The new live-action remake of The Lion King is notable for many reasons, one of them being the musically-inclined leads, as Donald Glover and Beyonce play Simba and Nala, respectively. It turns out there is a hip-hop casting choice that has flown under the radar until now, though, as Chance The Rapper is in the movie.
Chance shared the story of his involvement on Instagram, saying he was originally brought in as a consultant before being asked to sing and voice a character. This was all thanks to his friend Glover, who was aware of how much Chance loves the Lion King franchise. Chance wrote:
“Here’s a short story. I grew up my whole life obsessed with all things related to #TheLionKing; like all three films, the Timon and Pumbaa tv show, the broadway play and especially the broadway soundtrack. Needless to say the original film was immensely impactful on my music and overall life. So when my big bro Donald got casted as Simba, he did the coolest thing ever and told director Jon Favreau to call me in as a consultant to keep the original flavor. So for about a year I would go to the LK studio and see early animations, scenes, music direction or assemblies and they’d always be out of this world amazing. One day I’m there Jon asked me to do some singing stuff, another day he asks me to do some lines. Its all a blur, but I’ll tell u its one of the best blurs of my whole life. I am so blessed to know people like Donald and Jon man. AMAZING FILM, AMAZING CAST AND AN AMAZING NIGGHT LAST NIGHT. GOD BLESS AND LONG LIVE THE KING.”
The post includes a photo of him with Beyonce, photos from the Hollywood premiere, and a shot of the credits, which reveals that “Chance Bennett” played the role of Bush Baby.
Beyond that, it’s been a tremendous past few days for Chance, as Acid Rap recently became his highest-charting album to date.
