Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is secretly an exceptional pianist.
Her grandmother, Tina Knowles, is “really proud” of her granddaughter and cannot wait until she shares her musical talents with the world.
“She’s self-taught and she sounds like a concert pianist. She paints, she draws, she does poetry. She’s just an artistic soul,” Knowles told “E! News” of Carter’s hidden talent.
“I’m really, really proud of her. I can’t wait ’til the world gets to really hear,” she gushed.
Carter is also a dancer and was part of the backup troupe for her superstar mom on her “Renaissance Tour.”
The power couple’s twins, Rumi and Sir, are also artistic.
“They’re all artists. How could they not?” Knowles said.
The fashion designer praising Carter’s talents comes after she was cast as Kiara in “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Carter is set to voice the daughter of her real-life mother’s character, Nala, in the highly anticipated Disney prequel about how Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) became King of the Pride Lands.
Donald Glover is returning as Simba, Kiara’s father.
The story will be told through the lens of Simba, Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen). John Kani will reprise his role as Rafiki with Kagiso Lediga voicing a young version of the mandrill.
Director Barry Jenkins explained the decision to cast Carter in the movie, and noted he first realized her vocal talents in the audiobook for Matt A. Cherry’s Hair Love.
“She did an absolutely amazing job. She just felt like this really curious young person,” he told Empire.
He was also amendable on the prospect of having her cast alongside her real-life mother.
“Watching [Beyoncé] coexist with her daughter, and just how lovely and gentle and encouraging she was [was] really special,” Jenkins said. “I think it bled into the performances they gave as well.
“I think this will be this really beautiful time capsule for the two of them, at this moment when they get to share this part of their relationship as these characters,” he added.
In terms of the upcoming movie’s plot, Jenkins revealed that it “exists in parallel timelines” by focusing on Mufasa in the past, and Kiara in the present day, in a similar vein to 1998 direct-to-video animated sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.
“There’s some stuff from the canon that is very much referenced or alluded to, but it’s its own thing,” the director teased.
Mufasa: The Lion King will hit the big screen on Dec. 20, 2024.
