Beyonce and Jay Z not always so 'drunk in love'

Herald online

28 Dec, 2015 11:00 PM2 mins to read

A new book reveals it wasn't love at first sight for Beyonce Knowles and husband Jay Z.

Beyonce was "not into" Jay Z when they first met, while he thought she could raise his profile, a new book has claimed.

The couple - who married in 2008 and have three-year-old daughter Blue Ivy together - and their advisers reportedly thought getting together would help their "brand", giving the 34-year-old singer more "credibility" and boosting the 99 Problems rapper's image.

According to author J Randy Taraborrelli, when asked if she could see herself with Jay, Beyonce told her uncle "Eww".

And after they first met backstage at a benefit concert in New York City in 2001, she told pals: "I'm not into Jay."

Meanwhile, 46-year-old Jay could "smell opportunity".

His mentor Jaz-O told the author for his new book Becoming Beyonce:"The way I saw it, it was more calculated than romantic.

"He was thinking about his brand as much as his heart. He can smell opportunity."

Rapper Choke No Joke added: "There's no question she helped him get more revenue by putting her brand next to his. Call it fate, call it manipulation, whatever, Beyonce came along at the right time in his life."

However, love soon blossomed between the two and friends felt the pair would eventually marry.

Billy B, Beyonce's make-up artist, said: "From my vantage point, the love between them grew out of respect for him.

"Also in Jay Z she had met someone who was smart, maybe smarter than she was, and she was intrigued by that. People made jokes about his looks, saying he was not handsome enough for her, but she didn't care."

Recalling the night Beyonce started telling her about the rapper - whose real name is Shawn Carter - vocal coach Kim Wood Sandusky claimed: "As I was listening to her talk about Jay Z I sat there thinking, 'This man is going to be her husband'.

"I think he was opening up her heart in a way she didn't know was possible. Seeing the sparkle in her eye, I knew something wonderful was unfolding in her life."