The exceedingly rare miracle of human birth—in which a tiny and defenseless new person is created by two wealthy and famous people working in concert—continues to have a profound effect on its most notable participant, Jay-Z, who has valiantly striven to put into words the incredible life changes it has spurred in him, so that we might all live through his unique experience vicariously. And while the world that is Jay-Z’s Facebook page waits for an official follow-up ballad to “Glory,” perhaps one set to a syncopated baby rattle and a Chris Martin hook, NME reports that Jay-Z has already released another work inspired by his daughter Blue Ivy Carter, this time in the form of a poem. And, if the lyrics are accurate, they represent yet another personal epiphany for the rapper, as Jay-Z has apparently vowed to stop using the word “bitch” in Blue Ivy’s honor—having realized upon having a daughter that the term “bitch” is disrespectful to women. But mostly to Blue Ivy Carter, who, again, is his daughter.
“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,” the poem reads, with Jay-Z going on to promise that “the degradation has passed” for all women, as it is a gender that now includes his daughter. Because it is a poem, Jay-Z does not address how he plans to phase out the word “bitch” from his repertoire—for example, what he will use to rhyme with “rich,” or whether the refrains of songs such as “99 Problems” will have to be retroactively changed to something such as “I’ve got 99 problems, but a troublesome girl who is nevertheless still some father’s daughter ain’t one,” and other humorously incongruous juxtapositions. But it’s more evidence that fatherhood has truly changed Jay-Z, and yet another chance for us all to learn something about parenting.