Beyonce Has Helped Usher in a Renaissance for African Artists

Beyoncé has involved various African artists in her projects and many a time introduced them to international audiences. Before Black is King, these include poetry by Kenyan-born Warsan Shire on Lemonade, a quote by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Flawless (2013) and choreography by Tofo Tofo - the Mozambique-based dance group - in the Run the World (Girls) video, writes James Chikomborero Paradza for The Conversation.

In 2019, Beyonce released her album The Lion King - The Gift which featured many African artists.  The album was inspired by the film The Lion King, a live-action remake of the Disney classic. She dedicated the album as "a love letter to people of Africa"

In 2020, her visual album, Black Is King, provided a narrative of African heritage delivered through fashion and beauty. In the visual album, Beyonce incorporated a Pan-African-inspired lens and integrates elements from several African countries. She partners with various African actors, directors, designers, choreographers and musicians, highlighting the continent's diversity. The album boasted of A-list African stars - Ghana's Shatta Wale, Nigeria's Wizkid, Mr Eazi, Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Nija, Cameroon's Salatiel and South Africa's Busiswa Gqulu, Moonchild Sanelly made an appearance. 

Though not as prominently as on Black is King, Beyoncé has included African artists on Renaissance too, particularly on the song Move, which has an Afrobeats-inspired style and features P2J (Nigeria) and GuiltyBeatz (Ghana) as producers, as well as Tems as a writer and performer, added Paradza.