Babies are definitely good for business, especially when it’s about show and the parents are as famous as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Within seconds of Beyoncé cupping her tummy on the VMA red carpet, sealed with a knowing “I’m with child” smile tailored to the shorthand age, social media filled in the blanks within seconds.
By the time she took the stage to perform “Love on Top,” wearing enough clothing to make a year’s worth of her typical performance outfits, she wasn’t hinting around anymore. “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside of me,” she told the audience as she began the song. As a finale, she unbuttoned her blazer and rubbed her belly as cameras switched over to Jay-Z, who revealed a smile we’ve rarely seen in the 20-plus years he’s been on the scene.
Twitter was frenzied in its response, with 8,868 tweets a second, topping the previous record set in July during the Women’s World Cup final, proving that “girls may rule the world,” but Beyoncé rules Twitter.
WATCH NBC NIGHTLY NEWS COVERAGE OF BEYONCE’S BABY BUMP:
[MSNBCMSN video=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640″ w=”592″ h=”346″ launch_id=”44320548^140^82400″ id=”msnbc6fe97f”]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
While the public is drunk off this uncharacteristic show of inclusion into their private lives from the couple that initially refused to confirm their marriage and have yet to pose for a magazine cover together as husband and wife, the pressure on the unborn child is already unreal. When celebrities as diverse as Katy Perry (who, by the way, offered to babysit), Keyshia Cole and Trina take to Twitter to comment on an unborn child or someone goes to the trouble of even creating the Twitter handle @BeyJayFetus for it, there is no barometer to measure all that hype.
As we all have seen, growing up in the spotlight of famous parents is not an easy task. When mommy is Beyoncé and daddy is Jay-Z, normal flies out the window. Look at how often Halle Berry and her daughter Nahla are photographed. Seriously, they can’t even fly a kite without attracting the paparazzi’s attention and Halle’s current star wattage isn’t at a tenth of that of Beyoncé or Jay-Z separately.
Granted Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s kid won’t have the pressures of say Bobby and Whitney’s. With parents reportedly engaged in extracurricular narcotic activity and their all-around bad behavior captured on reality TV, it was kind of hard for Bobbi Kristina to keep it together. Since the photograph of her allegedly snorting cocaine and the rumblings of her own reality TV show, she’s been relatively quiet but there’s no telling when those troubles will flare up again.
Biggie’s seed, Christopher Wallace, Jr. whose mother is Faith Evans, is never mentioned without reference to his father. And, now, the actions of Michael Jackson’s kids are heavily documented. Growing up without a famous parent around has to be tough but, imagine how much more intense that pressure may be when they are around. People are already expecting the kid to be a superstar and she/he hasn’t even taken their first breath. With parents as talented as Bey and Jay, this child can’t miss, fans presume. But unwavering glare aside, this kid might just have the right stuff needed to sidestep all the pitfalls. As nontraditional as being born to two global superstars is, this kid’s parents, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, have lived out their romance in a very traditional manner.
They reportedly married in 2008, which, given the never-ending reports announcing that black women are more prone to be single, is impressive in itself. Because the couple has waited a good three years since marrying and nearly a decade since their courtship reportedly began in 2002, their kid will have an incredible shot at the elusive normality we all seek.
There’s little doubt that, in this moment, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are serving as role models for the hip-hop generation especially. Even Sean “Diddy” Combs’ son Justin tweeted “Beyonce dated, married, THEN got pregnant… young ladies take notes” when it’s well-known that his parents have done the complete opposite. But they are not alone.
According to the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative, “69 percent of African-American births are to single [or, perhaps, more accurately, unwed] mothers as compared to 33 percent nationally.” AAHMI believes that “many social problems affecting children, families and communities would be prevented if more children grew up in healthy married families.”
We know that Beyoncé comes from a background that is serious about matrimony. Although her sister Solange is now a single mother, she was married when her son Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. was born. And, despite the many reasons (including at least one child fathered outside of the marriage) why their mother, Tina, should divorce their father Mathew, they are still, to public knowledge, legally married.
Also, by all accounts, Jay-Z’s parents were together until he was 11 so, despite his many records that suggest otherwise, both he and Beyoncé started life with a traditional structure as their foundation.
In fact, Jay-Z affirmed to Oprah in a rare, candid interview in 2009 that mending fences with his father allowed him to let love (i.e. Beyoncé) into his life.
So, while no one can be certain what the future holds for their unborn child, good or bad, it appears that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have done the utmost, financially and emotionally, to prepare their kid to receive the very best life can offer on all fronts. And, hopefully, that’s all the armor this kid will need to fight the high expectations of millions of familiar strangers.