Figure this one out: She is beautiful, multi-talented, wildly successful, rich, famous, young and, from all indications, sane and happy.
And someone somewhere in the world is bound to hate on her.
You guessed Beyonce Knowles, of course. She is the reigning queen of All That – music, movies, the concert stage, beauty commercials, fashion, living large and who knows how many fellas’ fantasies.
What’s not to hate?
But, an unusual thing has happened in conjunction with Beyonce’s rise to fame. The inevitable envy – and the rumors and faux or quasi-scandals that normally spill from it – have been driven underground. No one dares hate on her openly; there’s simply no window for it. Her manifest excellence defies it.
But Beyonce is not the only sistah who can sing and dance. She’s not the only one who can fulfill, shall we say, less-than-challenging roles on the silver screen.
She’s not the only simply gorgeous one. And she is most certainly not the only one who qualifies for what old school used to call “a brickhouse.” When it comes to “bootytlicious,” Beyonce can claim exclusive rights only to the term.
Why, then, has she become the quintessential entertainer, a role model, the pacesetter and in a league of her own? And how has she escaped the scowls of the morality marauders?
Could it be because when Beyonce flaunts it, it’s because she’s got it, not because she’s faking it or exaggerating it?
Could it be because she treats her sexuality like a natural quality that she controls rather than some freakish thing that sneaked up on her one night and commandeered her mind
and body a la Li’l Kim, who begs exorcism, or Britney Spears, who seems stunned and confused by it, or even Janet Jackson, who began treating it like she alone possessed it?
Not to put too fine a point on it, Beyonce may be the new face of Young, Gifted and Black American Womanhood. She has the chops, she puts in the work and she exhibits her gifts in a way that doesn’t threaten, but challenges.
In short, she’s got it, she’s enjoying it, and she’s inviting the world to celebrate it with her.
Ultimately, it may be that Beyonce is hard to hate on because she doesn’t hate on us. Pretenses and unwarranted hype are deceits, after all, and as such, they offend fans and consumers.
An honest broker is what we want. If life is going great for you, you don’t have to pretend you’re still living hard in order to win us over. You can say “I’m just Jenny from the block,” but we know where you live now. That’s OK with us. More stars might be in Beyonce’s shoes if they gave us a little more credit.
In the end, keeping it real is about keeping it honest. If you don’t have it, we will be fooled for only so long. Then, we’re through with you – our turn at keeping it real.
Performers like Beyonce are hate-proof as long as they maintain excellence and stay true to themselves, recognizing that whom they must first answer to is me, myself and I.
