She Stings Us, She Stings Us Not -- The Emotional Gamespersonship Of Queen B and Her Husband, Jay Z -- Part II*
Photo care of Wikipedia athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Run_Tour_(Beyonc%C3%A9_and_Jay-Z)
*Please note that about 95% of this post was written several weeks ago, after Beyonce’s appearance on the 2004 MTV VMAs. The majority of this essay was written without any prior knowledge of any events which took place after the week of August 31, 2014. Therefore, all speculation is based on my own personal, original thoughts when applying the known evidence to the thesis of these posts.
Hello Friends! I am sorry that I’ve been away from blogging for so long. Those of my readers who know me personally also know that I am dealing with several medical issues which are incredibly painful. Sometimes so painful that they keep me away from sharing my Lasting Thoughts on popular culture, news of the day, etc. Now I will not lie, I am still not feeling well but I got to thinking, “Is there any better motivation to continue my ongoing post about Beyonce and Jay Z than the fact that tonight is when HBO will air their “On The Run Tour” tonight, thus taking over an entire HBO network for a whole 24-hours???” The answer is nothing…there is no better motivation. Tonight’s the night that all of the rumors, half-truths and innuendo will be out there, and perhaps even responded to, for all the world to see! HBO has “curated” this concert special, which I am sure will gain critical-acclaim, from Bey and Jay’s final two performances of their “On The Run Tour,” which took place in Paris, France.
Will there be a ton of smiles, love and public displays of affection? Will Blue Ivy be there? What wig is Beyonce going to wear? What gold chain(s) will Jay Z don? What superstars will be up on stage or even in the audience? Will there be a real, almost live confirmation of Beyonce’s pregnancy? All these questions, and more, will be answered, or at least hinted at, tonight! I cannot wait to cover the concert as I wrap-up these posts about the most-talked-about musical pairing of our generation. So set your DVRs, videotapes, betas and any other recording device and capture Beyonce and Jay Z “On The Run” tonight at 8pm Central. But as a bit of an appetizer, please check out the rest of this post.
And now, without further ado, it is time for Part II:
Now before I begin the second part of this piece, I would like to clarify something that I only touched on briefly in Part I: I LOVE Beyonce and Jay Z. I love their music much more than their personas. In fact, I can often be found practicing Beyonce’s dance moves or, as is the case for her most recent album, watching her “visual album” and lamenting the lack of choreography for me to master, I say this because I know that the Beyhive, called such for Queen Bey’s fanbase, does sting, and they sting often and in multiple, well-planned and vicious attacks. I do not wish to anger the Beyhive, nor do I wish to pander to them. I am simply attempting to look at the evidence out there, based on what very little we know anyway, and put the pieces together to form an opinion. That is all, pure and simple. No need to worry — the queen of pop music will still be the queen of pop long after my blog posts have been cashed.
Furthermore, it must be said: I am not a Beyonce hater. I am not a Jay hater. I am certainly not a Blue Ivy hater. In short, I am NOT a damned hater. A very few people, but a pointed and poignant group of individuals in my life, have called me a hater when I have expressed an opinion opposite the group or societal consensus on what art and/or artists should be considered as good or bad. The reason I doth protest too much? Quite frankly it is because I despise the idea of bashing people who only seek to comment on a trend, person or group which is alive and well in society. For as many positives there are out there, there are as many negatives. I do not believe that it can be wrong to state an opinion, unless that opinion is baseless, ignorant and/or rooted in hate and prejudice. Those types of people are, quite literally, haters. Those are the types of people that should provoke an uprising of dissatisfaction.
If you, your ideas or your ideals are so vulnerable and indefinite that they can be shifted and destroyed by a person expressing a single sentiment which is the opposite of yours, then whatever your beliefs are, they must be highly unjustifiable and illogical. Good ideas should, at the very least, be able to survive the test of vigorous debate. If having my own original thoughts makes me an outsider, then I would prefer to go against the grain.
The truth is that nothing is all black or white; well, I guess Beyonce and Jay Z’s promotional material is all black and white, but what I mean is that we live in a world permeated by shades upon shades upon shades of gray! So let’s look at some of those shades as we examine this couple.
Sure, very few people are able to attain the fame and celebrity that Beyonce and Jay Z have amassed. It is especially interesting when you consider where the two started out, with Bey as the high school drop-out and Jay as the ex-drug dealer who made good and then made millions. The truth of the matter is that NO ONE should be denied a chance at the proverbial “American Dream,” but just because two people went there and beyond does not make them better than me or you and as such, they are open to the same kind of criticism and/or adulation as everyone and anyone I know. I consider myself a cultural cartographer and in mapping the terrain that is Jay and Bey, I just struck gold! Keep up!
What is the secret of Jay Z and Beyonce’s success? I believe that it can be summed up in a very simple formula. First, they put out a rumor and/or intentionally and publicly screw something up. Add to that the fact that the media, waiting for any taste of private triumph or shame from the guarded couple, will jump on a story and run it over and over again. Then, it follows that the public react to it with a “say it ain’t so” from Beyonce and Jay Z fans alike. Then when all of the rumors and gossip reach the pitch of an overwrought fever dream, one or both parties will either issue a statement which says nothing at all or they will choose to answer media and public ‘speculation’ with an all-out, no expenses spared production and performance (or should it be performance and production). This equals the couple’s way of saying, “Never doubt me and my spectacular talent and penchant for performance ever again!” All of that equals increased ticket sales, more albums purchased and the desire to live the life of the power couple continues to rise and rise!
While the most recent example is the current, ongoing rumors about Bey and Jay’s perhaps-pending divorce, one need only look backward to see the future. Take the fracas at President Obama’s 2012 inauguration for example. As the inauguration was only a couple short weeks before Beyonce’s slated Super Bowl halftime performance, Bey did not want to lose her voice by singing outside in the cold for the president. Of course, in Beyonce’s mind, the Super Bowl halftime show trumps the second inaugural ceremony for the President of the free world!
I mean, in all fairness to Queen B., this was President Obama’s second public inaugural event. As such, I am sure Beyonce gave this conundrum the cost/benefit analysis which Yonce and Jay give every delicate business matter: which gig pays the most money? Which gig gives me maximum exposure? And also, which gig pays the most money again? Aaaaannnd: F U, Pay Me. Sure live singing at the event signaling that the first black President of the United States of America had secured the legacy of being a two-term president is super important, but it was not nearly lucrative and status-affirming as a literal lights-out performance during halftime of the Super Bowl!
So I took the long route to my point in lieu of the shortcut. Deal with it. Anyway, my point is that Beyonce and Jay Z are no strangers to creating a public relations spectacle only so that they can may be seen rising from those ashes in spectacular fashion! They have managed, in one breath, to be known as both boastful yet also humble. As we view the couple, or what the couple allows us to see, it becomes clear that they are incredibly wealthy, to the point that everyone should see the two as THE most aspirational couple in America and perhaps even in all of the world abroad. They are rich, extravagant and privileged. Most importantly, they know how to make the rules and not have to follow them. Even with all of those qualities, the public is enamored of them and as such both are able to garner and engender public sympathy.
This is especially true of Beyonce now that it seems Jay’s past and present affairs are around every corner and as people still speculate what was behind Solange’s, Beyonce’s younger sister, attached on Jay Z in the now-famous elevator. Solange repeatedly assaulted her brother-in-law as Beyonce looked on with an eerie calm. The lone individual willing to interrupt this beat down was paid to be there, and trust me, Beyonce’s long-time bodyguard, received a little something extra in the paycheck department after that confrontation. And then comes the kicker, no pun intended — Bey and Jay have the uncanny ability to then appear to be the comeback kids.
So how do you take a public relations disaster, or the perfect opening act, depending on your point of view, and turn it into an incredible marketing ploy for the most massive joint tour combining the star power and audiences/market groups of both Bey and Jay? While most of us would likely be looking for a real-life version of Olivia Pope to assess the damage and then adopt a crisis management strategic plan, Beyonce and Jay Z chose to issue a public statement that made little sense and said absolutely nothing and to then use the power of Tumblr and Instagram to put up a united front, cosmetically at least.
What is unique about this situation is not only are there huge power plays occurring in real time but that a break-up, or separation or conscious uncoupling on this scale has never before occurred in this age of modern technology and at the intersection of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. In fact, this dispute is still very much unfolding at this very moment. As rumors of resentment between the couple grow and then multiply and then close in upon themselves,Beyonce takes to the stage each night to sing her song named “Resentment.” She even stokes the proverbial fires as she constantly changes the lyrics of this song, seemingly dependent on how angry she is that night with her husband and his alleged many affairs.
So what is next for the couple? What will tonight’s concert show us? Are they really “Drunk In Love,” or are they drunk with power? My guess is that tonight will bring up as many questions as it answers, but that the two will still manage to come out on top. This show is likely their time to rise like a phoenix from a summer’s worth of separation and divorce rumors and to show the world that they are not only a couple united but a family who may or may not be expecting a new addition.
Watch along with me tonight! I may live Tweet the concert. You can check me out on Twitter at @lkstarks to see my comments. However, if you do not see me live-Tweeting, I will certainly be taking notes to put in the third and final portion of this piece.
Until Then…
LT