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The Hit List (Or, The 1A Pop Culture Roundup)

Beyoncé's Black Is King visual album is based on 2019's The Lion King. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Beyoncé's Black Is King visual album is based on 2019's The Lion King. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

The pandemic has slowed down pop culture. But it hasn’t stopped it. Major moments in music, TV, and film are still happening while we’re all stuck at home.

The last few months has seen mega music releases like the Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion collaboration “WAP” and a surprise album from Taylor Swift. In television, Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You and the long-awaited Lovecraft Country series, both from HBO, have been wildly popular. And as many movie theaters remain closed, new films are now available on streaming.

One of those films is Beyoncé’s Black Is King, a visual album based off of last year’s The Lion King adaptation released exclusively on Disney+.

As Broke Obie writes for Esquire:

In the midst of global Black Lives Matter uprisings against white supremacy, Black Is King further solidifies how the world could thrive when Black men step into kingship—one that’s divorced from white supremacist ideas of hierarchy, dominance, and oppression and rooted in stewardship to community. Legacy is the reward.

We’re talking about the standout pop culture moments of the summer.

The Music, Television Shows and movies we recommend (in the order we talked about them)

  • I May Destroy You
  • “WAP,” Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion
  • Black Is King
  • Lovecraft Country
  • Folklore, Taylor Swift
  • “Midnight Sky,” Miley Cyrus
  • The Babysitter’s Club
  • P-Valley
  • “Experience,” Victoria Monét, feat. Khalid and SG Lewis
  • Your Hero Is Not Dead, Westerman
  • Ungodly Hour, Chloe x Halle

Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5

Michelle Harven