Beyonce's new highly anticipated visual album Black is King has dropped on Disney+.
The video is billed as a companion to her 2019 album inspired by Disney's live-action remake of The Lion King.
It runs to an hour and 25 minutes and tells the story of a young African king who is cast out from his family and must navigate his own path as he undergoes a journey of "betrayal, love and self-identity".
The story is told through the voices of present-day black artists and features Beyonce's children and husband Jay-Z. Other famous faces to appear include Kelly Rowland, Pharrell Williams, Lupita Nyong'o, and Naomi Campbell.
The cinematographic album was produced over the course of a year and features a diverse cast and crew hailing from the different locations where it was shot, including New York, South Africa, West Africa, London and Belgium.
Beyonce called the work a "labour of love" in an Instagram post.
"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," she wrote.
She said the events of this year made the vision and message of the album even more relevant.
"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."
How the Beyhive feels...
In less than 24 hours since it's release, fans have already taken to Twitter to praise the innovative new work:
Even Orange is the New Black star Uzo Aduba, who parents come from Nigeria, has taken to the platform to share her thoughts:
While Game of Thrones actress Nathalie Emmanuel also shared how emotional the album made her:
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Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada |
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
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Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
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