THE UNCOMMON SECRETS OF BEYONCE

If you grew up in the early 2000s, then you probably must have heard about Beyonce and her relationship with the Illuminati (666). 

Then, it was sold in DVDs titled 'The Wicked Music Industry' and Beyonce was brandished as the supreme queen of this secret society, the one who, with Michael Jackson, meets the Devil one-on-one. They drank the bloōd of children to stay young and to sell more music.

The rumours had it that the real Beyonce was killēd in a staged car accidēnt because she was growing in fame, breaking records and selling music and yet, she refused to join the Illuminati, to do their bidding, so they killēd her off and cloned her. Their intent as it was rumoured, was to control this clone and and to make devilish secular music through this clone.

It was February 2011. 

I was just a child.

I had returned from school with tons of music discs, ranging from Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Beyonce, and Shakira to Celine Dion, Janet, and Akon.

A classmate in school had played some of their songs on his Nokia C1-01 phone to me. It was my first time being intimate with these songs, seeing the faces behind the popular songs I only heard on the radio and while passing through streets and bars and attending the most trendy of weddings.

I had only ever known songs and artists like African Queen, Gozie Okeke and Njideka, Joy-Joy-Joy, Fall in Love, Lucky Dube, Osadebe, Sweet Mother, Brenda Fassie, and Wedding Day. They were the songs and artists that woke me up on bright Saturday mornings because when my parents weren't playing them on their record players, my neighbours were.

That night, Nepa brought light and I spent long hours watching these videos on our TV. My parents and cousins were snoring in the other rooms. And curled up on the red carpet of our parlour alone, I was playing frenetic music from the hottest foreign artists. 

Among these artists, the one that stuck out to me the most was Beyonce. I was already a fan of Michael Jackson even before then. I mean, who didn't know MJ in the early 2000s? He was parodied by local street performers and school acts. He was my Hero.

I kept replaying Beyonce's music that night. I didn't know if it was her beauty, her milky skin, her dance moves, her voice, or her songs that enchanted me the most. If the Beyonce I was watching on TV that night could talk, she'd beg me for a cool glass of water and to stop replaying Single Ladies and Crazy in Love because her feet were starting to hurt from dancing. 

The next day, and the day after that, I kept up with this act. I returned most of the discs I borrowed and kept only Beyonce's. I didn't know I was capable of loving people that weren't my family until her. 

My cousins and siblings soon noticed my obsession with Beyonce and informed my parents about it.

I was sat down, and I was preached to that Beyonce was devilish, that those who played her songs would wake up one day to see the mark of the beast engraved on their forehead, and that a child of God like myself should avoid her.

That day, my mother returned from the market with a DVD titled "The Wicked Music Industry" where the narrator molonogically narrated the secrets of the Illuminati, telling us how evil Beyonce was, telling us the people she had sacrificed for wealth and how she sold her soul for fame.

I was dumbstruck. I was shocked. I was drenched, with sweat. My soul was peeling. I was scared. 

I didn't know humans were capable of such sin. I didn't know this beautiful woman who sang like an orchestra of birds was embedded into her throat and who looked like a blueprint of angels, was that evil. 

That day, I gathered all the discs I was given, both Beyonce's and the rest, doused them with kerosene and lit them on fire. 

As the flame grew, I thought to myself that my tie to her was severed, that I was freed. 

Weeks later, I couldn't stop playing her music in my head. It was everyone I went to. I'd catch myself humming Halo while washing the dishes, stomping my feet to Crazy In Love's beat as I walked to school, and dreaming of telling someone they weren't "Irreplaceable".  Her music made me better. They healed me. They transported me into a world better than the harsh reality I was facing. I was a child then, yes, but I had my problems and the emotions in her song somehow made it better.

I walked to the movie store one day, to get one of the series I was watching at that time and while rummaging through the shelf, I came across a Beyonce music DVD. I found myself grabbing the disc, purchasing it, and tucking it away into the depths of my school bag. I found myself waiting to hear my parents' snoring to play her music. I found myself downloading her song on the phone I was gifted for my birthday that year.

I found myself becoming happier, better, focused, and being understood.

Today, Beyonce is 41 years old and has been in the industry for nearly 27 years. Today, she has the most Grammy for any artist that ever lived—32. Today, she has been named the greatest living entertainer and the greatest female entertainer of all time. Today, Beyonce is the First Lady of Music. Today, she has had number 1 songs and number 1 albums. Today, she's happily married with three kids. 

Today, the Queen of Music is on a sold-out stadium world tour that has broken many records—the highest-grossing tour for a black artist, the highest attendance in various stadiums, the fastest woman to break a gross box score, the most money earned in a short while. She's on her Renaissance World Tour with her voice as crystal as ever, her body beautiful, her music evergreen, and her love for her fans genuine.

I have learned over the years that people are afraid of things that they do not understand, things that they are not capable of. They are afraid of success beyond their biggest dream. My uncles and aunt who are rich and have built houses from legit businesses are called satanists, so why won't Beyonce who has attained the very peak of success be accused of gaining hers not by her talent but by the aid of the Devil? 

I have learnt that a rumour can thrive within the ignorants and, in time, become their truth. 

I have learned that the person who sold the "The Wicked Music Industry" discs was probably famished and decided to earn money through the ignorance of others and at the disadvantage of hardworking artists. 

I have learned that Beyonce was never a clone and the accident rumoured started from her Crazy In Love music video where she played a love-struck woman who crashed her car while on her way to see her lover.

I have learned enough to know Beyonce is a human like us who worked hard and long for her money and for where she is today. 

Many of you might say Beyonce has enchanted me and I might not know this. But if this is an enchantment, if my worse days are made better just by listening to her music, if my most depressed moments are uplifted just by watching her, then this is a spell I'm not willing to break loose from.

Today, I stan the biggest woman to ever do it. The world's biggest entertainer. The one of one, the number one, and the only one.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the iconic mother of the House of Renaissance: BEYONCE!!

© DESMOND BEN 

(Follow me for stories, celebrity, and music updates)