Thread of East African references in Black is King

(please don’t take me seriously except for when I am)

“Mabavu katika mawingu” is Kiswahili so there’s that

“Milimaniiiiii” is a hood in Nairobi, the name of the law courts and also a Kiswahili word, so again...there’s that

In that Mood 4eva video we clearly see Bey with a white mug. What is in it? is it Fahari ya Kenya kutoka Ketepa? Possibly!

In “Water” we clearly hear her say “meet me down by the river”. Here she is referring to River Nyando, Luos know that River Nyando is not navigable and often floods nearby areas, which is why Beyoncé proposes bringing down the moon “so we can go all night” (tide affect floods)

Still on Water, Beyoncé’s choreography was giving us Music fests nationals vibes. Why? Was the Bomas of Kenya behind these moves and reimagined sisal skirt??

We then come to the issue of Brown Skin Girls, also known as “For Luo girls, when the colourism is enuf!”

Here we see Beyoncé’s selection of BSG namely Amondi, Aweng and Adut! As we know, the Luo nation spans 8 East and Central African countries from Ethiopia to Congo, Amondi was also born in Mexico and therefore also reps Afrolatinx as well as East Africans

Alafu hapo tukiimbiwa “mabavu katika mawingu” the kids by the river have the same body paint and flower crowns as the Nuba people of South Kordofan. Leni Refinstahl aliwafetishize na kuwaexploit sana sana so ukimgoogle you’ll see the exact references

If you look at the album cover you might think Beyoncé used two lions because it’s inspired by the Lion King... but do you know what else has two lions?

Correct!

You know how before lockdown when you’d be driving past Limuru to sides za viewpoint and there’s those roadside stalls with cowhides and sheep hats? Does that wall look familiar?

So as you accuse Bey of erasing East Africans by mainly using Ghanaian, South African and Nigerian artists, cultures and references while reimagining a story that also used East African landscapes, animals & language while completely erasing its people... remember Hakuna Matata