Some of Africa's biggest music stars look set for success on a global scale having been handpicked by US singer Beyoncé to appear on her Lion King-inspired album.

While Nigerian stars like Wizkid and Burna Boy have already broken through to the mainstream in the UK and US, their collaboration with the superstar in The Lion King: The Gift is bound to give their careers a bigger boost.

The 14-track companion piece to the Disney film is filled with sounds akin to music currently rocking the continent. Beyoncé, who curated and produced the project, has called it a "love letter to Africa".

"I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sound or my own interpretation of it," she told ABC News.

"I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa."

From lyrics in English, Swahili, Pidgin English, Zulu, Xhosa and Yoruba, the project incorporates several genres from Afrobeats, pop, R&B, hip-hop, and the South African version of house music known as Gqom.

"A lot of the drums, chants, all of these incredible new sounds mixed with some of the producers from America, we've kind of created our own genre", Beyoncé told ABC.

African acts featured include Nigeria's Tekno, Yemi Alade, Mr Eazi and Tiwa Savage, as well as Cameroon's Salatiel, and South Africa's Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly. Several African producers also have credits on the album.

Alade said some artists claim to want to pay homage to their roots but are "all talk and no action". This is not true of Beyoncé, she told the BBC.

When the album was revealed, many East Africans shared their disappointment at being left out. Many of the film's characters, after all, have Swahili names and animators for the original 1994 film reportedly based the setting on Kenya's Great Rift Valley.

"We were not represented in her love letter to us. It hurts," Kenyan singer Victoria Kimani said on Twitter.

'The smartest people collaborate first'
Prior to featuring on Beyonce's latest album, some of these artists were already well on their way to global recognition.

Wizkid's US breakthrough came in 2016, when he featured on Canadian rapper Drake's hit song One Dance, becoming the first Nigerian artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the first song to hit one billion plays on streaming service Spotify.

This year also saw Mr Eazi and Burna Boy perform at Coachella in the US - one of the most famous festivals in the world.

Meanwhile Tiwa Savage, who already had a management deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, signed an international recording deal with Universal Music Group in May.

Fellow Nigerian Tekno signed a deal a distribution deal last year with Universal Music Group Nigeria and Island Records, and Yemi Alade has been touring across Europe.

International features are mutually beneficial for global stars and African artists, said digital marketing director Kareem Mobolaji.

"Americans and others are paying more attention now. The likes of Wizkid have shown how their presence on songs can help increase sales and listening across Africa and indeed all over the world."

So for Shopsydoo, Beyoncé will also gain by working with the African stars.

"It's a bigger platform for the pop and mainstream world to recognise African artists", and also a "brand-new following for Beyoncé by collaborating with some of Africa's pop culture icons", he said.

"The smartest business people are those who reach out to collaborate first."