Kenyan singer, Victoria Kimani has expressed displeasure over the absence of Kenyan singers in Beyonce’s upcoming album ‘Lion King:The Gift’.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Tuesday, Beyonce unveiled the track list of her new album, ‘The Lion King: The Gift’, which is the musical accompaniment to the new Disney movie.
The album features six Nigerian pop stars including Yemi Alade, Burna boy, Mr Eazi, Tekno, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage as well as Ghana’s Shatta Wale.
In a tweet, Kimani @victoriakimani said, “As much as we celebrate with our fellow Africans, the obvious exclusion of Kenyans/East Africans on this Soundtrack is depressing.
“The movie was based on Kenya.That’s fine …. Our Queen forgot about US. WE were not represented in her love letter to us. It hurts. That’s all.”
She further stated that Rafiki, Simba and Nala are Kenyan and Disney would have had Lupita Nyongo or Barack Obama on the outro.
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She said, “Since we don’t have artist in East Africa, as much as we celebrate with our fellow Africans.”
Her comments have drawn diverse reactions from Nigerians.
While some support her view, others disagreed on the grounds that the album was solely Beyonce’s project.
@SincerelyAde tweeted; Just to clarify, this project is incorrectly being referred to as the soundtrack for the film but it isn’t that.
The Lion King soundtrack exists and this project has been curated by Beyoncé separate.
@kenzomilan; It’s not a matter of “right” it’s a matter of picking the BEST ARTIST! Beyonce said they only chose the best artist from Africa!
Y’all need to stop this false sense of entitlement when you know damm well that your music isn’t good enough to represent the continent.
@i_am50; She needed the best and famous African artists to work with… Sorry East Africans didn’t make the list, they should work harder (Be marketable).
@jayprxne,The album is a big project, it’s not only about representing, it is about representing well, you want her to gather upcoming singers on the album and expect it to be good, she chose “African bests” Kenyans can only blame their singers for not being popular in Africa, not Beyonce.
NAN reports that the album and the live action remake of ‘Lion King’ will premiere on July 19. (NAN)
