Dissect - BLACK IS KING by Beyonce (Part 2)

Episode Date: March 11, 2021

Our special mini-series on Beyonce’s BLACK IS KING continues with an examination of “Don’t Jealous Me,” “Scar,” and “Nile.” After Mufasa is murdered by Scar’s henchmen, Simba flees his home to live in denial of his true royal identity, setting off his journey outside the Pride Lands. Shop our limited merch for this series at shop.dissectpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @dissectpodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm Cole Kushna. And I'm Titi Shodia. Today we continue our six-part examination of Black is King by Beyonce. On our last episode, we followed the film's protagonist Simba, as he was born from the womb of the universe, and floated down the Nile to the ocean shore where he meets Beyonce, who plays Simba's spirit guide. From here, we watched Simba's life unfold in both the physical and spiritual realms. On Bigger, Simba learned his divine.

significance and royal lineage as he was anointed by a priest in the physical realm and Beyonce in the spiritual realm. On Find Your Way Back, Simba's father, Mufasa taught him to look up at the stars in the physical realm to find guidance from his ancestors in the spiritual realm. This interplay between realms continues as Simba leaves the safety of his home and ventures out into the world. We see an aerial view over a present-day African neighborhood filled with dilapidated buildings while we hear the voice of Scar, establishing this as his territory. Go back to your den, Simba. I don't babysit.

The fact that Scar refuses to babysit Simba suggests that he'll be left alone to play without any adult supervision as he embarks out into the world for the first time on his own. Fittingly, we next see Simba by himself, running up to a building. He stops outside the building and bends over to catch his breath. This shot seems to illustrate the line, I got big enough to run around Daddy left me outside from Find Your Way. back. These lyrics suggest that Simba's father has granted him the freedom to play outside in the big world under the assumption that Simba has learned what he needs to find his way back home.

We also notice that Simba is wearing the same white pants he wore on the beach with Beyonce during bigger and is still marked with the same white paint on his face and body. Given this fact, it's unclear whether we're now in the real world, if we're still in the spiritual realm, or perhaps some blurred version of both simultaneously, where symbology is used to represent deeper significance of events taking place in the physical. realm. The first symbol we see is a capuchin monkey standing in front of the building and waving at Simba. We then hear a voiceover from Beyoncé. Life is a set of choices. Lead or be led astray. While Beyonce narrates the choice that's been set before Simba, the monkey walks through a

doorway into a dark warehouse. Simba walks over to the doorway and seemingly contemplates whether he should follow that monkey into the warehouse. We then hear another voiceover from Beyonce. Follow your light or lose it. Beyonce's use of the word light is likely a reference to the scene from the Lion King in which Mufasa shows Simba the view from the top of Pride Rock and says, Everything the light touches is our kingdom. Later on in their dialogue, Mufasa specifically forbids Simba from going to the land

beyond the shadows. It seems likely that the dark warehouse in Burroughs. Black is king is the spiritual equivalent of the land of the shadows in the Lion King. So Simba should know that he's forbidden to enter the warehouse. But just as Beyonce says, follow your light or lose it, Simba follows the monkey into the dark warehouse. Once inside, we see a number of children who remain still and silent as Simba walks by. Simba notices a man walking toward him wearing a white suit, gold jewelry, and an albino-Bermese python draped over his shoulders. This intimidating character is played by Ghanaian musician and songwriter, Lord Africana,

who appears to be playing the ringleader of the children in the warehouse. He stops in front of Simba, leans over to look him in the eyes, and speaks. Young boy. Does your father, I knew you at here? Huh? Who? You see this? You sit in silence, Sam?

What are you afraid of? Huh? What are you scared of? Who? Due to uncertainty or fear, Simba is unable to say who he is, what he wants, and what he's capable of.

Most importantly, Simba seems to be shying away from his identity as the future king. Having strayed from his father's protection, Simba is now vulnerable to negative influences that seek to distort Simba's sense of identity. Yet even while Simba's father is not present, The next shot reveals that Beyonce is standing in a large open door of the warehouse. She's wearing the same white gown we saw her wearing in bigger, where she was first established

as Simba's guiding spirit. She's now lit from behind, and this image of light shining into the dark warehouse seems to recall the visuals for Find Your Way Back. It was there that Beyonce danced in front of the stars as she sang, Daddy used to tell me, look up at the stars, it's been a long time, but remember who you are. And so it seems Beyonce's appearance at the door in this moment, suggests that Simba could reclaim his identity and find his way back if he would just walk out the open door that his guardian's spirit is trying to show him. However, Simba never looks in Beyonce's direction. His eyes remain transfixed on the snake man as his body is entranced by the rhythm of the film's next song, Don't Jealous Me.

Don't Jealous Me was produced by Beyonce and Nigerian producer P2J. In addition to the Ghanaian-born Lord Africana, the song also features three Nigerian artists, Techno, Mr. Easy, and Yami Alade. The majority of the music in Black is King can be classified under the wide umbrellas of Afrobeats. Afrobeats is a blanket term used to describe a multitude of African subgenres that emerge in Nigeria and Ghana beginning in the mid-2000s. Afrobeats represents the fusion of numerous stylistic elements, including hip-hop, British House, dance hall, Soca, juju music, high life, Ndombollo, Naija Beats, Azzanto, and Palm Wine music. What most of these African subgenres have in common is their emphasis on rhythm,

a feature that can be traced back to rhythm being an integral part of many African cultures. Many African languages actually don't have a word for rhythm, or even music. for that matter, as it's not viewed as something that exists outside of life and movement itself. Rhythm is everywhere in our spoken languages, in our footsteps, in our dance, and in the sustained silences between the actions. To quote famed Nigerian drummer Babatundi Ola Tungi, Rhythm is the soul of life. The whole universe revolves in rhythm. Everything and every human action revolves in rhythm. Resembling the complexities and unpredictability of the movements of life in the universe,

African musical traditions are rich with polyrhythmic textures, meaning two or more rhythms playing simultaneously, and syncopation, the accentuations of unexpected offbeats. These rhythmic traditions were brought to the Caribbean and Americas by enslaved survivors of the transatlantic slave trade, and elements of these rhythms, particularly simplified aspects of polyrhythms and syncopation have been used to form some of the structural foundations of genres like jazz, reggae, rock and roll, among others. We're going to use Don't Jealous Me to exemplify how these types of rhythmic patterns are used in Afrobeats. Specifically, we're going to hone in on two key elements, beginning with the song's kick drum.

Here we have what's commonly referred to as a four on the floor pattern, meaning the bass drum plays all four down beats in a measure. I'm going to count these downbeats now, and I want you to notice how the kick drum lands on every beat strictly. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. This four on the floor pattern is commonly used in many dance genres across the world, as it provides a persistent, extremely steady pulse, mimicking the human heartbeat. In many Western genres, this pattern is typically paired with a snare drum that lands on the downbeat of counts two and four. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. You've heard this pattern used thousands of times. It's extremely common, especially in Western electronic dance music. Though very effective,

it's also technically speaking extremely basic, as each snare hit falls on the downbeat. But in in Don't Jealous Me, we get a syncopated rhythm, which subverts our Western inclination to accent the downbeat. Here we get what's called a clave rhythm. It begins on the downbeat of one, then hits the offbeat just before the downbeat of 2, then another offbeat between 2 and 3. Finally, we get a hit just before the downbeat of beat 4, and then the downbeat of beat 4. I know this probably sounds like a foreign language to most of you, but as I play the passage again, I want you to notice how this rhythm bobs and weaves around the downbeat, around my 4 count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3.

So we get that strong, steady pulse of the kick drum, and that more, complex clave rhythm stacked on top of it, creating an extremely infectious danceable loop. Additional percussion instruments are added to this foundation, all of which add to the syncopated complexity of the beat. We're going to find this technique of four on the floor pair with the syncopated rhythm and many of the songs on Black as King, which includes the previous track Find Your Way Back. Let's quickly back up and hear a bit of that song again, and see if you can spot that four on the floor bass drum and a syncopated rhythm on top of it. Now again, that same rhythmic technique on Don't Jealous Me.

In many ways, Don't Jealous Me is the perfect example of how African music can amplify the heartbeat of a listener and stimulate their body to dance along with the rhythms of their environment. In her making the gift documentary, Beyonce specifically highlighted how don't jealous me was inspired by African dance culture. We wanted to make sure we really captured the essence of the dance culture in Africa. There's a freedom to the way you dance when you hear don't jealous me. As Beyonce noted, the rhythm of don't jealous me evokes a sense of freedom. It's the kind of freedom that young people all over the world experience when they flock to dance halls, nightclubs, and warehouses where they can dance the night away. Freedom is clearly something that Beyonce wants us to celebrate.

At the same time, any of us who has grown up has had to learn that with greater freedom comes a greater need for responsibility. Young Simba has yet to learn the importance of this lesson, and as a result, Simba's sense of responsibility seems to be eroding under the influence of Lord Afrikaana's character. Lord Afrika Lord Africana sings

For too long Got too much Go to triumph Sheep don't run with lion Snake don't swing with monkey I can talk for too long Got too much go to triumph Lord Africana sings

Sheep don't run with lion Snake don't swing with monkey Within these lyrics Lions and large snakes seem to be related As both are apex predators Strong enough to dominate an ecosystem In contrast

Sheep and monkeys are weaker animals who have historically been prey for lions and snakes. Moreover, within standard English idioms, the phrase like sheep and the phrase monkey sea monkey do, both refer to people who follow someone else's actions without critical thought. This dichotomy between leaders and followers echoes the words that Beyonce spoke when Simba first arrived outside the warehouse. Life is a set of choices. Lead or be led astray. After being introduced to the this dichotomous choice, we then watch Simba be led by a monkey into the warehouse. Then in the warehouse, Simba met Lord Afrikanah's character who had a large snake draped over him.

It's clear now that the snake is a symbol that marks Lord Africana as a leader, while the monkey marks Simba as one who is vulnerable to the influences of his surroundings. Fittingly, over the course of Don't Jealous Me, a progression of shots to pick Simba gradually being led astray. First, we see Simba walk to a shiny bicycle. that has the python draped over it. By the time Simba begins to curiously inspect the bike, the python has suddenly vanished. Next we see Simba join a group of men gambling with street dice. The men encourage Simba to roll the dice and celebrate when Simba wins a stack of money. Simba throws the money up into the air as if he's making it rain at a strip club.

Finally we see Simba sitting in a chair, wearing a smaller version of the white suit that Lord Afrikanah's character is wearing. However, instead of a snake, Simba has a monkey sitting next to him. This sequence shows how Simba's unchecked curiosity has turned him from a snake who can lead to a monkey who is led. It's also interesting to note that throughout the visuals for Don't Jealous Me, Beyonce appears inside the warehouse, wearing a shiny dress and holding the python. This image seems to suggest that even while Simba has lost himself in the darkness of the warehouse, Simba's guardian spirit continues to be a source of light and a reminder that Simba is meant to be a leader who embodies the snake rather than the monkey. Lord Africana goes on to sing,

I can't talk for too long, I got too much gold to try on. These lyrics show how Lord Afrikanis character is so focused on amassing wealth that he's unwilling to listen to the thoughts and concerns of others. This self-centered way of life stands in direct contrast to what Mufasa taught Simba when he asked about going to the land beyond the shadows. You must not go there, Simba. But I thought a king could do whatever he wants. Take any territory.

While others search for what they can take, A true king searches for what he can give. While Lord Africana raps about ignoring others while he looks to adorn himself with more gold, Mufasa taught that a true king looks for what he can give to others. And while Lord Africana focuses on differences between predators and prey, Mufasa focuses on equality of all creatures. Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that.

balance and respect all the creatures. Bufasa here exposes the traditional African perspective that each member in the community plays an irreplaceable role in bringing balance to the social ecosystem. If everyone fulfills their role, then the entire ecosystem can thrive. However, if the leaders of the society begin to take more than they can give, other members will become dissatisfied with their roles. These dissatisfied members will then become jealous of those with greater wealth and status. Here in the chorus, Lord Afrikanah's character observes that others are jealous of his wealth and status,

though this awareness does not persuade him to moderate his lifestyle. Instead, Lord Afrikanah warns jealous individuals by saying, Don't you come for me? This prohibitive command seems to imply that Lord Afrikanah will use violence to dominate anyone who tries to take his money or his role as the leader. This theme of dominant leaders is further highlighted by the second verse of don't jealous me. The second verse is The Nigerian artist Yemi Alade. Yemi's verse displays the diversity of Nigerian cultures by utilizing at least five different languages

tied together by the motif of dominant leaders. She begins by saying, Odogu, I beg make them talk. We go give them action. Odoogu is a word that means great man in the language of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria, and it's typically used as a title for someone who has accomplished something extraordinary. The lines, I beg make them talk, we go give them the action, are spoken in Nigerian Pigeon English and roughly translate to,

please let them talk, we will take action against them. Coming after the reference of Odogu, these lines seem to imply that truly great men will use forceful actions to silence anyone who talks negatively about them. Later in the verse, Yemi goes on to list several terms for leaders in Africa, including Othumba, which signifies the king's right-hand man in the Yorba language, and Oga, which means boss in Yurba. She then says Saidi, which means master in the language of the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. Next she cites Manza, as in Mansa, a title for the emperor of the Mali Empire.

The most famous Manza was Mansa, who's known to have amassed so much gold that some historians believe he was the richest person who ever lived. After referencing all these African leaders, Yemi says Yaro, clear road. Yaro means young boy in the Hasa language. Meanwhile, Clear Road is used to mean get out of the way. Yemi seems to be suggesting that true African leaders are too important to be inconvenienced by small children or anyone else who might get in the way. the way. This thoughtless and domineering attitude expressed to a young boy seems to echo the way in which Lord Africana's character has been treating the children in the warehouse. The prevalence of such bad leadership serves to further highlight the importance for young people to heed Beyonce's

early warning to lead or be led astray. In addition to the lyrics that Yami sings, we also notice the red dress she wears throughout most of her performance, which is in line with red being the dominant color in the video as a whole. For instance, Simba entered the warehouse through a curtain with a red stripe running down the middle. Later, Lord Africana holds a red bandana while standing in a room with red walls. The group of men who taught Simma to play street dice are all wearing red, and as Simba rolls the dice, the camera pans down to reveal that Simba is wearing red shoes. Given that the color red is often used to symbolize danger, its use here seems to highlight that the influences leading Simba astray are steering him into real trouble.

The impending danger becomes more apparent during the first chorus of Don't Jealous Me. The film cuts to a shot of Scar wearing a red and black shirt with a red and white jacket. He walks alongside two men also dressed in red. Then during the second chorus, the film cuts to a shot of Scar sitting on Mufaus' throne. On Scars left and right are two motorcycles with red horns, which resemble the same horns on the drum we saw Scar play earlier. As the camera jump cuts to a closer zoom, Scar opens his mouth wide as if he's letting out a roar. As Don't Jealous Me ends, Simba walks down a dark hallway. The white paint Simba had on his face and body is now reduced to a faint layer of white residue,

suggesting that he's nearly lost the spiritual awareness of his identity as the anointed king. Simba looks increasingly frightened as he turns to leave the hallway. The film cuts to a shot of a group of motorcycles turning on their headlights in the night. They are the same red motorcycles with red horns we saw Scar with earlier and are being ridden by men wearing all red, just like the men who were walking with Scar earlier. The motorcycles drive into the Zulu Village that we last saw just before the beginning of the warehouse scene. As we mentioned earlier, the Zulu Village seems to be a place in the physical realm of the film, while the warehouse seems to be a place in the spiritual realm. Fittingly,

the next shot shows that Simba is no longer dressed in the white pants of the spiritual realm, but instead wearing the royal leopard pelts he wore when he was anointed. with the white paint in the physical realm. Simba looks on and wonder as he watches one of the motorcycles fly through the air. We then see Simba walk over to touch the headlight of one of the motorcycles. This image of Simba following someone else's light contrasts with Beyonce's earlier warning to follow your light or lose it. At the same time, the image of Simba being drawn to touch the motorcycle

seems to mirror an earlier shot in the warehouse where Simba was drawn to touch a bicycle that had a snake draped over it. This parallelism seems to confirm our interpretation. that the events depicted in the warehouse are meant to reveal the deeper significance of events happening in the physical world. This parallelism continues as the next shot shows the group of men in red suits teaching Simba to ride a motorcycle. Similar to the group of men in red suits who taught Simba to gamble with the street dice. As Simba sits on the motorcycle and laughs, we hear dialogue between Simba and his friend Nala from the Lion King film. This dialogue comes from the scene in which Simba and Nala go to explore that.

elephant graveyard. Recall that Scar strategically mentioned the graveyard in order to draw Simba into the jaws of the hyenas. When the plot failed, Scars set up another trap in which the hyenas drove a herd of wildebeests towards Simba in the hope of killing Simba and Mufasa. Fittingly, the next shot in Black as King shows the men riding their motorcycles in a circle around Simba. As Simba looks at the motorcycles, his smile slowly drops into a look of concern. The film cuts to a shot of Mufus. The film cuts to a shot of Mufasa, who seems to have come to protect Simba from danger. When we see one of the motorcycles driving directly at Simba and Mufasa, Mufasa pushes Simba out of the way and holds up his hand in an attempt to stop the motorcycle.

We see a flash of light and smoke as the motorcycle runs over Mufasa. The film cuts to a shot of Simba screaming in shock and despair. Simba's scream simultaneously signals the beginning of Black is King's next song, Scar. The verse title, show no fear boy, where's your spinal, where's your backbone, where's your pyro? I had to be everything you couldn't be for. My survival, my own idol, skip my trial, took my rifle, right for the city's spinal. The verse from Scar we hear most prominently in Black as King is wrapped by Canadian singer-songwriter Jesse Reyes.

In the film, Jesse performs her verse in a dark forest wearing black pants and a black cape. Throughout the scene, Jesse runs through the forest with two men in black pants who perform a dance with extreme body contortions. These body contortions could be seen as an artistic representation of the psychological contortions that twisted Scar into a jealous murderer. Jesse further explores Scar's perspective as she wraps, In the jungle, ain't no Bible, showtime, showtime, no recital, show time, where's your spinal, where's your backbone, where's your pyro. I had to be everything you couldn't be for my survival, my own idol, skipped my trial. Jesse here depicts Scar as someone who's environment has convinced him that he cannot rely on anyone, that he must rely on his own strength

in order to survive. Most notably, the line in the jungle ain't no Bible, seems to be asserting that relying on God of the Bible is futile, since God will not protect anyone in the savage world of the jungle. Rather than rely on God, Scar resolved to be his own idol, which in the context of the Bible refers to a statue that a person worships in the place of God, particularly when that person is seeking prosperity and protection. The reference to the Bible could also be pointing to the common biblical motif in which someone tries to kill their brother after being overcome with envy and anger. This motif was first established in the story of the first two prototypical brothers, Abel and Cain, whose name means possession. In that story, Abel receives favor from God because Abel is

willing to offer the best of his possessions to God. Meanwhile, Cain does not receive God's favor because he keeps the best of his possessions for himself. After being over the first of his possessions for himself, After being overcome with envy and anger, Kane lures Abel into a field where he proceeds to kill his brother. Like Kane and Abel, Scar and Mufasa are archetypes. Each of them symbolically represent universal attributes of human nature. Scar seems to symbolize envy, which is the human desire to take what others have. In contrast, Mufasa seems to symbolize altruism, which is the practice of seeking the well-being of others, often by giving away what one has.

Just like the name Kane foreshadows the character's inclination to hold on to his possessions, the name Scar hints at the character's archetypal function in the story. The word scar can be used to refer to a defect caused by a physical or psychological trauma that did not fully heal. Fittingly, the Lion King depicts the character Scar, whose eyes are green, the color of envy, with a pronounced defect that runs from his fitness over his left die down to his cheek. This defect or scar was presumably caused by an unexplained physical injury in scars past, but it also points to a deeper psychological defect caused by a past hurt that scar is yet to confront or overcome. Eventually, Scar's psychological defect twisted his character

into someone who is filled with envy and anger. In an interview for her making the gift documentary, Beyonce specifically mentioned how writing this song inspired her to dive into darker aspects of Scar's psychology. What does Scar sound like, you know, outside of the traditional score, that jealousy, that envy, that darkness, that struggle, and just diving deep into the psychology of Scar and how he ended up being so angry and so bitter and also feeling compassion for someone so dark and so angry, respecting each character, understanding that they all have a place and it's all a part of the circle of life and understanding how all of those life messages apply to my life in all of our

lives. Beyonce here shows the villain an uncommon degree of empathy. We hear Beyonce trying to understand Scar's thoughts and feelings as she attempts to imagine what events could have led him to become such an angry and bitter character. We even hear Beyonce trying to relate to Scar by recognizing his thoughts and feelings are something that she has personally experienced. Rather than simply dismissing Scar as a villain or a monster, Beyonce recognizes that Scar's story reveals universal lessons that she needs to apply in her own life.

Beyoncé thus provides a real-life example for how each of us can improve ourselves in the world by practicing empathy. Likewise, within the context of Black is King, Beyonce's role as Simba's spirit guide means that Beyonce will help him choose how he'll respond to the psychological trauma of losing his father. In this new dichotomy, Simba could become like Mufasa or become like Scar. That is, Simba could find healing by adopting Mufasa's altruistic understanding of the circle of life, or he can remain scarred if he chooses to run from his pain without ever confronting the source of his trauma.

As the song ends, we see Scar stand up and place his jacket on the throne, as if he's marking it as his territory. Scar then climbs onto the table in front of the throne and crawls menacingly toward the camera on all fours as if he's a lion. As Scar approaches and opens his mouth to roar, we hear dialogue from the corresponding scene in the Lion King. Scar falsely accuses Simba of killing Mufasa and advises Simba to run away and never return. Here in Black as King, we see Simba run into the darkness as the screen fades to white, and were once again transported into the spiritual realm. That's right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we witnessed Scar take the throne after conspiring to kill Mufasa and convince

convincing Simba to run away from home. As Simba runs into the darkness of the unknown, the screen fades to white and we hear the opening chords of the song, Nile. The white screen that ended the previous scene turns out to be a white floor shot from above. This camera positioning becomes apparent when we see the top of Beyoncé's hat as she walks slowly into the shot. Following behind her is a large white casket that's carried by six pallbearers. Each of the pallbearers is wearing white pants and white body paint that covers their entire upper body and face. Beyonce's presence, alongside the all-white casket and wardrobe, suggests that this scene is depicting Mufasa's funeral procession in the spiritual realm. While in Western culture, funeral attendees typically wear black as a sign of mourning.

This is not a universal practice. For instance, in Yoruba regions in West Africa, followers of the Ifah spiritual tradition typically wear all white to funerals. In our previous episode, we noted how everyone in the spirit, spiritual realm wore white for Simba's birth and initiation rituals, and noted how white is associated with life, renewal, and a connection to the spiritual realm and the Eiffah tradition. The use of white and funerals thus points to the belief that life does not end for those who pass away. Rather, life is renewed as the ancestor passes into the spiritual realm and as new descendants are born into the physical world. This traditional understanding of ancestors returning to Earth

through their descendants is also expressed through long-standing naming practices. Within the larger Yoraba culture, when the first grandson is born after the death of the grandfather, the grandson will traditionally be named Babatunde, which means the father has returned. Similarly, the first granddaughter born after the death of a grandmother will traditionally be named Yatundi, which means the mother has returned. These ideas of life's renewal, rebirth and return seem to be the significance of the white funeral procession, which continues as we hear Beyonce speak. No true king ever dies. Our ancestors hold us from within our own bodies, guiding us through our reflections refracted. Beyonce says, no true king ever dies. Our ancestors hold us within our bodies.

These words again reinforce the traditional idea that African ancestors continue to uphold their descendants even after the ancestors have passed away. From this statement, we might also conclude that the pallbearers represent the subconscious of Mufasa's ancestors who are holding him up in the casket. Fittingly, the film cuts to an outdoor shot of the man in blue body paint who represents Simba's subconscious. The blue man is sitting in a patch of flowers on a hillside, while pensively looking off into the distance. As the blue man looks up at the light from the sun reflecting off the moon, Beyonce says that the ancestors are, quote, guiding us through our reflections.

Light refracted. This idea of ancestors in the bodies of their descendants providing guidance through their reflections seems to be echoing the words that Rafiki spoke to Simba in the original Lion King. That's not my father. It's just my reflection. No. Ha, you see, he lives in you.

In this scene, Rafiki found Simba after he ran away from home. Rifiki then told Simba to look at his reflection in the water to see that his father lives inside him. Fittingly, the next shot in Black as King looks down on a small body of water, where Beyonce is sitting in a small boat full of flowers. The boat is reminiscent of the boat graves that Vikings historically used for funerals. This image of a grave floating on water would again emphasize how black people have found ways to make life beautiful

even as they've been forced to endure a deadly journey over treacherous waters. These dreams made take me out to the ocean. We see Simba's blue subconscious sitting on the hillside and then we see Beyonce standing on the same hillside. She sings, Hey little buddy, where you going? A line that seems directed to Simba's subconscious as Simba runs away. from home. Beyonce then seemingly conveys Simba's subconscious response as she sings,

I'm not sure, but I know I'm still in motion. This ain't regular, I seen regular. These streams may take me out to the ocean. The trauma that Simba experienced with the sudden death of his father has left him unsure where he's going in life. The lyrics depict Simba as someone who's unable or unwilling to find his direction as he aimlessly floats down a stream that may or may not lead to the ocean. As we'll see later in the film, Simba's emotional instability after the death of his father, leaves him vulnerable to outside influences and temptation. The destructive effect of fatherlessness is something that rapper Kendrick Lamar famously explored on his 2017 album, Damn, and continues to explore on its verse here on Nile.

I tell myself, if I dive in it without precaution of a life jacket, then I'll dive in it till I am exhausted and I'm type like it, waistline on 4D, since it's on 4D, feel like this for me. Here Kendrick imagines diving into the Nile River without wearing a life jacket, where he'll swim until he's type lacking, a slang way to say that one is completely deficient in some aspect of life. Type lacking can then be taken literally as a deficiency in the physical strength needed to keep swimming. But metaphorically, it seems to point to the lack of moral strength needed to resist

succumbing to the self-destructive behaviors in the aftermath of trauma. These self-destructive behaviors are clearly alluded to in the multiple layers contained in these lines, as they refer to both the vices of sex and alcohol simultaneously. Life jacket is slaying for a condom, and dive in it is slaying for sex. Diving in it without a life jacket could also refer to drinking large amounts of alcohol without precaution, which leads us to the next lines. Wasteline on four deep, senses on 40. Feel like there's four of me.

On the surface, waistline on four deep refers to a person being up to their waist in water that's four feet deep. But four deep is also slaying for the state a person's in after taking four shots of alcohol. The phrase, senses on 40, seems to be derived from the phrase on 100, which is slang for something operating at 100% of its potential. If one's senses are on 40, it would seem that the four shots of alcohol have them operating at only 40%. 40 is also slang for a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. Such excessive drinking has Kendrick feeling like there's four of me, which appears to be an exaggerated experience of double vision. This lack of self-clarity conveys how self-destructive behavior

can cause you to lose focus of your true identity. One time I took a swim in a down. I swam the whole way I didn't turn around. Man, I swear. It made me relax when I came down. I felt liberated like free birds. I'm stimulated now. Blundering away lives my body's on top.

All of these currents might cost me my life right now. What danger finds me and follows with tauts. Many miles ahead of me still lie me stride. That's some good. Kendra continues with the theme of diving into water as he sings the chorus. One time, I took a swim in the Nile. I swam the whole way. I didn't turn around.

Man, I swear, it made me relax when I came down. I felt liberated like free birds. I'm stimulated now. The freedom Kendrick experiences when floating aimlessly down the Nile River calms his troubled nerves. At the same time, Kendrick continues to build on the layers of using vices from the verse, as nearly every line can also be interpreted as a reference to sex or alcohol. For instance, by saying that he swam the whole way, he could be referring to the phrase going all the way, while saying he's stimulated could refer to the stimulation of sex or the rushing effects of alcohol.

As the chorus goes on, these entendres become even more blatant as Kendrick wraps, plunging away, lest my body's on top. All these currents might cost me my life right now. Where danger finds me, it follows with tides. Many miles ahead of me, still I'm in stride. Kendrick here notably addresses the risks of pursuing vices as a way to deny or cope with trauma. One can very easily drown themselves in these vices, be it promiscuous, unprotected sex, or excessive amounts of drugs and alcohol. When used as a coping mechanism, these vices put one's mental and physical health in real danger.

As we'll come to see, Kendrick's verse and chorus and the interwoven nature of trauma and vice will foreshadow the adult Simba's decision to avoid the trauma of his father's death and his responsibility as king by partying and pursuing simple pleasures. Kendrick ties a clever bow on the chorus by ending on the ambiguous phrase,

That's Some Good. We're left to guess what Some Good is supposed to describe. But given all the subtle double allusions to drugs and sex, it's likely he means both, That's some good shit, a common slang phrase describing high-quality drugs, or the more explicit, that's some good pussy,

a common slang phrase describing high-quality sex. Got the now running through my body, look at my natural, I'm so exotic. Duck out the berries, sweet other fruits. Deep are the wounded, deep are the roots. New being doused and brown on my house. In Nile's in the youth, I said I'm drowning in it. I'm ending now, deep end.

In Nile's final verse, Beyonce begins, Got the Nile running through my body. Here, she introduces yet another way the song uses Nile as a metaphor, this time for the African blood that runs through black women. Beyonce continues this thread by saying, Look at my natural, I'm so exotic. Darker the berry, sweeter the fruit. Deeper the wounded, deeper the roots.

Here, she seems to refer to the features that make black women distinctly African, including their natural hair and dark skin. Beyonce also seems to highlight how the wounds left by traumatic events can actually become openings for a person's roots to grow deeper into the soil of the African continent. When a plant's roots grow deeper, it's able to increase its access to water and nutrients, which allows its fruit to become sweeter.

The word fruit can also be seen as a reference to the term fruit of the womb, which has been historically used to talk about the children that come from a woman's body. And so Beyonce seems to be saying that when black women respond to their emotional wounds by digging into their ancestral roots in Africa, they'll be able to bear children who have sweet disposition and are free from bitterness. Beyonce continues to celebrate brown skin as she sings, Nubian Downston Brown, I'm lounging in it. Nubian here refers to an ancient ethnic group of brown-skinned Africans who originated in the central Nile Valley more than 9,000 years ago. The ancient Nubians developed a highly advanced civilization that rivaled Egypt.

At one point, a Nubian kingdom made its way down the Nile River and established rule over the Egyptian pharaohs for almost a hundred years. This history reminds us of Moses becoming royalty after floating down the Nile River towards Pharaohs. daughter. That biblical reference highlighted the duality between the Nile's potential to cause death or bring about renewed life. Beyonce continues to explore this duality as she says, Fountain of Youth, I said I'm drowning in it. The Fountain of Youth refers to various mythical waters that can reverse aging and cure the illnesses of anyone who drinks from or bays in the water. By associating the Fountain of Youth with Africa and the Nile River running through the bodies of black women, Beyonce is again asserting that King's

and queens who are born from black women never really die. At the same time, by saying that she's drowning in the fountain of youth, Beyonce seems to be suggesting that those who remain stuck in the mentality of youth will never grow up to become responsible adults. This inability to face the harsh realities of life, thus sets up the song's outro. Both Kendrick and Beyonce sing, I'm in denial, deep in denial. They use an internal, multisyllabic, nearly identical rhyme between the words denial and the word denial. Within the world of psychology, denial is defined as a

coping mechanism in which a person avoids confronting a problem by denying the existence of the problem. Denial is also seen as a natural first step in coping with trauma, but some people can remain stuck in denial, leaving them unable to grow in various aspects of their lives. This emotionally stunted state of being is something that the older Simba risks falling into and foreshadows the self-centered lifestyle he's headed toward after losing his father and running away from home, his family, and his responsibility as king. As the song now concludes, we see one last shot of the men in white body paint carrying Beyonce up to a raised white marble platform with a structure that resembles a royal throne or sacred altar.

The film then cuts to a shot of four black women dressed in all white on a smaller white marble platform. The combination of these two shots seems to remind us that while Simba has lost his physical connection to his father, he can still rely on Beyonce and a community of women to guide him towards becoming a man. The potential of women to guide boys into manhood then seems to highlight that Simba now faces a dichotomous choice and how he will think about women. If he follows his inclination to use sex as a coping mechanism,

Symbol will begin to see women in their bodies as objects for his sexual gratification. However, if he recognizes the significance of being born from the body of a black woman, he can look to black women to provide the guidance he desperately needs to heal and recover his royal identity. When it's all said and done, I don't even know my own native tongue. And if I can't speak myself, I can't think myself. And if I can't think myself, I can't be myself. but if I can't be myself, I will never know me, so Uncle Sam tell me this. If I will never know me, how can you?

As we see the final two shots of the procession and the group of women, we hear an audio clip of a spoken word poem titled Uncle Sam. The poem was written by a Nigerian American named Joshua Abba. The longer form of the poem recounts how Joshua was born in America after his parents immigrated from Nigeria. From the time that he was born, the pressure to succeed in America forced his parents to focus on teaching him English

rather than their native language from the Edoma tribe of the Lower Western Region of Benu State. As Joshua got older, he began to lament how American culture and academic knowledge had displaced his connection to his family and culture from the African motherland.

Along with the loss of connection to family and culture, Joshua realized that he was. he was losing his connection to his true identity. The realization is summed up in the final lines of the poem, where Joshua says that if he never learns to speak his native language, he will never know himself. And if he never knows himself, America will never really know him. Joshua's poem perfectly captures the experience of a growing number of children who were born to African immigrants living in America. By including this poem in Black is King, Beyonce is connecting this lived experience to the experience that Simba is going through as he's forced away from his family, culture, and

identity by the unjust actions of his Uncle Scar. Fittingly, Joshua's poem is also addressed to an uncle, Uncle Sam, a name given to the personified embodiment of America's government and institutions. Uncle Sam actually played a significant role in the narrative of Kendrick Lamar's album to Pimp a Butterfly. Here's Kenyoner. Kendrick rapping from Uncle Sam's perspective on the opening track, Wesley's theory. In Wesley's theory, Uncle Sam played the role of a satanic character who tempts Kendrick to buy expensive houses, cars, and clothing, and risk falling into financial and moral bankruptcy. Ultimately, Uncle Sam hopes that by trapping Kendrick and self-centered pursuits of happiness, he will eventually lose his connection to his heavenly father.

Similarly, as Blackett's King continues, we'll see Uncle Scar tempting Simba to lose his connection with himself and his ancestors in the heavens as he pursues the American dream. We'll follow Simba as he continues to live deep in denial, dreams of opulence, and a Hakuna Matadas is life away next time on Dicep. Today's episode was written by Maggie Lacey, Titi Shodia, Femioluteade, and me. Audio editing by Eric Bass and me. Additional research by Gail Acosta.

Song Recreations by Andrew Ratwood. Theme music by Bureaucratic. Be sure to follow us on social media at Dysect Podcast and check out our limited merch for this series on our website, Dysectpodcast.com. All right, thanks, everyone. Talk to you next time.