It makes sense that if a movie includes such a big name in music like Beyoncé, we’d expect a song or two to be made for the movie and get promoted alongside of it. Well, Beyoncé – as Queen Bey does – topped releasing just a song or two. She produced an album comprised of various artists and songs for the 2019 remake of The Lion King and called it The Lion King: The Gift. This album was released on July 19, right after the movie premiered in theaters that same day.

The Lion King: The Gift is an album that reimagines The Lion King story into more modern and culturally appreciative songs than the previous soundtrack. The album interweaves songs and interludes/soundbites from the actual movie scenes for listeners to hear and experience the movie with them, past seeing it in theaters. For this article, I’m solely reviewing the songs themselves; you can find the songs stylized in all caps to make them easily distinguishable from the soundbites.

Since Beyoncé curated The Gift, she’s naturally featured on most of the songs, as is her husband Jay-Z, which is definitely a gift for those who are fans of them. Most of her songs on this album are very inspiring, not unlike her character Nala and the overall story in The Lion King. “BIGGER” starts off the album, a ballad characterized by the banging of drums in the background. She directs the message in this song to her children by telling them they’re “part of something way bigger” and to keep furthering her legacy, like Simba does in The Lion King. The mellow “FIND YOUR WAY BACK” also relates a similar message, but this time in the point-of-view of a daughter and how her father gave her advice to remember her roots.

“DON’T JEALOUS ME” and “JA ARA E” are two songs comprised of Afrobeats where we get to hear more of the culture that The Lion King is based on. The artists behind these selections switch languages seamlessly throughout the songs and continue to elevate the theme of finding your own path in the world and rising above the distractions to achieve something great.

“NILE” is a short song with Beyoncé and rapper Kendrick Lamar where their low voices play well off of each other. The song reminds me of a poem set to music, and I find it very soothing to listen to.

“MOOD 4 EVA” with Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Childish Gambino reminds me of the songs off the couple’s previous joint album, “THE CARTERS,” where Beyoncé showcases her rapping skills. It was wonderful to hear the two talented leads of 2019 The Lion King side-by-side on a record.

Pharell Williams is featured on “WATER” alongside Beyoncé and Salatiel; the cool, flowing beat on this song actually reminds me of water. “BROWN SKIN GIRL” praises all of the brown skin girls, and it’s easily the most influential song for younger girls who are able to really see themselves in mainstream music. My favorite thing about this song is Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s eldest daughter, singing the beginning and ending parts of the song; she sounds absolutely adorable, and it’s impossible not to smile when you listen to her sing!

“KEYS TO THE KINGDOM” and “ALREADY” bring us back to the Afrobeats. “ALREADY” is my favorite song off the album, and people all over the world have begun posting their dance videos to this song – it almost instantly became a dance challenge. “OTHERSIDE” creates a great juxtaposition to “ALREADY” and winds us down as we near the close of the album.

“MY POWER” emulates the climax of The Lion King, where Scar and Simba meet years after Mufasa’s death. “They’ll never take my power” is repeated in the chorus of this uplifting song and can symbolize the power the pride of lions had as they fought for Pride Rock.

The last two songs are “SCAR” and “SPIRIT.” I found a song based around the villain of the film to be an interesting choice to include. We get to see Scar’s point of view, and I think that’s important – we get to realize the motives of Scar’s evil choices and why he ultimately felt closed off from the other lions. And, of course, “SPIRIT” is the perfect song to finish off this album of many sounds. We start with Beyoncé and get to end with Beyoncé and her powerhouse vocals. “SPIRIT” sounds quite similar to the most famous song from the original film, “Circle of Life.” It is a wonderful ode, tying two soundtracks together and two significant moments in cinematic history.