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“Vumani bo! Siyavuma! Selingenile ikumkani.” This is how musician Busiswa sprung up in the middle of Beyoncé’s visual film Black is King that was premiered in Africa on DStv’s M-Net channel on Saturday night.

Rocking a custom Nix Dlova headpiece, Busiswa continued to shimmer, shine and sparkle as she rapped her Xhosa verse in the song, My Power, like it was her epilogue.

She is one of the standout moments from the 85-minute film that pays homage to black beauty, talent, excellence and heritage from all corners of the world.

Through its use of rich landscape shots, Afro-centric fashion and politically charged music, Black is King is nothing short of a feast for the eyes.

After guarding the secret with her life for almost a year, Busiswa has spilt details of working opposite Beyoncé.

“The first take I was trying to be a lady, sassy, groovy and soft. After, a gentleman came up to me and said ‘we are going to need you to go hard’,” Busiswa said.

“From there, I went in and felt like I was doing the performance of my life. I think we did 23 takes, but I was just trying to do as many African moves as I could – so dances like twalatsa, kwasa-kwasa, gwara-gwara, pouncing cat.

“That is the day I met the queen [Beyoncé]. The queen was in the room graciously floating. After a couple of shots, she came up to me and said ‘girl, you are a beast’, very softly.”

Flying to Los Angeles to film the video alongside Tierra Whack, Moonchild, Yemi Alade and Beyoncé was a dream come true for Busiswa. The song was produced by Durban-born gqom trailblazer DJ Lag.

“It was actually my first time in a first-class seat – I know you guys think artistes get first class all the time, but there is no money even though we pretend that there is,” Busiswa said.

“When I got to LA, I connected with Moonchild. What you must understand is that Moonchild and myself are both from the Eastern Cape and here we were in LA together about to do what felt like the most incredible project we have ever been part of.

“We didn’t know anything, we had no details and we were just presenting ourselves. We showed up and we were chauffeured. Everything was in large proportion and we were in awe – and just excited.”

It’s not only SA musicians who got the spotlight in the film that is scored by music from The Lion King: The Gift album.

SA actors Nandi Madida, Warren Masemola, Connie Chiume, Nyaniso Ndedze, Nambitha Ben-Mazwi, Lindiwe Dim and the late Mary Twala were cast in re-imagining the story of The Lion King.

Ben-Mazwi cited Busiswa as her favourite moment in the film and credited the late casting director Moonyeenn Lee for her involvement in the project.

“Being an advocate for dark skin magic and a voice for women empowerment, this for me as an artist was such a personal purpose project. As Nina Simone always says, an artist’s job is to reflect the times,” Ben-Mazwi said.

“Being part of such a shift in black art and history, being able to tell our own stories richly, boldly and authentically is what this moment means for me.” – Sowetan