You know you’ve made it when Beyoncé Knowles-Carter drops your name in a song.
Oscar winner Lupita N’yongo is on cloud nine and flexing in her complexion after Queen Bey gave the Black Panther actress a shoutout on “Brown Skin Girl,” one of the featured tracks on the songstress’ latest produced album titled, The Lion King: The Gift. The song celebrates the melanin magic of dark-skinned women who often face racial discrimination and colorism within and outside of the Black community.
“Brown Skin Girl” also nods its hat to Kelly Rowland and Naomi Campbell, HuffPost reports.
In the song, Beyoncé sings: “Pose like a trophy when Naomis walks in / She need an Oscar for that pretty dark skin / Pretty like Lupita when the cameras close in / Drip broke the levee when my Kellys roll in.”
“Brown Skin Girl. Thank you @Beyonce for this Gift!! #BrightnessIsJustWhoYouAre,” Nyong'o wrote on her Instagram, alongside a video of the actress smiling and dancing to the track.
The celebration of dark-skinned women is important for Nyong'o, who noted in a 2014 interview with Glamour, that she was insistent on redefining what success and beauty look like for women who look like her.
“Until I saw people who looked like me, doing the things I wanted to, I wasn't so sure it was a possibility. Seeing Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah in The Color Purple, it dawned on me: ‘Oh—I could be an actress!’ We plant the seed of possibility.”
The track also features artists WizKid, SAINt JHN and Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy.
The album was released on Friday, alongside the premiere of the newest The Lion King movie, where Beyoncé voices the character of Nala.
