines" and "returning to one's roots" make a constant appearance on Black is King. At one point a narrating voice declares "I can't say I believe in God and call myself a child of God, and then not see myself as a god." Beyoncé at The Lion King European Premiere 2019 (Photo credit–Sassy) In one of the few critical comments on Black is King, the Washington Post 's Karen Attiah noted that the "message that black boys and men are kings and royalty plays like a propagandistic loop through 'Black Is King.'" Attiah added that like the film Black Panther before it, "'Black Is King' nurtures the notion that the only Black African men who deserve to be celebrated and admired are royal ones, and not the healers, the thinkers, the farmers, the craftsmen." This repugnant worship of the aristocratic principle is not accidental. According to Forbes, Beyoncé and her husband, the rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, are billionaires when their wealth is combined. As of 2018, Carter was worth over $900 million while Beyoncé is worth $350 million. Carter's appearance on the song "Mood 4 Eva," in which he boasts of being "the first one to see a 'b' [billion] out these housing buildings," manages to steal the show for the most conceited and obnoxious wealth flaunting on the album. The racialist conceptions behind the album have won the praise of various commentators. "In a move that is both culturally and monetarily astute, Beyoncé is centered on a Black audience that is too often overlooked," says Kinitra D. Brooks in the Post. Fleshing out the views on the album, Brooks adds: "As the question 'Who are you?' repeats again and again, it becomes clear that the film is most interested in what Black folks say to each other and about each other. White people are welcome to watch, but they are not the focus." This is simply foul. What none of the various upper middle class cultural critics bother to explain is how anyone can create an enduring work of art, which by definition sets as its goal the portrayal of life as it is, while adhering to unscientific and regressive racialist views. Nor is it explained how it is possible (although we have some idea) for an "artistic" idea to be "monetarily astute." That such retrograde conceptions prevail in portions of the cultural and entertainment establishment is another sign of the immense degradation of art and culture within a diseased capitalist social system. Rather than "returning to their [racial-ethnic] roots" and excluding others, working people require an accurate appraisal of reality, their common interests and the state of society as a whole. Self-obsessed, multi-millionaire charlatans need not apply. The author also recommends: "Cultural appropriation," "white privilege" and the attacks on rapper Iggy Azalea [20 February 2015] Everything is Love? Beyoncé and Jay-Z flaunt their wealth [27 June 2018] Jay-Z's 4:44: A further display of hubris and self-absorption [24 July 2017]

Renaissance Man: An Exceptional Painter, Musician, and Filmmaker, Blitz Bazawule Counts Beyoncé, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey Among His Collaborators - Culture Type Posted: 09 Sep 2020 10:15 AM PDT A MOMENT IN TIME, a new series of paintings by Blitz Bazawule, is inspired by found photographs he located in markets around the world. The artist first discovered them in Rabat, Morocco, where vendors were selling albums full of old, black-and-white photographs belonging to families they didn't know. In the paintings, which are on view at Fridman Gallery in New York, Bazawule revisits the sites where the images were captured, superimposing the vintage photos on the present day spaces, in effect collapsing time, space, and memory. BLITZ BAZAWULE, "A Moment in Time/Laundromat," 2020 (acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 inches). | © Blitz Bazawul, Courtesy the artist and Fridman Gallery, New York "I started to ask myself, not only am I curious about the people in these photos, I am also curious about the world in which this photo was taken. That photograph represents a moment in time, but time doesn't stand still. We can hold up that photo, which is a moment in time, but that place has changed," Bazawule said in a recent Instagram Live interview. He pointed to the recent bomb blast in Lebanon, at Beirut's port, to illustrate his point. How many families have pictorial memories where the backdrops are now rubble? Bazawule was in conversation on Instagram with James Bartlett, a founder of OpenArt. An art advisory firm that aims to simplify the collecting experience, OpenArt organized the exhibition "Young Artists: One," in partnership with Fridman Gallery. The group show has brought together a diverse selection of 34 artists who vary greatly in terms of the style and subject of their work, years and level of experience, and degree of access to the system that is the art world. Works by Alteronce Gumby, Suzanne Jackson, Amani Lewis, and Al Loving are on view with works by Ambrose, Nanette Carter, Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall, Jamea Richmond Edwards, and Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, as well as Jerome Lagarrigue, Nate Lewis, Lorna Simpson, Purvis Young, and Bazawule, among many others. The reference to "young" in the exhibition title is not about the age of the artists, but rather focuses on what the gallery describes as "new ways in which artists are claiming their voice and proclaiming their existence in the art world." It's a particularly apt lens through which to view Ghana-born, Brooklyn-based Bazawule's multidisciplinary practice. A true renaissance man, he's making moves on the art scene and in the music and film industries. He's traveled the world as a hip-hip artist under the moniker "Blitz the Ambassador" backed by a six-piece band called the Mighty Embassy Ensemble. Chopping it up with Bartlett, who he has known for 15 years, Bazaule characterized his music. He said it's old Highlife sounds mixed with a "DJ Premier-esque" drum beat over which he raps in Twi-English. The artist said he was on a 30-city concert tour when he first encountered the found photographs. "I started to ask myself, not only am I curious about the people in these photos, I am also curious about the world in which this photo was taken." — Blitz Bazawule BLITZ BAZAWULE, "A Moment in Time/Diner," 2020 (acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 inches). | © Blitz Bazawule, Courtesy the artist and Fridman Gallery, New York AN ACCOMPLISHED FILMMAKER, Bazawule's highly praised magnum opus is set in Ghana, his home country. "The Burial of Kojo" is a heart-wrenching story that explores long-held tensions between two brothers and a brave little girl's determination to save one of them, her father, when he goes missing. It's about courage, rivalry, guilt, and betrayal. Music and film dovetailed on the project. Bazawule wrote, directed, and composed the score for the film. Beyond the captivating narrative, the film is shot through with beautiful imagery. A visual masterpiece, each new scene opens with a photographic image—a stunning composition with a mesmerizing color story. Throughout the lyrical film, music is often substituted for dialogue—a risky prospect that pays off. The film won Best Narrative Feature (World Cinema) at the Urbanworld Film Festival (2018), the Nile Grand Prize at the Luxor African Film Festival (2019), and was an official selection at the Pan African Film Festival (2019). The project also caught the attention of Ava DuVernay. Array, her distribution company, picked up the film and it premiered on Netflix in March 2019. When the deal was announced, DuVernay called it a "gorgeous Ghanaian gem. She wrote on Twitter: "I wanted to distribute this film from the minute I heard @BlitzAmbassador was making it. My dream came true." "I wanted to distribute this film from the minute I heard @BlitzAmbassador was making it. My dream came true." — Ava DuVernay The reviews are glowing. Variety said the film was "storytelling brought to gloriously vivid, lyrical life" and "one of the most exciting directorial debuts in recent memory." The New York Times said, "When musicians turn to film directing, it doesn't always work out.… But it more than works out with… this dazzling modern fable." Shadow & Act said Hollywood should sit up and pay attention: The cinematography (by Michael Fernandez) stands out within the landscape of Western cinema that customarily makes lighting, hair, make-up, and wardrobe choices that diminish darker skin tones. Blackness isn't just visible in the film; it's the reference point, the standard. The film's cinematography is more reminiscent of today's Afrobeats music videos than of typical Hollywood representations of Africa. The imagery and settings showcase the diverse experiences and landscapes of Ghana in ways that demonstrate a realistic understanding and appreciation for how Africans experience Africa. Where Hollywood lags behind in depicting African stories, "The Burial of Kojo" does a beautiful job of showing the industry how to catch up. Subsequently, the film has been screened at a selection of museums nationwide, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York during Theaster Gates's Black Artists Retreat, and at the 2019 Whitney Biennial. BLITZ BAZAWULE, "A Moment in Time/Cafe," 2020 (acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 inches). © Blitz Bazawule, Courtesy the artist and Fridman Gallery, New York WORKING ACROSS DISCIPLINES allows Bazawule to access new audiences and expand his reach. Some people are aware of him as a visual artist. Others only know him as a filmmaker. Often there is overlap, with music fans being drawn to his film work, for example. One feeds into the other, audience wise and creatively. Each medium, Bazawule said, sharpens and impacts his skills for the other. "I started as a visual artist first. I did a lot of art and then I started making music. Film has been the happy medium," he told CBS News. He recently landed a lengthy "music video" that required his film skills and benefitted from his artistic and musical experience, as well as his African background. Bazawule was one of several directors of Beyoncé's highly praised visual album "Black is King," which dropped July 31. "I had the utter privilege of being kind of the narrative director," he told Bartlett. "I got to see every piece, almost how the sausage is made. Writing the entire story. Figuring out how we were going to transfer this idea of Africa from being socialized, to think of it only from wildlife and nature, to a place of human beings who are living, who are loving, who are going through their ups and downs." A 2019 TED Fellow and 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Bazawule directed two episodes of the TV series "Cherish the Day," the romantic drama from DuVernay. He's also booked his next big project. Last month Bazawule was tapped to direct a Warner Bros. musical film version of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple." Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones, the film is based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. In 1983, Walker won a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for the novel. According to Deadline, the producers saw "The Burial of Kojo" on Netflix and were moved by his visual style. "We were all blown away by Blitz's unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life," Winfrey told Deadline. "We were all blown away by Blitz's unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life." — Oprah Winfrey "The Burial of Kojo" is currently streaming on Netflix. The film invokes magical realism and also draws on vivid memory, similar to the found photographs that inspired the paintings. A nexus for art, music, and film, Bazawule is essentially a storyteller. "I grew up with my grandmother's stories," Bazawule said to Bartlett. "That's the beginning of my understanding of what stories are and they were always just like that, they wove through these worlds of the real and unreal and when I was making this film, I told myself, 'If my grandmother had a camera, what kind of film would she make?'" CT "Young Artists: One," organized in partnership with OpenArt, is on view at Fridman Gallery in New York, July 7-Sept. 9, 2020, by appointment and via an online viewing room FIND MORE about Blitz Bazawule on his website (coming soon) Trailer for "The Burial of Kojo," a film by Blitz Bazawule, distributed by Array and currently streaming on Netflix. | Video by Array A walkthrough of the group exhibition "Young Artists: One" at Fridman Gallery in New York. Organized in partnership with OpenArt, the show features paintings from Blitz Bazawule's A Moment in Time seres. | Video by Fridman Gallery Trailer for "Black is King," a film by Beyoncé inspired by "The Lion King: The Gift." Blitz Bazawule is one of the directors of the visual album. | Video by Disney+ July 2019: TED Fellow Blitz Bazawule (aka Blitz the Ambassador) and his band the Mighty Embassy Ensemble perform three songs— "Wahala," "Make You No Forget," and "Best I Can"—at TEDSummit 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland. | Video by TEDSummit 2019 SUPPORT CULTURE TYPE Do you enjoy and value Culture Type? Please consider supporting its ongoing production by making a donation. Culture Type is a solo editorial project that requires countless hours and expense to research, report, write, and produce. To help sustain it, make a one-time donation or sign up for a recurring monthly contribution. It only takes a minute. Many Thanks for Your Support.

Will Rumi and Sir Carter Be Featured in Future Beyoncé Songs? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet Posted: 23 Aug 2020 12:00 AM PDT She may be young, but Blue Ivy has already broken a few records with her mother, Beyoncé, and her music. Now, with Sir and Rumi Carter making surprise appearances in the visual album Black is King, fans wonder when it's time for these twins to step into the spotlight. View this post on Instagram I typically keep comments short and sweet, but I just watched the trailer with my family and I'm excited. please don't get me hype "Black Is King" is a labor of love. It is my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year. I've given it my all and now it's yours. It was originally filmed as a companion piece to "The Lion King: The Gift" soundtrack and meant to celebrate the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry. I could never have imagined that a year later, all the hard work that went into this production would serve a greater purpose. The events of 2020 have made the film's vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey. We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change. 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. With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy. I spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs. While working on this film, there were moments where I've felt overwhelmed, like many others on my creative team, but it was important to create a film that instills pride and knowledge. I only hope that from watching, you leave feeling inspired to continue building a legacy that impacts the world in an immeasurable way. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people. This is a story of how the people left MOST BROKEN have EXTRAORDINARY gifts.❤️✊ Thank you to Blitz, Emmanuel, Ibra, Jenn, Pierre, Dikayl, Kwasi and all the brilliant creatives. Thank you to all at Disney for giving this Black woman the opportunity to tell this story. This experience has been an affirmation of a grander purpose. My only goal is that you watch it with your family and that it gives you pride. Love y'all, B A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Jun 28, 2020 at 8:06pm PDT Blue Ivy appeared in a number of Beyoncé's song The eldest of the Carter children has since appeared on a number of songs created by Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z. Blue Ivy even gives Rumi and Sir a shoutout during the song "Boss" by The Carters. The young artist appeared as a featured artist for a number of Beyoncé's hits, including the award-winning song, "Brown Skin Girl." There's the song "Blue," which was included in Beyoncé's self-titled album.  Additionally, Blue Ivy appears in the visual album featuring the music of The Lion King: The Gift, titled Black is King. That's primarily for the song "Brown Skin Girl," where Blue Ivy stands alongside Tina Knowles, Beyoncé, and Rumi Carter. With Rumi and Sir's involvement in Black is King, some wonder when, or if, the twins will step into the spotlight, like their big sister.  Blue Ivy Carter and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter attend the premiere of Disney's 'The Lion King' | Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney Will the twins ever sing with their parents? Being that Sir and Rumi Carter were born in 2017, they still are a little young to appear on a track with their mother. That's not to say Blue Ivy didn't have small roles in Beyoncé's music when she was younger. Some even expect more public appearances from the twins, Sur and Rumi. Although Blue Ivy started making public appearances when she was very young. That includes a stage moment on the MTV VMAs back in 2014. She even accompanied Beyoncé to the premiere of Disney's The Lion King. It wasn't until 2019, though, that the star-on-the-rise sang alongside her mother.  That means if the twins wanted to pursue music, they would probably record songs around the same age. They still pop up periodically, though, as fans saw their birthday party in Beyoncé's annual Instagram recap video. Beyoncé dedicated 'Black is King' to her youngest son Although both of the twins had small roles in Beyoncé's Black is King, the entire production aimed to empower young children. That includes Sir Carter, Beyoncé's only son. After the visual album ended, a special message appeared across the screen. "Dedicated to my son, Sir Carter," the message reads. "And to all our sons and daughters, the sun and the moon sow for you. You are the keys to the kingdom." Hopefully, fans will see more Sir and Rumi Carter appearances in the future. Until then, the photo-real adaptation of The Lion King, featuring the voice of Beyoncé, is available on Disney's streaming platform, as is the visual album, Black is King. To learn more about Disney+ and to subscribe, visit their website.  RELATED: How Beyoncé Turned Disney's 'The Lion King' Into a Celebration of African Culture RELATED: Here's What We Learned About Beyoncé, Her Music, and 'The Lion King' From 'Making the Gift'

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