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When rumors started swirling yesterday that Jay-Z had officially nixed the b-word from his vocab, fans and critics were quick to believe it, given Hov's public declarations of a shifted worldview, courtesy of baby Blue Ivy Carter. The catch? Turns out the rumor is just a rumor. Still, it got people talking about what's-in-a-word.
The buzz started when a short poem popped up online (leading us to reinterpret his potential 100th problem as, oh, a female Cocker Spaniel). Though its source wasn't cited, Jay-Z got credit for the words:
"Before I got in the game, made a change and got rich / I didn't think hard about using the word bitch. / I rapped, I flipped it, I sold it, I lived it / Now with my daughter in this world I curse those that give it."
Today, however, E! Online reported that, "A source close to the rapper's camp told E! News that the poem in question is not by Jay-Z. No word how the lyrics made it online, but it wasn't from the rap mogul, though the real Jay did have time to release the song 'Glory' paying tribute to his little bundle of joy."
Got it. B**** is still fair game -- officially -- but given that fans have spoken up, largely in approval of what looked like a blow to misogyny, perhaps Jay'll keep the imposter's sentiment in mind when penning his next album. After all, we've heard from dating abuse survivors who can testify that verbal abuse leaves real, if invisible, psychological damage; and those of you who have drawn your Thin Line made it clear that cruelty in words packs power. We trust Jay-Z has nothing but love for the ladies, what with an iconic female powerhouse by his side and all, but we'd be surprised if little Blue Ivy didn't spark a little truth to this poetic hoax.