Beyonce covers British Vogue: ‘I have learnt that my voice is clearer when I am still’

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, opens the Francis Crick Institute in London

Beyonce covers the December issue of British Vogue, with an interview conducted by Edward Enniful. Enniful has gotten so much attention and hype as the first Black editor-in-chief of any Vogue house, and I suppose that’s why Beyonce agreed to these multiple covers and exclusive interview. Plus, she had something to promote: her latest Ivy Park X Adidas line (Drip 2) pieces of which she models in the magazine. Every time Beyonce opens her mouth these days, it makes major news, that’s how rare her public statements are. She spoke to Vogue about this hellscape year and more.

On 2020: “It would be difficult to experience life in a pandemic and the current social unrest and not be changed. I have learnt that my voice is clearer when I am still. I truly cherish this time with my family, and my new goal is to slow down and shed stressful things from my life. I came into the music industry at 15 years old and grew up with the world watching, and I have put out projects nonstop.”

Everything that’s happened in the past four years: “I released Lemonade during the Formation World Tour, gave birth to twins, performed at Coachella, directed Homecoming, went on another world tour with Jay, then Black Is King, all back to back. It’s been heavy and hectic. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on building my legacy and representing my culture the best way I know how. Now, I’ve decided to give myself permission to focus on my joy.”

On motherhood & power: “Something cracked open inside of me right after giving birth to my first daughter. From that point on, I truly understood my power, and motherhood has been my biggest inspiration. It became my mission to make sure she lived in a world where she feels truly seen and valued. I was also deeply inspired by my trip to South Africa with my family. And, after having my son, Sir Carter, I felt it was important to uplift and praise our boys and to assure that they grow up with enough films, children’s books and music that promote emotional intelligence, self-value and our rich history. That’s why the film [Black is King] is dedicated to him.”

[From British Vogue via Billboard]

Rumi is shook! I can’t believe Rumi didn’t get a shout-out, damn. Blue Ivy was the first and I get how Blue’s arrival changed everything. But wow, Beyonce had twins after that! Beyonce didn’t even call her second daughter The Other One, B just ignored her completely! As for 2020 being a reset year, a year of reflection and a year to refocus one’s priorities… I get that. I hope that a lot of people have spent 2020 deciding to do things differently, or figuring out another way to live or exist or thrive. It would suck if only a few of us were left changed by this year.

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, opens the Francis Crick Institute in London

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@Beyonce stars on three special covers for the December 2020 issue of #BritishVogue. She speaks to Editor-In-Chief @Edward_Enninful about everything from the recent racial and social justice movements, to her personal legacy and why she has finally decided to “give myself permission to focus on my joy”. Read the full interview and see the 20-page fashion extravaganza photographed by Kennedi Carter in the new issue, on newsstands and available for digital download Friday 6 November. #Beyonce wears all @MuglerOfficial. Photographed by @InternetBby and styled by @Edward_Enninful with hair by @JawaraW and colourists @Rachel_Bodt and @ShirleyGHauteHair, make-up by @FrancescaTolot, nails by @OhMyNailsNYC, set design by @StefanBeckman and lighting direction by @_Wordie. With thanks to Beyoncé’s personal stylist @ZerinaAkers, her tailor #TimWhite and publicist @YvetteNoelSchure; Parkwood Entertainment creative director @KwasiFordjour and creative producer @LaurenLaLaBaker; Satellite414 founder @CarlitoF8; @TravisKiewel and @RobFamous for @ThatOneProduction; and Vogue entertainment director-at-large @JillDemling.

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Covers courtesy of British Vogue.

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21 Responses to “Beyonce covers British Vogue: ‘I have learnt that my voice is clearer when I am still’”

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  1. pollyv says:

    IMO, that interview contained a lot of pretentious nonsense. Admittedly, I don’t get the whole mega star Beyonce stuff but please, Beyonce as Oracle, nope.

    • Noki says:

      I also think part of the reason she stopped doing public interviews and appearances the minute she was famous enough is people used to mock how she speaks. I honestly think these were typed by her publicist. Vogue sends her TYPED questions and she emails them back.

    • Flamingo says:

      She spent the summer playing in the Hamptons and on a yacht. Her life hasn’t changed that much in 2020. I hate when A List celebrities act like the pandemic has changed their lives dramatically. They’re still vacationing, partying, flying.

  2. Ash says:

    It’s incredible how much I love her music and yet cannot get over how full of it she is.

  3. ME says:

    Hey it happens. I’m a middle child. I have an older sister and younger brother. Guess who got ignored ? ME !

  4. JEM says:

    Well, I love her and think she’s brilliant. And the covers are excellent. So there, grumps!

  5. Ethy says:

    What about her interview was pretentious or ridiculous? I’ll wait.

    • pollyv says:

      The word ridiculous was not used. It’s a personal opinion (IMO??) not stated as a fact. Opinions are just that and do not require proof, in fact, often can’t be proven. You have yours and I have mine.

  6. ce says:

    Damn, a lot of Beyonce hate in this thread 😆 my only criticism is: activewear? On Vogue? And it’s not even beautiful stuff. The other covers are better! That’s all I got.

    • Myra says:

      Right? I did a slight pause wondering if I had accidentally clicked on the wrong site 😆 the interview seems fine to me. She isn’t saying anything too deep, just that she needs to rest cause she’s been busy and that motherhood changed her. I felt that.

  7. LoonaticCap says:

    People just hop in any beyonce interview article to be the first to call her dumb and inarticulate. And yet y’all are the same people who defend mental challenges some of us face.
    And on top of it. Still insinuate she hasn’t written anything on her own “her publicist” did.
    THIS is why she stopped doing interviews.

    She’s rich, she’s business savvy and she’s talented. Not your cup of tea ok, doesn’t mean she’s not intelligent JUST because she’s not the most articulate.

    I am also like that. I stutter when i speak in public or start rambling. Doesn’t mean I’m dumb. I get nervous and I’m insecure. In fact, I’m very smart.

    Stop it.

  8. Mely says:

    I would expect Beyonce is purposefully calling attention to her son after the continuous murders of black boys and men in this country. She specifically named him Sir, to give him a name of respect. And the continues dehumanization of them. Just a few weeks ago we learned of Quawan Charles. A 15 yo who went missing and the police refused to search for him or issue any alert. Days later he was found dead. If you don’t know his story, please google him. Beware, his family had his autopsy photos published. Much like Mamie Till published Emmets.

  9. BC says:

    Beyoncé is gorgeous, driven and inspirational. Successful in a very racist country. From nothing to something. Well done Bey. Live your life! I remember Denzel too took a long break from acting to raise his children. And now he and his son are giving us great movies again. Family first.

  10. Katy B says:

    The article itself reveals more. The article’s premise was to encourage the fashion industry during the Covid Era, which B bought into. It didn’t hurt that she had her own line to drop (though drip 2 was the black/tan set released this week, not the multicolor sets at the beginning of the month when the e-Vogue dropped.)

    Rumi does get mentioned – the Queen B has her own beehives and makes her own honey, to help with Rumi’s allergies.

    Would encourage folks to head over to Vogue and read the full article, as well as looking at the 20+ page fashion spread. It’s pretty damn awesome.

    • AmunetMaat says:

      Thank you for this considerate and thoughtful comment. Black women get blamed and pulled through the wringer for such nonsensical things.

  11. AmunetMaat says:

    I swear Beyonce triggers so many people. For one, I got everything she wrote. I have a 3-year-old Black son and I have cried some real tears this year (2020) because of all I have seen and the constant question of how do I curate an intimate world for my son to grow emotionally in this social viper world? I get what she means about the Pandemic as well, there are lots of celebrities who did not make it through because of the emotional and mental toll this took. What does having a yacht and going on vacation have to do with not being impacted by a global pandemic on an emotional or mental level? Yeah, it may not have stopped her movement but we don’t’ know what insights it provided. I’m a boring lower middle-class position and I was blessed enough to not be hit that hard by the outward effects of Covid but yeah it still made me reflective and it still made me reconsider and adjust a lot of things I had going on in my life. Yeesh.

  12. YAS says:

    Not really sure why people think COVID hasn’t impacted artists’ lives. Yes they have the resources to do a lot more things than the average person, but workwise, things in entertainment are different and there are elements of it that have stopped entirely or have been drastically reduced. For one: no one is going out on tour, which for an artist like B took up a significant amount of time. So I understand what she’s saying about things slowing down a bit.

    I see nothing pretentious about a Black artist who has arguably one of the biggest platforms out there discussing how becoming a mother in a country that continuously works overtime to demean and devalue Black lives made her more purposeful and mission-driven – it makes perfect sense to want your child to grow up in a world where they see themselves as worthy and to actually take steps to make that happen. Also, these interviews may not be your cup of tea or the type of content some people seek out, but it’s not really that different from the way a lot of really artists discuss their work in the press. What *is* different is that now it’s a Black woman saying it.