and she left the studio pledging to create a full-length film that would tell the real story with the help of actual Africans instead of using lions and animation, and show the regalness and beauty of Africans before colonialism and slavery erased their past. "Mbube", credited to Linda, is the only original The Lion King song included in Black Is King. In her cover story for the December 2020 edition of British Vogue, Beyoncé explained what inspired her when developing the film, saying:I was also deeply inspired by my trip to South Africa with my family. And, after having my son, Sir Carter, I felt it was important to uplift and praise our boys and to assure that they grow up with enough films, children's books and music that promote emotional intelligence, self-value and our rich history.To research for the film, Beyoncé described how she "spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs". The trailer shows Beyoncé reading from the 1971 book Black Gods and Kings, written by American art-historian Robert Farris Thompson to record the art history of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. Beyoncé collected picture references of African cultural practices for different aspects of the production such as hair and make-up. Director Ibra Ake described Beyoncé as "a scholar" who wanted to learn about and discuss the meaning and history behind every detail that would be included in the film. Beyoncé had a vision for the story she wanted to tell, and she brought on Blitz Bazawule to assist in writing it, who subsequently produced a storyboard with over 250 frames. Co-director Kwasi Fordjour described the excitement of the early development, saying: "Your adrenaline starts to rush and it becomes like, 'OK, what are we going to do, how are we going to do it, where do we start?' When you get into the space where you're so interested and enthralled with creating worlds and spaces, it becomes fun, and she makes it fun." Beyoncé and Fordjour recruited additional directors to direct some of the music videos in the film; Fordjour explained how they chose a diverse group of directors "who spoke to what we were trying to do" and "whose authenticity is the core of their work". Beyoncé held meetings with the additional directors to decide on the general look and feel for