Page 52 - Provoke Magazine Vol2

Jay & Bey
We all have our celebrity couple crushes. The affairs we want to last forever. The actress and actor we think would have the most adorable babies creating the picture-perfect family. Some want to achieve that image for themselves and if we don’t achieve that level of Shining, we use their mov- ies to get us through or music to walk down the aisle to. If you hadn’t noticed, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the couple I smile about, cried with and celebrated, as they released 3 classic albums full of expressions and stories of what it means to fall in love, and despite everything, stay there.
At the age of 19, a young Beyoncé Knowles was rumored to be dating rapper Jay – Z. The couple is 95% good at keep- ing their personal lives relatively quiet. The correlation I want to make is parallel to a hit the couple would make 10 years after becoming an item, called On the Run, which is what they called 2 of their world tours to follow. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Take this thought and sit with it. The type of relationship we see glorified, by design, or by default, is that of a 03 Bonnie & Clyde. Try as we may, most people can’t look away from it even if they dare not live it. It is either live Crazy in Love or they have books and movies about these types of stories. In suburban ideology, it looks like the black, leather jacket jock with the cheerleader donning a bouncy ponytail in a poodle skirt. In urban ideology, it is typically a drug dealer and a doe-eyed girl with a big heart. Some- times delusions held together by the “stand by your man” or “ride or die” precepts. Each message was clear; you may find heartbreak, but you could have a ton of fun living on the edge. Much of life is a risk; love will be no different.
I, personally, have spent some time in love with a bad boy. I must admit that I was faint of heart when it came to sticking it out for the die part, however; the ride was fun. In hind- sight, it felt as if I was Drunk in Love. I recall embarrassing moments and fights and misunderstandings. A constant rush of unbridled emotions. My heart asked many times, That’s How You Like It? I felt similar emotions when I watched the tragic elevator incident unfold. It took me back to when my
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heart took the Top Off during my bad boy daze. A time I was forced to decide if the ride I was on was worth dying for. Okay, not physically die, you guys, but die to myself and release all of me to him and where he stood at any given moment. I would also like to remind you that when Beyoncé came out of that elevator although her heart was breaking into a million pieces she had poise and grace under a look of power during utter embarrassment. A true Queen. (Thanks sister Solange, for the defense.) I can’t say that I would have performed as well, which makes their triumph in love one of my favorites, to date. When I was done being a Renegade, I looked in the mirror and said to self, Upgrade You.