The November issue of Gotham Magazine shows Beyonce Knowles like NO interview or cover has ever done before. We actually get to meet the real Beyonce, as she really talks straight about family, fearlessness, and why she’s the face and voice of America.
Gotham Magazine Interview:
IT’S RAINING IN NEW YORK. A hot, muggy, gray rain that splashes in heavy sheets off the line of black Escalades parked outside a photo studio on the West Side. Just a few weeks ago, Hurricane Ike brought far more relentless rains to Houston, destroying the neighborhood where Beyoncé Knowles grew up. Oddly, her favorite memory is tied to a similar meteorological disaster almost 20 years ago.
“I never told anyone this story, but we lived by the bayou, and it flooded,” she explains. “My father came to pick me up from school. I thought he was so strong. And he protected me. We had to get out of the car because the water was flooding the streets. He was carrying me around and it was the most fun thing in the world. My arms were around his neck and I was laughing and it was raining, and I was like, this is great! Even though, looking back, I know he was terrified.”
Two decades later, that little girl has grown up. She still spends a lot of her time with her father, Matthew Knowles. But no one has to carry Beyoncé these days. Having sold 100 million records with Destiny’s Child and another 25 million as a solo artist, she’s built a career that continues to defy even the darkest predictions about the collapse of the music business. This month, as she prepares to release her third solo album, Beyoncé herself seems to be a force of nature.