Beyonce & Jay-Z - Is Happily....Married ???
Considering all the hoopla surrounding his very big party last Friday, Jay-Z looked great while out in NYC yesterday. Rather than a romantic honeymoon, he and Beyonce were down in NC for his show over the weekend and now it's back south for an Atlanta performance tonight. Even though he's conspicuously lacking a ring on his left hand here, that contented smile warms my heart. After the week the man has had — with his $150 million Live Nation deal and marrying his longtime love — how could he not be overjoyed? Now, I just wonder if they'll ever confirm the good news.
Beyonce, Jay-Z still mum on marriage
IT'S STILL NOT certain whether Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z are married, as has been widely reported.The superstars, who supposedly tied the knot Friday at a secret ceremony in Jay-Z's New York loft, continue to be tight-lipped about their relationship.
So, as the world watches and waits to find out whether this was all a big publicity stunt, I'm hoping it turns out to be true - not just because it would make a nice love story but because of the hotness it could lend to the institution of marriage.
After all, this isn't just another celebrity couple. We're talking hip-hop royalty here. And if rap mogul Jay-Z, who once had a hit song called "Girls, Girls, Girls," makes such a traditional and seemingly old-fashioned step, then what message does it send to his legion of fans? Remember, this is the guy who almost single-handedly helped get men out of throwback jerseys and into button-up shirts after he started rapping about it. Regardless of what you think about his music, the guy's got influence, as does Beyonce, who's an institution in and of herself with her clothing line, the House of Dereon.
And the way things are, marriage sure could use a dose of something to make it seem like the in thing to do again. Although marriage rates are in decline overall, African- Americans have substantially lower nuptial rates than whites.
And an estimated 70 percent of black babies are born out of wedlock, greatly increasing the chances of a child's being raised in poverty. Of course, there are complex reasons behind these statistics, including social ills that won't be impacted by what someone's favorite celebrity does.
But as Danyel Smith, editor in chief of Vibe magazine pointed out when I spoke with her yesterday, the marriage won't go without notice. The timing is also right, she says, because there's a certain "grown-ness" happening in hip-hop as power couples such as Beyonce and Jay-Z and Nas and Kelis, who married in 2005, are much admired. Even moguls Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons fall into that category, although they've been through an apparently nonacrimonious breakup.
"There's a fascination of how these people work it out, stay together and have a good luxurious life," Smith said. "Kids want that. When hip-hop started, it was about finding the right crew. Over the years, it's about finding the right partner. There's this belief in partnership and finding one person who can help you build your romantic life and have children with but . . . who will be their partner in life.
"They're looking for somebody who has good ideas about how to make it, how to do this together," Smith added. "I see it among the young people I work with at Vibe. They want someone who has something on the ball . . . They want that as much as they want the love."
Of course, what celebrities do doesn't always translate to what their fans do, despite all the talk about stars serving as role models. Some aspects of their lives don't seem realistic or even attainable. Besides, the true test of the Beyonce/Jay-Z pairing will be time. Will theirs be a union that endures? It remains to be seen.
In the meantime, though, it does set a great example. As Lynn Gold-Bikin, who chairs Wolf Block's family law practice, said yesterday, "It's always a good thing when icons do the right thing. When young people see their icons wearing skimpy clothes, getting involved with drugs, going to late-night parties, having automobile accidents when they are looped, and still having all the publicity and credibility that they have, it doesn't set a great standard for our young people. After long doses of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, it's nice to see some stars do it the traditional way.
