Another week, another “Beyonce and Jay-Z are engaged or about to be married” story. Back in January, there was a rumor that they were secretly married at Georgio Armani’s house in Paris over the Christmas holidays. Both Jay-Z and Beyonce were sporting new matching ring-finger tattoos of the numeral IV, so people thought it must be symbolic of some kind of commitment, marriage being the logical assumption. Beyonce was rumored to be pregnant at that time, too, and that didn’t pan out. It seems like a lot of stories are spread about these two based on conjecture.

The singer and media mogul have been together for five years and despite all the rumors they haven’t split up, gotten engaged, or secretly married as far as we can tell.

Now there’s a story that Beyonce was seen out with a giant sparkling diamond ring on her left ring finger, but that she quickly stashed it in her purse when witnesses noticed it:

Beyonce, 26, and her longtime beau, Jay-Z, 38, had tongues wagging at Butter nightclub in NYC on Feb. 18. “She was wearing a huge diamong ring on her ring finger,” says an eyewitness. “When she noticed that I and some others noticed the rock, she quickly hid her hand behind her left elbow. Then she reached behind her to where her bag was, and after placing her hand in her bag, the ring disappeared!”

[From Life and Style, print edition, March 10, 2008]

Maybe she does have a big old diamond ring, but who knows if Jay-Z bought it for her or if it means that they’re engaged. JayBird noted in her post about their supposed “secret wedding” over the holidays that they’ve been in a stable relationship for a while and it seems to work well for them. If they want to get married or not that’s their decision.

Jay-Z was rumored to have had a fling with Rihanna back when she first hit the scene, but he was also mentoring her music career and those type of rumors are only natural given their working relationship. Rihanna supposedly got pissed at Jay-Z at a party after the Grammys this year and had words with him. But Jay-Z mocked Rihanna’s accent when he was presenting at the Grammys, and it seems likely that she was mad at him over that and it wasn’t a lover’s spat or anything like that. She was at the party with Chris Brown. Rihanna recently addressed the rumors that she was having an affair with Jay-Z, saying that it made her uncomfortable that people thought that, and that Jay-Z told her just to ignore the stories.

Jay-Z is about to embark on a 25-city tour with Mary J. Blige starting March 22. They will play five separate dates in NY alone. Tickets for the first four performances sold out within hours.

Beyonce is shown at the Grammy Awards and at the Sony Grammy After Party on 2/10/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z have been pretty quiet about their five-year relationship from the start. It’s also been rumored for at least the last four years that the two were about to get married. Now several media outlets are reporting that they already exchanged vows at Giorgio Armani’s Paris home over the Christmas holiday. It seems that the best evidence is a lot of information from “insiders,” and the fact that they both returned home with matching tattoos on their ring fingers of the Roman numeral IV. Considering how long they’ve been together and Beyonce’s frequent statements about wanting a big family, this could very well end up being true.

She may have some of the most diva-ish demands on the circuit but friends claim Beyoncé Knowles has wed long time love, Jay Z, in a low key Paris wedding. Insiders say the couple finally tied the knot during a romantic break in the French capital, claiming they are now ‘blissfully happy’. One source says the pair both tattooed personal inscriptions on their wedding fingers to mark the ceremony.

They ‘Didn’t want all the attention that usually follows them around, they just wanted it to be intimate and romantic. It was lovely and they are both blissfully happy. They thought the tattoos would be a lovely personal touch’, the insider reveals.

[From Metro.co.uk]

I would love – just for once – if an “insider” would reveal their true identity. It really would be cause for a celebration. The “insider” was right about the tattoos, so there might be a chance they really did get married. Considering how low-key they’ve been about their relationship, it would make sense for that same mentality to apply to their wedding. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine someone with Beyonce’s diva reputation not doing it up really big and splashy.

The Sunday Mirror is reporting that Beyonce might already be pregnant. I can’t really spot a visible bump, but I don’t claim to be an expert in that department.

Since her secret wedding last month, Beyonce Knowles has been glowing even more than usual. And friends are suggesting the marriage isn’t the only thing she has kept under wraps. Sources close to the Crazy In Love singer have hinted there could be double celebrations – as she and husband Jay-Z get set to have their first baby.

A friend said: “Beyonce is giving nothing away. She’s always been close to her parents and open about wanting a large family of her own one day.” Beyonce, who starred in the 2006 hit movie Dreamgirls, once said in an interview that she wouldn’t pressure her children to become singers. She said: “We’ll let our children make their own decisions. What if they are tone deaf? You never know.”

The friend added: “Beyonce and Solange have been brought up with strong Christian beliefs. Part of that belief is to be married before having children.”

[From the Sunday Mirror]

Of course Beyonce’s rep gave the old, “We don’t comment on private stuff” line. Which always makes me wonder exactly what it is they’re paid to do. Probably just to tell the rest of us they have nothing to say. Beyonce and Jay-Z have been together for so long – and the marriage/baby rumors have been swirling for almost as long – that it’s hard to guess if/when they got married. They seem pretty happy and stable in their relationship. Jay Z recently stepped down as the president of Def Jam records. He said that he was going to focus more on his other endeavors – maybe starting a family is one of those.

Jay Z now has the top selling album in America with the soundtrack for the film American Gangster. It is his tenth number one album and he is currently tied at second with Elvis for the most albums in history at the top spot on the charts. Only the Beatles have had more number one releases.

In a new interview with Blender Magazine, Jay-Z says that seeing the film American Gangster and making the album brought him back to the time when he was a dealer on the streets working daily to elude the cops. He said he tapped into those old emotions and nervous adrenaline to help fuel the creativity that helped him put out another chart-topper:

What is it about this movie that opened the creative floodgates?
It was the emotions I remember from that time. Paranoia, excitement, addiction. It really is an addiction. After a while in the game, you become addicted to the excitement and the sense of uncertainty. Because any day could be your last. Cops are watching you, enemies are watching you — and knowing that, it’s this weird … rush.

[From Blender.com]

With a net worth estimated at $286 million, Jay-Z has experienced incredible success, but says the results aren’t as exhilarating as he hoped. He says that, like Denzel Washington’s character, he ‘s had his share of letdowns after reaching the top. Still, he admits it has its perks:

On the American Gangster track “Success,” you rap about the disillusionment that can come with achieving your dream: “All I got is this big house, couple cars, I don’t bring half them shits out … How many times can I go to Mr. Chow’s?”
In the context of the album, it was that Scarface moment when Tony Montana sits in the restaurant and looks around and says, “This is all it’s about?” You get to that point where it’s like, “OK, I drove the Rolls Phantom around the corner and … nothing happened.” And you ask yourself, “That’s it? I thought blondes was gonna be jumping on my hood!”

Do you ever hang out with anyone richer than you?
I don’t know. I’m sure I do. I’ve hung out with Bill Gates, but he’s not a friend of mine. I’ve hung out with Bono. He’s gotta be way richer than me.

What’s the most expensive bottle of wine you’ve ever bought?
Oh, my goodness, I know that exactly. I had a $20,000 Petrus 1945 at a place called Graycliff in the Bahamas.

Full-bodied? Playful? Impudent?
Oh, it was definitely full-bodied. Incredible. You could almost taste the barrel. It was one of those things where you say, “Come on, how good could it be? What’s the difference?” But you really could taste the difference. It was damn near like smoking weed. It was a high.

[From Blender.com]

As for who he’s supporting in the presidential race, Jigga says that he likes Barack Obama and had a conversation with him about his career when the subject was brought up. He’s says he’s not sure who he will back though and is “gonna go down to the last day with this one.”

Jay-Z laughed and refused to comment when asked if he’s planning to marry his longterm girlfriend, singer Beyoncé. Maybe he’s still waiting for those girls to come jump on his car.

Thanks to Blender.com for the interview and photos.

A while ago Jay-Z said that he would retire… then put out two albums. Kind of a mixed message there. Now the rapper and business mogul says he wished he’d kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. In the future, he says he won’t announce he’s retiring, he’ll just stop putting out albums, and after a few years people will realize he’s retired. I guess his theory being that way, if he changes his mind before people notice, no one will call him on it. Sounds like a fine logic to me.

Wait a minute, didn’t Jay-Z say he was retiring TWO albums ago? “I want to never say that again,” the 37-year-old rap mogul says in XXL magazine’s new issue. “Just make the albums, man. And if one day people wake up and it’s four years later, and you haven’t made another, they go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re retired!’ I think that’s best for me.”

“I think I pulled the retirement ripcord too many times. People looking at me like, ‘Please shut up.’ I was looking at (his retirement movie) Fade to Black the other day. I was embarrassed. I couldn’t watch. I’m not playing with you. I had to turn it off,” he says. “I was cringing.”

[From USA Today]

I’ve found it’s generally better to just do something than to announce you’re doing it. That way, no one notices if you don’t do it. Sneaky, huh? Jay-Z also talked about rapper Lil Wayne, who declared himself the “greatest rapper alive” after Jay-Z retired. Probably not the smartest move dude.

Jay’s new project is an album about his hustling days, inspired by the upcoming film American Gangster. That places him in competition with hot rappers of the moment — like Lil Wayne, who after Jay “retired” proclaimed himself the “greatest rapper alive. I think Lil Wayne is extremely talented,” Jay says. “I think he’s one of the most talented ones out there. I mean, even more so how his delivery is than what he says. I don’t think some of the things he says sometimes are the greatest things, but the way he delivers it, that’s part of it.”

“But do I think me and Lil Wayne should be in the same sentence? Me? No,” Jay says. “I mean, hopefully one day. He has to accumulate work. Put some classics under his belt.” A superstar girlfriend like Beyonce wouldn’t hurt as an equalizer. “I think people are only interested in (a relationship) three times: When you get together, when you break up, and when you have a baby,” Jay says. “They don’t have good intentions. People just want to manipulate the situation to benefit them. I think relationships are broken up because of the media.”

[From USA Today]

I always enjoy a nice “Blame-the-media-for-whatever’s-going-wrong-in-your-life” quote. When in doubt, it’s always a failsafe, and people nod along and agree. I could maybe see blaming the paparazzi, because having 50 people following you around all day has got to put a crimp in your romance. But the media itself is a pretty broad category, and I’m sure if someday you decide to break up with Beyonce, I didn’t have anything to do with it. But I’m guessing Celebitchy did. She’s duplicitous like that.

If you’re anything like me, you were probably sitting around, looking at your wall, and thinking, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the richest rap mogul of them all?” If your mirror said Jay-Z, you should give it some Windex. Jay-Z was just named the richest rapper by Forbes.com. I thought they were supposed to spend their time talking about financial markets, stocks, and making people panic over real estate. But it seems that lately, Forbes is spending the majority of their time coming out with “The richest…” lists. Last week they had “The richest bald man” and “The richest one legged farmer.” Okay not really, but I would read Forbes a lot more if they did. Okay not really.

“Jay-Z wins all around, says Forbes.com. He’s got Beyonce on his arm _ and more millions than 50 Cent and Diddy. The rap icon, aka Shawn Carter, is No. 1 on the site’s list of “Hip-Hop Cash Kings,” based solely on 2006 income. He banked an estimated $34 million, Forbes.com said Thursday.

“Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, released his 11th studio album, ‘Kingdom Come,’ which sold around 2 million copies. Jay-Z, 37, is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets and has endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.”

[From Forbes.com]

It might be good to be Jay-Z – yeah you have a lot of money, and Beyonce at your beck and call singing that “Cater 2U” song (blech) – but you’d also have to deal with that crazy mother of hers, Tina Knowles. You know, that lady that’s always trying to drape people in the fur of live puppies? Well her clothing line is one of the few out there that still uses fur, and to me it’s all the same thing. Who else makes a lot of money and doesn’t come wit the bizarre mother?

“Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson ranks second with an estimated $32 million. The 31-year-old rapper-businessman oversees his G-Unit record label, clothing line, ring tones and other enterprises, and has sold more than 11 million albums. His latest record, ‘Curtis,’ is due out Sept. 11.

“Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) placed third with an estimated $28 million. A fashion plate, he has a clothing line, Sean John, and heads Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment and its record label. Diddy, 37, is also host of MTV’s ‘Making the Band’ series.

“Rounding out the top five are Timbaland ($21 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million). They’re followed by Eminem ($18 million); Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Scott Storch (all $17 million); Ludacris and T.I. (both $16 million); Outkast and Lil Jon (both $14 million); Ice Cube ($13 million); Jermaine Dupri and Swizz Beatz (both $12 million); Chamillionaire and The Game (both $11 million); and Young Joc ($10 million).”

[From Forbes.com]

You could be at the bottom of that group and still be doing pretty well for yourself. I have no idea who Swizz Beatz (sounds like the name of a cheap watch) or any of the guys after him are, but I’m pretty sure I could learn to love them, given the chance.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Black and White Ball. Header image of Jay-Z at Giant Magazine’s celebration of Rihanna’s new album on June 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Update: I’m putting this update at the top. There is no affiliation between Jay-Z’s “Water for Life” campaign and this SUV he designed. I wrote that title as a joke, and hoped the text of the post would make it clear that I was trying to point out that designing an SUV is not the best way to conduct your business affairs when you’re trying to bring awareness for the need for clean water in the third world.

Jay-Z unveiled the new gas guzzler he helped design for GM, a bright blue GMC Yukon Denali. Maybe the blue helps signify his “Water for Life” campaign, since designing SUVs and bringing water to the third world is so consistent:

Jay-Z and General Motors are teaming up to bring a stylish hue to a rugged sport utility vehicle. The music mogul emerged from a concept GMC Yukon Denali SUV on stage Saturday during a celebrity-filled party thrown by General Motors Corp. on the eve of media previews for the North American International Auto Show.

Painted “Jay-Z Blue,” the SUV was developed through a partnership with the rapper during the past two years. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, worked with the company’s global color studio to create the reflective blue color for the SUV.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to drive one of them out of here tonight,” he said.

This is the guy that chartered an extra plane for his luggage when he was doing the charity circuit for “Water for Life,” so he doesn’t quite get that conservation starts with you.

It’s great that he’s doing something meaningful and all, but if he doesn’t care about the environment or doesn’t realize that he’s contributing to its demise by making SUVs glamorous, he should pick another cause.

Beyonce and Jay-Z are not getting married this weekend in a lavish ceremony on the island of Anguila, as we reported earlier. It was supposed to be a surprise ceremony to follow Jay-Z’a 37th birthday party, but the party is finished now and their reps say there’s not going to be a wedding:

The New York Post trumpeted on Tuesday that the star couple were bound for a “rap wedding” disguised as a 37th-birthday party. The paper said that after boarding “a yacht in St. Barts,” the guests “will also be ferried over to Anguilla for the wedding at Cap Juluca.”

The couple actually won’t be anywhere near Anguilla, our sources vouch. What’s more, they’re already back from the birthday party.

Here’s what really happened:

Monday night, right after Beyoncé walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of “Dreamgirls,” she shanghaied her unsuspecting rap-star boyfriend to an airport where she’d chartered two customized 757s. (One had a 20-seat movie theater.)

Waiting were about 20 of their closest friends, including Beyoncé’s Destiny’s Child sista Kelly Rowland and music and marketing honchos like Lyor Cohen, Steve Stoute and Kevin Lyles.

After an in-flight feast prepared by two chefs, the gang touched down in St. Martin, where everyone boarded a 270-foot yacht.

For the next two days, Jay and his friends did the biggest of pimpin’. Two helicopters were on standby, and the lobster and Champagne – Jay-Z’s own Ace of Spades vintage – flowed. There was swimming, snorkeling and even a four-man minisub to take guests on deep-sea explorations.

“The party must have cost $1 million a day,” estimates one source.

The revelers finally returned yesterday morning. Jay stopped off in Miami for the Art Basel fest, where he was said to be considering a $7 million painting.

That must have been some party. Everyone was speculating that Beyonce was motivated to have a wedding by the fact that she’s being upstaged by Jennifer Hudson’s role in their firlm “Dreamgirls.” Now it’s said that producers are gunning for Beyonce, not Hudson, to be nominated for an Oscar.

Meanwhile that document that we published from MediaTakeOut that claims that Beyonce is 32, not 25, seems to have been altered. Reader betsy found that another person on the list was born in 1981 according to Texas Birth Records, available online. We were able to verify online through an ancestry site that Beyonce is listed as being born in 1981, not 1974.

Header image is from this spring and was found at Haute Gossip.

When I read about the latest wedding rumors for Beyonce and Jay-Z I had to look up the last rumor that they were going to be married. They were said to be planning a huge wedding on the island of Anguilla this November. Obviously that didn’t happen, but this time they’re still said to be planning a wedding in Anguilla to take place right after Jay-Z’s 37th birthday party:

“Beyoncé is throwing Jay a four-day birthday party, but it’s really a wedding,” said one source. Guests, including family and close friends, were told to have passport applications filed by last Friday so they can attend the bash on a yacht in St. Barts. But insiders said the guests will also be ferried over to Anguilla for the wedding at Cap Juluca, a five-star resort with Moorish villas. Another spy said Knowles and Jay-Z had toured the site earlier this year and approved it for their nuptials. Reps for Knowles, Jay-Z and Cap Juluca didn’t return calls or e-mails. The rapper/mogul has dated the lovely Knowles, now bigger than ever with her star turn in “Dreamgirls,” for four years.

Beyonce said this summer that she wasn’t ready for marriage, and that she’s not the type of girl who always dreamed about a lavish wedding. If this news is true it looks like she’ll be getting one, anyway.

Jay-Z somehow managed to play seven shows in just 24 hours, starting at 6:00 AM in Atlanta and spending 30 minutes on each stage. He took his private jet around the states, also performing in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Beyonce was seen at his California show, but did not perform.

Something which might seem impossible to complete was piece of cake for one the most successful rappers of all time. Jay-Z celebrated his official return in the music business by performing a seven 30-minute-gig marathon across the US.

The star kicked off his one-day tour in Atlanta on Saturday, where Hova was scheduled to give a concert at 6 a.m., when most people haven’t eaten their breakfast. Next in line were Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The mini-tour ends up in Las Vegas on early Sunday.

Together with his staff, Jay-Z crossed the states in his luxurious private jet from city to city making the best of his return. At least 100 people were waiting outside Atlanta’s Centerstage for the first concert. There were another hundred inside already in the mood for his performance.

“First of all, y’all crazy,” Jay-Z said to the crowd before he started to play. “I know I’m already crazy. But y’all crazy.”

30 minutes later, the rapper took off in a limo escorted by police until embarking on the plane. Before 10 a.m., the plane arrived in Philly where even more fans awaited his show. The line around the Electric Factory, in the 400 block of North Seventh Street, began forming hours before the 9:30 a.m. concert.

“I wish I had got here at 5 a.m. so I could’ve been the first person in line,” said Karima Dennis, 24, a housekeeper for the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue.

“Everything went smooth,” said Keith McPhee, whose Mack Productions handled the local end of production. “Jay’s flight was only five minutes late. He loved his set, and Philly turned out. You never know, Philly being Philly.”

The trip continued and as he reached his next stop at Howard University in Washington, almost 150 students were waiting for the convoy and 1500 more looked eager to hear him sing.

“I know y’all already downloaded it … but y’all gotta go and pick up the album on Tuesday,” he said while the crowd rapped along.

Jay-Z’s new album, “Kingdom Come,” is out tomorrow. At least one reviewer says it doesn’t flow like it should and the beats are too basic, but that there are some decent tracks and Jigga is showing his maturity. Some people claim it’s not up to his old work, but that it’s still better than most of the rap that’s out now.

Beyonce and Gwyneth are new BFFs, and hung out together and partied in London for Gwyneth’s 34th birthday. They shopped, went to dinner, saw Jay-Z perform, and then hit a club afterwards. Gwyneth’s husband Chris Martin even joined Jay-Z on stage during his performance at Royal Albert Hall while Gwyneth let loose and sung backup.

[from Beyonceworld.net]

London’s The Mirror said that Beyonce and Gwyneth talked about music and babies at the after party, but they’re making that shit up and running a story based on the photographs:

They all obviously had a great time and enjoyed themselves on Gwyneth’s birthday.

Thanks to BeyonceWorld.net for these pictures.

Update: Jay-Z was the first hip hop artist to headline at Albert Hall. He will play Paris tonight and Milan tomorrow.

“Lightweight” in the image caption above is not a literal reference to either Beyonce or Gwyneth’s weight, and just refers to the fact that Beyonce is visibly drunk in the pictures, while Gwyneth just looks tipsy.