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In a very, very rare instance, Beyoncé opened up in a new interview.
The superstar isn’t likely to speak with the media; instead, she’ll let her music speak for itself—and it’s been pretty damn successful.
But for now, she chatted with GQ via email for its October cover about everything from being a mother to a glimpse into her marriage to Jay Z, music, and, of course, her latest business venture, SirDavis.
She tells GQ about experiencing whiskey for the first time and how it instantly piqued her interest.
“I’ll never forget the first day I had whiskey. It spoke to me nice. I remember thinking, Why have I never had this before? It was strong and warm, just the right amount of challenge. I loved the process, the ritual of it. Whiskey isn’t something you just shoot down. It’s a commitment. You gotta have patience. I like that,” she explained.”
From there, like any hobbyist, she took things up a notch, looking for quality and a niche within the area.
“Then I got into vintage Japanese whiskey and started doing tastings. It opened up a whole new world. I love everything about whiskey. The color, the smell, the way it dances in the glass.… And I love the stories that come with it. Every bottle has a history. I also like introducing whiskey to people who don’t know they love it yet,” she added.”
But like most of her ventures -Ivy Park, Cécred, etc.- she’s chosen not to be the face of the brand and instead to focus on the product.
She notes that if men can do it, she should be able to, too, adding, “It’s important to me to continue to take the same approach I have taken with my music and apply my learnings to my businesses. I am here to change that old narrative. I’m here to focus on the quality.”
She even gave a peek into her life with her three kids Blue, Rumi, and Sir, revealing what a morning in the Carter household is like.
“Most days I try to wake up at around 6am, squeezing in an hour or two of work before the little ones are up. Parenting while working, I move forward, embracing the beauty and the chaos of it all,” she said of her day-to-day.
But she went on to explain how social media has changed the world in one generation, recalling how she and Hov kept in touch during their budding relationship.
“We live in a world of access. We have access to so much information – some facts, and some complete bulls–t disguised as truth. Our children can FaceTime and see their friends at any given moment. My husband and I? We used calling cards and Skype when we were falling in love,” she told GQ. “I couldn’t afford the international hotel bills, so I literally would get international calling cards to call him. Just recently, I heard an AI song that sounded so much like me it scared me. It’s impossible to truly know what’s real and what’s not.”
While fans are waiting (very impationely) for her third album of the trilogy, she also touched on retirement– but it might be pretty far off in the distance.
“My knee injury was an opportunity to transition into a new animal. I retired from the formula of the pop star a very long time ago. I stopped focusing on what’s popular, and began focusing on the qualities that get better with time and experience. Good music and strong messages will never retire,” she said.
See how social media is reacting to the interview below.