Jay-Z defends Blue Ivy against nepo baby claims: "Not everything is just given to her"

If there’s one thing Beyoncé and Jay-Z aren’t lacking in, it’s talent. So, it’s no wonder that they seem to have passed on their artistic prowess to their eldest child, Blue Ivy Carter.

While the 14-year-old’s younger siblings—twins Rumi and Sir, 8—have mostly been kept out of the spotlight, Blue has been gradually embracing a more public-facing role, thanks in large part to her mom’s concert tours for Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, where Blue took the stage for a number of show-stopping dance breakdowns.

Blue Ivy performs during the Renaissance World Tour in August 2023.

In his new tell-all cover story for GQ, Jay-Z opened up about how hard his eldest daughter worked to prepare for those on-stage moments.

“On the first tour there was a lot of conversation around her first performance, and she worked really hard to get to that point, but she still wasn’t going for it,” the rapper admitted. “She still was going through the motions. And then she just started fighting back. I saw her fight maybe for the first time in her life.”

Jay-Z went on to praise Blue’s work ethic and how she overcame her nerves. He also defended her, aiming to preempt any allegations that she’s merely a nepo baby. “Like, not everything is just given to her and [not] everything is easy,” he asserted. “She fought for it.”

Jay-Z and his eldest have attended a number of sporting events together, most recently including Super Bowl LX.

Apparently, once she started to feel more comfortable in her dancing, by the time the Cowboy Carter Tour rolled around, Blue wanted to take part in as much of it as possible.

“She’s almost on every number,” Jay-Z joked. “I had to take her off some, like, ‘Man, you can’t be on that stage when she’s singing ‘Six-inch heels…’; are you crazy?’”

Blue Ivy performed during both her mom’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter world tours.

Later in the interview, Jay-Z also revealed that Blue has some hidden talents she has yet to show the world.

“Blue is a crazy pianist, but she won’t let us get her a teacher,” he confessed. “She doesn’t want it to be a job. But she has perfect pitch. If she hears a song, she’ll be like ‘Play it again’ and then she’ll teach herself. That’s just talent, she doesn’t work at that. She worked at this, and it makes me proud that she fought for something that she really wanted to do. I don’t think we’re going to be able to get her off that stage now.”

Blue, the world is ready for your superstar era.