The Surprising Truth About Blue Ivy’s Unique Connection with Her Father, Jay-Z.

Growing up a Carter is a privilege we can’t even begin to understand. After all, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are undoubtedly one of the most famous celebrity couples in the world, with a combined 56 Grammy awards and a star power that can’t be measured. Their celebrity only multiplied in 2012 when their first child Blue Ivy came along, who has turned out to be a talented artist in her own right. She scored a Grammy at just 10-years-old for her work on her mother’s track “Brown Skin Girl,” making her the second youngest child to ever win such a prestigious award.

Although Blue Ivy has frequently been compared to her superstar mother, Beyonce, she is without a doubt a daddy’s girl, sharing many artistic and personal qualities with her famous father. From court-side basketball games to rapping on tracks together, here’s what Blue Ivy’s relationship with her dad, Jay-Z, is really like.

Jay-Z called Blue Ivy’s birth the ‘best experience’ of his life

Having a child is an indescribable experience for many; one that changes the course of life’s trajectory from that moment forward. It was no different for rapper Jay-Z, who released a public statement about welcoming daughter Blue Ivy following her birth in 2012. “We are happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, born on Saturday, January 7, 2012,” the “Run This Town” rapper and Beyoncé wrote in a statement. “Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven. She was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 lbs and it was the best experience of both of our lives.”

Jay-Z used his daughter as inspiration for his track “Glory,” in which he gushed about the joys of fatherhood. In the song, which he released just days after Blue Ivy’s birth, he raps: “The most amazing feeling I feel, words can’t describe what I’m feeling for real / Baby, I paint the sky blue. My greatest creation was you.” He also opened up about Beyoncé’s previous struggles to conceive, admitting that Blue Ivy was the miracle they had been hoping for. “Last time the miscarriage was tragic / We was afraid you’d disappear, but nah baby you’re magic.” With the genes of two musical geniuses, we can’t argue that magic!

Jay-Z learned to swim because of his daughter

For some people, having a child does more than turn you into a parent — it also motivates you to embrace new experiences of your own. One of the most notable ways the “Empire State Of Mind” rapper dove head first into being a parent — literally — was by learning how to swim. He admitted on an episode of LeBron James’ show, “The Shop: Uninterrupted” that it was his daughter Blue Ivy who influenced him to swap his designer clothes for a pair of swim trunks.

“It’s amazing. It’s a very grounding thing… I didn’t learn how to swim until Blue was born,” he explained. “There goes everything you need to know. This is a metaphor for our relationship. If she ever fell in the water and I couldn’t get her, I couldn’t even fathom that thought. I gotta learn how to swim … That’s it. That was the beginning of our relationship.” This begs the question, does Gucci make custom swim trunks?

Blue Ivy is indifferent to Jay-Z’s superstar status

To the world, Jay-Z may be one of the greatest artists of his generation; but to Blue Ivy, he’s just her embarrassing dad. And she isn’t phased by her father’s many accomplishments, either. The rapper admitted on an episode of “The Shop: Uninterrupted”, that she still finds herself too cool for school when it comes to dear ole’ dad. “I was taking Blue to school,” said Jay-Z, adding, “She walked away and I was like, ‘Yo! I can’t get a kiss? I’m in the Hall of Fame!’  “She was like, ‘bye, dad.’”

Of course, it’s safe to say Jay-Z totally gets it. During an episode of Oprah’s Master Class (via E! News) back in 2012, he remarked, “Everyone imagines they’ll be a great dad … until they’re teenagers saying, ‘Get away from me, Dad. You’re embarrassing me!’ Right? Everyone imagines that, right?”

Regardless of the sass, Blue Ivy still finds ways to honor her dad. The artist paid homage to the rapper after winning her first Grammy, when she posed with the award as a sippy cup, referencing her father’s 2014 Grammy Awards acceptance speech in which he said, “I want to tell Blue, ‘Daddy got a gold sippy cup for you.’”

Jay-Z says Blue Ivy feeling loved is ‘the most important thing’

Jay-Z could care less whether Blue Ivy follows in his footsteps. The rapper shared what he finds most important about being a father in an interview for The Sunday Times, saying, “Feeling loved is the most important thing a child needs. Not ‘here’s this business that I’m going to hand over to you, that I’m creating for you.’” While his daughter has somewhat followed her parents’ lead through pursuing music, he admitted he doesn’t mind if she chooses to go down a different path. “What if my child doesn’t want to be in music or sports? … But as long as your child feels supported, and feels loved, I think anything is possible,” he revealed.

That level of unconditional support may be why Blue has never been afraid to call her father out. The “Young Forever” rapper opened up about how his daughter keeps it 100 with him while he guest-starred on “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman,” and said that he admires Blue Ivy’s willingness to be honest about her feelings with him. “I told her to get in the car the other day because she was asking a thousand questions and we had to leave for school.” He added, “…I just hear a little voice. ‘Dad?’ I turn around and she said, ‘I didn’t like when you told me to get in the car the way you told me … It hurt my feelings.’” Jay-Z called the interaction “the most beautiful thing,” adding that he believes he’s fostered a healthy, honest relationship with his children.

Jay-Z says Blue Ivy’s tour performance gave him goosebumps

Blue Ivy turned heads in the summer of 2023 when the star took the stage during her mother’s “Renaissance” tour. The show proved to be a record-breaking success and a stepping stone in the young star’s budding career. No one was more proud of the “Brown Skin Girl” artist then Jay-Z, who admitted he was overcome with emotion seeing his daughter perform alongside his wife.

Part of the reason for that was due to the fact that this was Blue’s first big public moment. From the time she was born, Jay-Z and Beyonce had made efforts to keep their daughter away from the spotlight. In fact, it took some time for the Grammy-winner to be on board with his daughter stepping out on stage, which makes sense given the media circus that surrounds him and his wife. “She’s been born into a life she didn’t ask for, ” he remarked during an interview with CBS Mornings. “So since she was born she’s been in, like, scrutiny and public eye, and everyone having an opinion.”

Of course, eventually both he and Beyonce allowed Blue to join the show, and it paid off. The rapper told CBS Mornings about the moment he knew Blue was a star when he saw her dancing to “My Power,” a powerful anthem about self-love and assurance. “For her to be on that stage and reclaim her power, and the song is called ‘My Power,’ you can’t write a better script,” he admitted. The “Song Cry” artist then revealed that while his daughter was nervous to prove herself onstage, in the end, she outdid herself, delivering performance that gave him goosebumps.

Blue Ivy and her father work together on music

Blue Ivy has been involved in her father’s work ever since she was a newborn, with the sound of her cries being featured on the track “Glory” released after her birth. And she’s continued to be a source of creativity, even if indirectly. Per Billboard, Jay-Z used his eldest daughter as his inspiration for his tracks “Jay-Z Blue (Daddy Dearest)” and “Heaven” off his 12th studio album. The rapper touched on the tracks in his preview video for “Jay-Z Blue,” noting he has his own versions of heaven and hell. “For me, my idea of heaven is in your daughter’s laughter; hell could be if your child is missing for three minutes–you’re in three minutes of hell,” he told Rick Rubin in the video.

Blue Ivy made another musical debut in her father’s songs in his track “Legacy,” in which she is heard in the beginning asking, “Daddy, what’s a will?” She took it a step further on the song “Blue’s Freestyle” in which she showcases her inherited rap talents by spitting lyrics like: “Everything, everything this my only single thing / Everything I hear is my answer / And if you think I say, then innocent if I say? / I never hear that, I be in the posse.”

It’s not just music projects that Blue Ivy is involved with alongside her father, either. The rising star was also featured in a 2021 Tiffany & Co. advertisement that starred both of her parents. In the video, Blue can be seen crashing her parents’ special limo date.

Blue Ivy is a big fan of Jay-Z’s music

Jay-Z may have millions of fans; but to him, Blue Ivy remains his Number one. The artist opened up about his daughter’s love for his music in a 2013 interview for Vanity Fair,  revealing that he could care less about album sales as long as he gets the recognition from Blue Ivy. “She’s my biggest fan,” he explained. “If no one bought the ‘Magna Carta’ [record] — the fact that she loves it so much, it gives me the greatest joy. And that’s not like a cliché. I’m really serious.”

For the rapper, that moment was particularly special, because he wasn’t sure his daughter — who had grown up surrounded by her mother, Beyonce’s music — would take a similar liking to his “Magna Carta Holy Grail” album. “…My album came out and I don’t know if Blue ever heard any of my music prior to this album — she’s only 18 months old and I don’t play my music around the house,” Jay-Z recalled. “But this album was new, so we played it. And she loves all the songs.”

Jay-Z admitted he trusted his then-toddler to tell him the truth, as she hadn’t yet learned that appeasing her father would earn her way into his good graces. “She plays a song and she goes, ‘More, Daddy, more … Daddy song,’” he told the publication. “She’s genuine. She’s honest because she doesn’t know it makes me happy, she just wants to hear it.”

They go on one-on-one dates together

Jay-Z and Blue Ivy’s love language is quality time. So much so, that the pair are often seen together without the company of Beyoncé and Blue Ivy’s twin siblings Rumi and Sir. In 2022, the duo traveled to Disneyland to meet up with Chris Martin, his girlfriend Dakota Johnson, and Martin’s teens Apple and Moses. According to Daily Mail, the group had a private tour guide for their trip for the ultimate VIP experience.

Blue Ivy also shares her father’s love of basketball, and the two have been spotted by the paparazzi sitting court side at several of the league’s biggest games. The pair even shared a special moment in 2020 when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Clippers, and Blue Ivy got a signed basketball from legend Lebron James. In the clip shared by ESPN, Jay-Z is seen encouraging his daughter, clearly shy over the request, to ask him for the personalized gift.

Jay-Z gave his daughter the special treatment again in 2022 when he brought Blue Ivy to see the Golden State Warriors at the NBA finals and got some time court side with basketball icon Steph Curry. Basketball isn’t their only pastime, however, as the two have also were photographed on the sidelines together at two Super Bowls in 2020 and 2023.

Blue Ivy keeps her father in check

Blue Ivy has no problem telling it like it is. She is Queen B’s daughter, after all. The “Brown Skin Girl” artist’s honesty became a topic of conversation after a clip of her hushing her parents at the 2018 Grammy Awards made the rounds on Twitter, formerly known as X. In the viral clip, the then six-year-old gestures to her famous parents to calm their clapping before Camilla Cabello’s speech. “Blue Ivy really just hushed her parents, I’m done,” one user wrote, sharing a clip of the funny interaction.

Nowadays, the rapper says his daughter has put her pride aside, and even confides in him for fashion advice. In an interview with Gayle King for CBS News, he admitted: “Blue, she be frontin’ on me a little bit, but she—I catch her,” adding, “I catch her in the corner, you know? Now she asks me if this cool, her sneakers or whatever she’s wearing.” It wasn’t always like that, however. “Yeah, she’s come back,” Jay-Z admitted. “But there was a time when she was like, ‘Dad!’ I was like, ‘I’m cool, I don’t know what you saying.’ At your house, your parents is cool.”

Blue Ivy makes sure her dad captures all her good angles

Everyone knows that there exists a certain type of father — dutifully dubbed an “Instagram Dad,” who will go to great lengths to get a good shot of his daughter. Whether these dads are squatting, leaning, or standing on their tip-toes, they are sure to get plenty of snaps of their loved one for the perfect post. Jay-Z went from rapper to Instagram Dad himself when he was seen on the sidelines of the 2023 Super Bowl trying to get the perfect angle for Blue Ivy’s photo.

Fox Sports shared the sweet moment on X featuring Jay-Z squatting on the grass taking photos of his daughter at the big game. The caption couldn’t have been more fitting: “Jay-Z is in dad mode.” In the video, Blue Ivy looks to be reviewing the photos and educating her father on how to get the best shot. “Was it live?” the 11-year-old is heard asking in the clip. One user reposted the video and jokingly tweeted, “Blue Ivy needs a new photographer ’cause I don’t think whoever this is is cutting it.”  It’s unknown where exactly the star is sharing her photos, however, as she doesn’t have any public social media accounts.

Jay-Z spoils Blue Ivy, but makes sure she understands the importance of hard work

With a father like Jay-Z, it’s not hard to imagine that Blue Ivy grew up privileged. After all, on her first birthday, she received a custom Barbie doll valued at $80,000. So it’s not surprising that the rapper said on an episode of “Oprah’s Master Class: Special Edition” (per E! News) back in 2013, “…I just know I’ll probably have the worst, spoiled little kid ever,” he said at the time. We don’t exactly disagree, after all, who could forget that signed Lebron James basketball?

But, while many have argued that Blue is extremely privileged, she hasn’t had everything handed to her. In an interview with CBS Morning, Jay-Z stressed his daughter’s work ethic in preparation for her dancing for her mother’s “Renaissance” tour, noting that both he and Beyonce made sure she worked to earn her spot. “She wanted to do it the first night, and we was like, ‘OK, if this is something you wanna do, you can’t just go out there. You gotta go work with the dancers, and go work,” Jay-Z revealed. ” And she worked every day and watched her work hard.”

Still, growing up surrounded by luxury hasn’t been for nothing, as Blue seems to have also inherited her father’s love for investing in good art. In 2022, the young star made headlines at the 2022 Wearable Art Gala auction after placing a $80,000 bid on a pair of diamond earrings that her mother once owned. As per Vibe, the “Brown Skin Girl” artist was outbid by another buyer for the earrings after a final bid of $105,000. While she was supervised by her parents at the event, it’s fair to say Blue Ivy has an expensive taste for a tween.