Movies

Chance the Rapper reveals surprise Lion King role

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Published on July 10, 2019 05:00PM EDT

It turns out you’ll get to hear a new Chance the Rapper vocal performance outside of his upcoming album. Just not in the form you might expect.

Like many a ’90s kid, the Chicago native (born Chancelor Bennett) saw The Lion King at an early age and fell in love with it. So naturally, he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of Disney’s big-budget redux. In an Instagram post, the musician, who attended the film’s premiere with his wife and daughter, revealed the extent of his role.

“I grew up my whole life obsessed with all things related to [The Lion King],” the rapper wrote. (He was born in 1993, one year before the original film hit theaters.) “Needless to say the original film was immensely impactful on my music and overall life. So when my big bro Donald [Glover] 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.”

But that wasn’t all. Chance spent “about a year” going to “the LK studio” to watch the film’s progress, and one day Favreau asked him to contribute his vocal stylings to the film. “One day I’m there Jon asked me to do some singing stuff, another day he asks me to do some lines,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s all a blur, but I’ll tell u it’s one of the best blurs of my whole life.”

Chance also included a photo of the film’s credits, revealing his performance made it into the finished product. (The hip-hop star plays a bush baby who resides in the same idyllic nature retreat as Timon and Pumbaa.) He also heaped his praises on the film, proclaiming, “GOD BLESS AND LONG LIVE THE KING.”

Chance the Rapper’s debut album is set to drop later this month. The Lion King‘s theatrical reign will begin July 19.