Who else has a squad like this? Beyonce’s Black Is King celebrity cameos already have fans all up in their feels realizing just how much their Queen Bey is blessed to have such a legendary clique. When we talk about star-studded, this is it.
The 38-year-old “Formation” singer brought together a glowing cast of longtime collaborators, family members, close friends, and up-and-coming talent for her new visual album Black Is King, which is available to stream on Disney+ as of July 31. The album, which follows Beyoncé’s Lion King album, 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift for the live-action remake of the film, is a “passion project” that Bey has reportedly been working on for the past year. Originally conceived of as a companion to Lion King soundtrack, Beyoncé says the film is now “even more relevant” as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to grow across the world.
As such, her visual album enlisted Black artists, designers, choreographers, writers, and more—from British poets Yrsa Daley-Ward and Warsan Shire, to Ghanian-Dutch filmmaker, Emmanuel Adjei—behind the scenes. But the representation doesn’t stop there (nor should it; hopefully, Black Is King becomes proscriptive for this mission). We see Black talent making appearances all throughout Beyoncé’s latest feat. Some cameos are more obvious, whereas others are by artists just beginning to stake out a place in the mainstream. Here’s every Black Is King celebrity cameo we spotted so far.
Black Is King Celebrity Cameos by Artists
Black Is King is chock-full of guest appearances by a number of artists, though some of them are more well-known than others. For the most part, Bey’s collaborators on her The Lion King: The Gift album make their return on Black Is King. That includes Ghanaian artists Lord Afrixana and Shatta Wale, Afropop all-star, Mr. Eazi, rapper Tierra Whack, and songwriter-producer extraordinaire, Pharrell Williams, among others (there are also appearances by Yemi Alade, Busiswa, Ninja, Jessie Reyez, Kelly Rowland, Salatiel, Moonchild Sanelly, Tiwa Savage, and Wizkid).
Black Is King Celebrity Cameos by Family
As with many of Bey’s previous music videos and visual projects, her close friends and family make an appearance. This time around, we get to see Beyoncé’s mother, Ms. Tina Knowles Lawson, and her husband Jay-Z. Bey and Jay-Z’s children—Blue Ivy, 8, Rumi Carter, 3, and Sir Carter, also 3—are all featured in Black Is King, marking a rare glimpse at Bey’s twins.
Black Is King Celebrity Cameos by Celebrities
There’s a special moment on Black Is King in the form of “Brown Skin Girl,” Bey’s anthem for Black and brown feminine beauty. In the visuals for this track, audiences see none other than the Naomi Campbell, South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, and South Sudanese model Aweng Chuol, along with actress Lupita Nyong’o.
Black Is King is available to stream on Disney+ now.
Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.