Dissecting Jay Z and Bey’s marriage through their lyrics

The Internet is abuzz over Beyonce and Jay-Z’s turbulent marriage. Details are sparse, but ever since the now-infamous Solange tape, everyone on social media is talking about the alleged breakdown of the royal couple’s relationship. With all the drama surrounding them, the Carters have managed to hold down the fort by keeping an airtight seal around their inner circle. They allegedly change cell phones every couple of weeks, and reportedly require ironclad non-disclosure agreements from all their hired guns.

Despite their reticence to let their relationship into the public eye, that won’t stop us from speculating to no end about the latest in the world of Jay and Bey. Luckily there’s always one unending supply of fodder for fans to sink their teeth into: song lyrics. Let’s take a deep dive into them.

“Bonnie And Clyde” ft. Jay Z

Nobody or nothing will ever come between us
And I promise I’ll give my life
And all of my trust if you was my boyfriend
Put this on my life

Though they met on the set of the video for Beyonce’s first solo single, “Crazy In Love”, Jay and Bey were cosmically destined to be together. Take this verse from their hit “Bonnie And Clyde.” This early chart-topper made the statement that not only were they in love, but they boasted a diehard business relationship, premised on mutual benefit.

“Dance For You”

You’ll never need 2 ’cause I will be your number 1
Them other chicks are superficial
But I know you know I’m the one
That’s why I’m all into you

The message here is simple. Deep down, Bey is fully aware marrying Jay was one of the best things that happened for her career, and she’s very grateful.

“Picasso Baby”

I wanna Rothko, no I wanna brothel
No, I want a wife that f-k me like a prostitute
Let’s make love on a million, in a dirty hotel
With the fan on the ceiling, all for the love of drug dealing

Could this be the reason Jay’s eye wandered? The world may never know.

“Flawless” ft. Nicki Minaj (Remix)

We escalate, up in this b*tch like elevators
Of course sometimes shit go down
When it’s a billion dollars on an elevator

If you can get past rhyming “elevators” with “elevators,” these three little stanzas are pretty revealing. We know that Jay and Bey are far from the average married couple; they’re a multimillion-dollar industry. So with so much money on the line, the pressure has to be on to stay together, or split in the least damaging way. That’s obviously not easy with more and more women named in tabloids as a part of Jay’s seemingly endless harem.

Whatever the fallout, we can only hope their next albums will be full of the double entendres, hazy metaphors and urban limericks that leave fans digging for clues for years on end.