In the promo posters for JAY-Z and Beyoncé’s On the Run Tour II, the couple is seated on a motorcycle adorned with a long-horned bull skull.
OkayAfrica is reporting that reference for the photo comes from a scene in a classic Senegalese film Touki Bouki. The vintage movie released in 1973 directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. The more than forty-year-old feature is set in Senegal and tells the story of a young couple, Mory and Ana who make plans to escape to Paris. The scheme on how to make money for the trip one of which includes robbery.
Following the legacy of the Jay and Bey’s relationship, they often position themselves alongside images of lawbreaking couples such as Bonnie & Clyde, whose love is strengthened by the thrill of the chase (hence, on the run). The Africanfre cinema classic exists in the same vein, this time presenting a Black couple. The imagery is fitting as the superstars used their last albums to speak about Blackness. Paris also plays a big part in the couple’s history with the rapper acknowledging it as the place their daughter Blue Ivy was conceived on “Glory.”
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