Meet Beyonce’s Favourite Kid Actor From Nigeria

By Gbenga Bada

Seven-year-old Folajimi Akinmurele is getting all the attention from multiple awards winning songstress, Beyonce, after featuring in one of her music videos in 2019. The young Nigerian American has broken out as a kid actor with a sterling performance after featuring as Simba in Beyonce’s ‘Black Is King’ video album.

Though the 90-minute Black Is King video album has multiple African artists including Nigeria’s Yemi Alade, Ghana’s Shatta Wale, and Cameroon’s Salatiel, Folajimi has stood out as the future.

With the absence of much dialogue, Folajimi embodies the young king Beyonce sings about in the video album that boasts of an enthralling aesthetics in production.

Represented by Afritalent Agency, Folajimi features in Black is King as Simba, ‘Mood 4 Eva,’ which sees him wearing the same clothes as Jay-Z, and ‘Don’t Jealous Me.’

Becoming Beyonce’s favourite child actor

Folajimi first met with Beyoncé in 2019 on the set of the music video for her song ‘Spirit.’ The young Nigerian American reportedly made an impression on Beyonce with his interpretation of the role.

Beyonce was reportedly said to have been enthralled when she was told that the music video was Folajimi’s acting debut.

Variety reports that following Folajimi’s impressive efforts in the music video for ‘Spirit,’ Beyonce was quick to look for the young actor, who lives in Los Angeles when casting began for ‘Black Is King’ video album. Beyonce, it was reported, had ensured Folajimi was cast in the lead role of Simba.

Unknown to many, Folajimi gave 60-year-old Mojisola Odegbami a role in Beyonce’s Black Is King. Odegbami narrated how driving Folajimi to the set of the video album got her the role that made her name and personality go viral after the release of the video.

Odegbami told CNN how her journey to California, where she met Folajomi, facilitated her role in the Black is King video album.

“I was staying with my daughter’s friend, and this friend of hers has a 7-year-old son. The son, FJ, is the main character in “Black Is King.

“Each time he needed to go for practice, I was the one who drove him there cause his mum would have gone to work. At that point, Beyoncé’s staff got to know me as grandma Moji,” Odegbami told CNN.

She further explained that she didn’t get the role until Folajimi’s mum signed her up with Folajimi’s agency and she got called for an audition.

Odegbami played the role of an African queen in ‘Bigger,’ and a highly traditional African woman in ‘Mood 4 Eva’.

Source:The Nation

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