#BumpThis: Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl” w/ Wizkid, SAINt JHN & Blue Ivy Carter

There’s so much music out there that it’s hard for even the most loyal fans to stay up with their favourite artists or what’s new and hot right now. That’s why we’ve created #BumpThis – a daily series that features the one song you need to listen to, every day. Don’t say we never did anything for you.

Songs basically become hits when musicians craft a great message that sounds good. When Beyonce makes a song extolling dark-skinned women, and taps Wizkid, Saint Jhn and her very own brown skin girl, Blue Ivy Carter, you’re talking about an anthem.

Packaged as Beyonce’s love letter to African Music, “The Lion King: The Gift” has hit fans and listeners like a tidal wave, supported and inspired by the live-action reboot of the mega-hit franchise, Lion King. The bevvy of Nigerians on the song – from Tiwa Savage to Burna Boy – has inspired a new wave of Nigerian Pride, as anyone can see from the thousands of excited takes on social media.

The song that unites Nigerians most is the album’s potential classic. “Brown Skin Girl” is a sunny celebration of African beauty that features Beyonce alongside Afropop’s most famous voice, Wizkid, emerging trap sensation, SAINtt JH and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy.

Wizkid’s forays into foreign albums have offered him up as an African taste on Latino pop, and that trend continues here, only this time, it’s for the better. An artist oft-maligned for his watery lyrics, Wizkid perfectly complements Beyonce as they both worship “every single inch” of the African woman. It’s remarkable enough that it’s kicked off yet another conversation about his place on the group portrait of Nigerian music legends.

“Brown Skin Girl” is already the most-listened song on the album, and deservedly so. Wizkid praises his urban African queens before Beyonce takes it into award ceremony range. Many Nigerian fans flipped at how Wizkid does a great job of refining the queen’s fresh attempt at Afropop.

The song’s place on the album is reinforced by the last voice. Blue Ivy has appeared on music before, most notably on her father, Jay-Z’s 2017 album, “4:44”. Her appearance here caused a Twitter meltdown. In retrospect, it may well come to feel like a stamp of approval from the next generation of brown skin girls.

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