Leave it to Beyoncé to create the ultimate Father’s Day tribute.
On Sunday night (June 21), Queen Bey’s hair care brand Secred wrapped up Father’s Day by sharing a link to a seven-minute video blog titled “The Blueprint.” And when it comes to The Carters, the world knows exactly who “The Blueprint” refers to.
The new clip, narrated by Beyoncé, traces a complete timeline of Jay-Z’s hair journey, from low-cut Caesars to Basquiat-inspired cores to the voluminous afro he debuted during his headline-grabbing Roots Picnic set last month (May 30).
“Jay told me a few months ago that he was planning to really dig into his rock for a Philly show with The Roots. He wanted to do this in honor of his dad…his dad rocked in the fro, so he wanted to rock in the fro in honor of his dad,” Beyoncé explains between behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage of the Roots picnic. It also includes a tender clip of youngest daughter Rumi following in her father’s shadow on stage. “I wasn’t entirely convinced that he could comb his own hair, considering he has such thick, long wicks and his hair has been stuck for over eight years. I always thought it was beautiful that the real reason Jay grew his hair out was to show Blue that her hair was just like his.”
Those old enough to remember will remember how the world treated Blue Ivy when she was born in 2011. Both online and in real life, people accused the Carters of “uncombing” Blue’s hair and denigrated its look and texture. According to Beyoncé, Blue first expressed insecurity about her hair around the age of five, which inspired Jay to start growing it out. “We wanted her to love and embrace every inch of her gorgeous curls,” says Beyoncé.
Devoting themselves to their daughters ultimately became part of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s artistic mission. Blue appeared with natural hair in both Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning “Formation” music video and Jay’s Ava DuVernay-directed “Family Feud” clip, provided guest vocals on her mother’s “Brown Skin Girl,” and even narrated Matthew A. Cherry’s “Hair Love” audiobook, winning a Voice Art Award (Best Narration – Children’s Audiobook) in the process. The Carters also used a photo of a black woman choosing an afro on a black man for the cover of their 2018 joint album Everything Is Love. Blue Ivy also appears in the new Cécred clip, helping her dad comb and detangle his hair while quipping, “I’m going to be an influencer!”
Although Beyoncé initially didn’t agree with Jay taking out her locks, she said, “They hold so many memories,” recalling a clip of Jay holding and kissing twins Rumi and Sir. “The LOC is like an antenna, connecting us to frequencies and energies” – she understood that this was also an emotional shift.
It took Beyoncé, Blue and Houston attorney Leticia “Leti” Ravello six days to comb Jay’s hair, and another day just to detangle it. They said Jay had also exclusively used the brand’s Secred products in his hair for the past eight years, including the brand’s parting tail comb, detangling spray, and hair and scalp balm.
“And on the day of the show, his fro was beautiful from start to finish,” Beyoncé concludes her vlog, complete with family-centric backstage footage from Hov’s intense Roots Picnic headlining set. “I would like to thank Jay for trusting Secred with his hair journey.”
This year marks a memorable year for Jay-Z as he celebrates the 30th anniversary of the release of his debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt. The New York Times hailed him as one of the 30 greatest living American songwriters. He hit back at everyone from Dame Dash to Nicki Minaj with a raucous Roots Picnic freestyle and is scheduled to play three shows at Yankee Stadium next month (July 10-12), one of which will commemorate the 25th anniversary of his classic The Blueprint.
Check out Cécred’s full blog, which details Jay-Z’s hair history, below.
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