Are you sitting down? Good, because Beyoncé just gave her first interview in a year (discounting that brief chat she gave prior to her game changing Super Bowl performance). And she got real deep, real fast.
Courtesy Garage Magazine
Garage magazine was able to secure the almost impossible, landing not just a cover with one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but original quotes actually uttered by Bey herself, a feat not even Vogue could accomplish. She began the interview discussing her biggest source of inspiration, saying, “My biggest hero is and always will be my mother. She has taught me about caring for others, working hard and working smart. Everything I know about being a mother comes from the examples she has shown. My mother has instilled confidence in my sister and me and taught us to always be grateful.”
The musician is also hesitant to define her work too narrowly, saying she rejects definitions of any kind. “I think defining art is a really personal thing,” she explains. “I try not to think about it too much. It makes me think of a Basquiat quote I read somewhere that said, ‘I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life.'”
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The singer then discusses making time for herself, the projects she’s interested in, and being her own boss. “Over time, I have learned to focus on the things I want to focus on in the time frame that I set,” she says, “I no longer have to work based on someone else’s expectations of pressure. I put enough pressure on myself! I love being 100 percent involved with all my projects and now I’m fortunate enough to do that.”
Finally, Bey revealed the must-have book on her reading list: “I would love for my younger fans to read What Will It Take to Make a Woman President? by Marianne Schnall. It’s a collection of interviews and essays by great women, including Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, and Melissa Etheridge. They will inspire you to become a better leader.” We suddenly have a feeling we might know where the inspiration behind “Formation” came from.
Want to hear what else the Queen might have to say? You’re going to have to download the Garage app or wait until March 14th when this issue finally hits stands.
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–Emily Kirkpatrick
Follow @kirkpate
