Miguel Speaks On Writing Beyoncé’s ‘Rocket’

From VIBE:

Unless you’re asexual (or Keri Hilson), it’s impossible to hear Beyoncé’s “Rocket” and not feel an intense urge to invite your guy/gal/cutty buddy over to do the no-pants dance. And according to the song’s author, the song was written with that in mind.

Miguel, who penned Bey’s 2013 update to D’Angelo’s rhetorical classic “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” says he was challenged by Mrs. Carter to push the envelope with some of her most risqué lyrics yet.

“I’ll never forget the conversation I had with Beyoncé and her insisting that nothing was off-limits,” Miguel tells VIBE. “And me being like, ‘Oh yeah, you sure? Because I can really take it there.'”

And take it there he did. Once Miguel got the OK from Yonce, he came up with the song’s definitive opening line: “Let me sit this ass… on you.”

“What’s the first thing I’d want Beyoncé to say to me, as a man? What have I not heard her say?” Miguel recalls thinking. “That’s where the song came from. And essentially it’s what all of us would want Beyoncé to say to us—no disrespect, obviously, to Jay.”

Miguel just might be on to something (see the lustful slow-mo video for “Rocket”). But his record isn’t the only track on Beyoncé that shows off her sensual side. She sings about cunnilingus on “Blow” and returns the favor in the backseat of a car on “Partition.” “Drunk In Love,” her duet with hubby Jay Z, even popularizes a sex position (Serfbort!).

“She’s confident and [“Rocket”] showcases that part of her that we haven’t seen—her confidence and her sexuality—which can be liberating to a certain degree,” says Miguel, who is hard at work on his Kaleidoscope Dream follow-up. “I hope that’s why she loves the record—that’s why I love the record.”

He adds: “She’s a beautiful woman and that’s why even women love her… She just rocked everyone’s world.”

Beyoncé Cuts Kelly Rowland Out Of Throwback Aaliyah Picture

So, what would have been Aaliyah’s 35th birthday just passed, and in tribute, Kelly Rowland decided to throw up a birthday of her and Beyoncé with the fallen singer. Hours later, Beyoncé must’ve felt like reminiscing as well, because she threw up the same picture; the only problem was that she cropped Kelly Rowland out of the picture. While I don’t give a shit about it, Black social media did — and the result is pretty hilarious. Check out the pictures in question, following by Instagram and Twitter responses to the “controversy”, above.

Beyoncé & Madonna May Be Performing At This Year’s GRAMMYs

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Well, Beyoncé anyway. Madonna may be dealing with some heat after calling her (white) son a “nigga” on Instagram. From L.A. Times:

Madonna and Beyonce appear to have their eyes locked on the Grammy stage.

The pop superstars are expected to be among the big surprise moments during next week’s ceremony, according to two sources with knowledge of the plans.

Late last year Beyonce pulled off one of the best-kept secrets in recent music history when she stealthily released her self-titled album without as much as a hint.

The Grammys is where she will make her first televised performance in support of the project — which shattered iTunes records upon its release in December — according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Madonna, however, is expected to pop up and lend guest vocals during a performance from one of the night’s nominees, an additional source confirmed.

Longtime Grammy Awards show producer Ken Ehrlich said he “can’t confirm” an appearance from Beyonce during an interview with Pop & Hiss to preview the show. Ehrlich didn’t confirm or deny Madonna’s involvement.

“Let’s put it this way … we have a really great history that goes back to the early days of Destiny’s Child,” Ehrlich added. “I love working with [Beyonce]. She’s incredible. She is so into what it is that she does and making sure that everybody who sees her walks away saying, ‘wow.’ ”

“Should she be on the show this year?” he continued. “I would think that the potential is there for that kind of moment.”

Other Grammy performers include Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr; Daft Punk with Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder; Kendrick Lamar with Imagine Dragons; Lorde; Katy Perry; Pink and Fun’s Nate Ruess; Robin Thicke and Chicago; Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; Kacey Musgraves; John Legend; Taylor Swift; Keith Urban and Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton.

Reps for Madonna and Beyonce had yet to return requests for comment.

The Grammy telecast airs at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time Jan. 26.

Beyoncé Writes Essay On Gender Equality

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Beyonce gives her views on what needs to be done to make women and man truly equal in a new write-up on The Shriver Report. You can check out an excerpt below; the essay can be seen in full here.

We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.

Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.

We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.

More Photos From Blue Ivy’s 2nd Birthday (Courtesy of Beyoncé)

We previously posted a bunch of paparazzi-style photos of the happy family in celebration….now we have some more personal “candids” courtesy of Beyoncé herself. Spotted on NY Daily News:

The fun-filled party took place at Miami’s Jungle Island wildlife park and botanical garden, according to Us Weekly, which Mr. and Mrs. Carter reportedly rented out for the day.

Several close family members and friends attended the party, including Beyoncé’s Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and photos from the party later appeared on the “Flawless” singer’s Tumblr page.

Blue Ivy rocks an adorable little “birthday girl” tiara and face paint in the photos — and so does her mom. In another snapshot she appears to be riding around on a little pink toddler tricycle, escorted by her rapper dad.

After working up an appetite at the play place, the family reportedly enjoyed a pizza lunch at local eatery Joey’s Italian Café, according to Us Weekly.

“It was really cute,” an eyewitness told the magazine. “They’re such fun and attentive parents and pretty normal people considering how famous they are.”

PICS: Tina Knowles 60th Birthday Party In New Orleans

Check out some pics from Tina Knowles 60th Masquerade Ball in New Orleans, put together by daughters Beyoncé and Solange. Guests included Monica, Kelly Rowland, Kris Jenner and more. In addition, we’ve also added some shots of King Bey and her mother pre-birthday party. From Daily Mail:

The famous siblings hired out the exclusive Muriel’s Jackson Square restaurant for the masquerade-themed shindig, at an estimated cost of more than $100,000.

‘Solange Knowles and Beyoncé Carter cordially invite you to share in an enchanted evening in New Orleans to celebrate the birthday of their mother Tina Knowles in the tradition of an old New Orleans masquerade party,’ read the gold embossed invitation that was exclusively obtained by TMZ.

Guests were asked to wear cocktail or formal attire, while they were warned that there would be no entry without a mask, with spares available at the door.

Guests were transported to the restaurant presumably from a nearby designated meeting point in a number of fun tuk tuk style buggies.

PICS: Blue Ivy’s 2nd Birthday Party In The ‘Jungle’

Spotted on TMZ:

Beyonce and Jay Z celebrated Blue Ivy’s 2nd birthday in spectacular fashion … closing down an entire theme park — for a celebration that the kid will never remember.

Blue Ivy spent the day Tuesday with lemurs, orangutans, kangaroos and penguins at Jungle Island — a wildlife park and botanical garden in Miami.

Park officials are keeping the cost under wraps … but it’s gotta be pricey to close the entire park. Put it this way … a VIP safari tour for just one person costs $240.

Check out the pics … and Blue Ivy’s bling.

Beyoncé Responds To ‘XO’ Challenger Lyric Controversy; NASA Releases Statement

From TMZ:

Beyonce got off easy with NASA … rather than saying she blatantly exploited the deaths of the Challenger astronauts, the space agency essentially said she dishonored the memories of the crew.

As you know … Beyonce’s song, “XO” begins with sound from mission control in 1986 … as they react to the spaceship blowing up and the 7 crew members careening to the ground.

NASA ‘s response … “The Challenger accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized.”

Beyonce came out with a bizarre, hollow justification … “The song ‘XO’ was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones to remind us that unexpected things happen …”

It’s not exactly that there was suddenly a burning need to help the families cope with the deaths that are almost 2 decades old.

‘Good Morning America’ (Possibly) Reveals Beyonce’s Real Age

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On a random note, I’ve seen blogger Sandra Rose pushing this issue quite often in the past…from Rhymes With Snitch:

A favorite subject of Beyonce conspiracy theorists is that the Queen of Pop is much older than the 32 years of age she claims.

Back in 2008 Gabrielle Union slipped up and gave away Beyonce’s true age [click here if you missed that] and yesterday Good Morning America slipped up too…

After a segment about Beyonce’s new album one of the anchors on Good Morning America pointed out the fellow anchor Biana Golodryga had gone to high school with Beyonce which Biana confirmed.

The gag is that Biana is 35.

Beyoncé – Grown Woman (Video)

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UPDATE: Vulture has another, more animated version of King Bey’s ‘Grown Woman’ video. You can check that out below.

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So they gave Pepsi the official right to premiere Beyoncé’s ‘Grown Woman’ outside of an iTunes download*. You can click the above image to enjoy.

*Speaking of, I believe that starting tomorrow, you will be able to download Beyoncé’s songs and videos individually instead of the mandatory full album. The project should also be available for streaming on all pay-to-play networks as well (ex. Spotify).