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Jay-Z’s exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library, “The Book of Hov,” led to an exclusive interview with CBS Morning’s Gayle King. King talked to the rapper late last week, showcasing the exhibit that covers two floors of the library not far from where Jay grew up.
In their wide-ranging interview, Jay talked about his wife, Beyoncé, and his 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Blue danced on the Renaissance tour this summer, sharing the stage with her mother in a prominent role during the song “Power.”
In the interview, Jay corrected the widely-held view that Blue Ivy was named after her parent’s favorite color. In fact, it was a more pedestrian reason that the then-expecting parents came up with the name Blue Ivy. They were at first going to name their firstborn Brooklyn. But Jay explained that when he and Bey first saw the sonogram, they started calling the baby a little “blueberry.” When she was born, they decided to stick with a version of that.
He said he’s proud of his firstborn, who made her performance debut on the Renaissance tour. He said that, like many parents, he and Beyoncé weren’t quite sure she was serious about performing onstage.
“What makes me super proud — and I still get goosebumps seeing her walk onstage — is because Blue’s been born into a life she didn’t ask for,” Jay told King during the interview. “Since she was born, she’s been in scrutiny and in [the] public eye, and everyone having an opinion — even [on] a little girl, how she keeps her hair.”
He added, “So for her to be on that stage and reclaim her power, and the song is called ‘My Power’… you can’t write a better script.”
Blue Ivy has proven she’s ready to follow her parents in show business. She already has a Grammy Award, becoming the second-youngest person to earn the trophy. In 2021, she was credited as a writer on “Brown Skin Girl,” part of Beyoncé’s Lion King: The Gift album. Jay said although she certainly had an inside angle, Blue earned her spot on the show.
“And then watching her grow in it,” Jay said. He told King he knew she was nervous. “She came out, 80,000 people. She’s 11…I know how nervous she was… I know how frightened she was. But she wanted to do it. She wanted to do it the first night, and we were like, ‘OK, if this is something you want to do, you can’t just go out there. You gotta go work with the dancers and go work.’ And she worked every day, and I watched her work hard. She had a little icy pack thing on her back some days.”
Watch the full interview below:
Proud Dad Jay-Z Talks Blue Ivy’s ‘Renaissance’ Tour Performance Criticism & Her Name’s Origin was originally published on cassiuslife.com
