Talent Over Sexy: What Nigerian Girls Can Learn From Beyonce

 By Femi Falodun

September 4^th is always a special day for me. It’s my big sister’s birthday (I love you Seyi), and also Beyonce’s birthday!

Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter is one of my favourite female artistes (alongside Tracy Chapman and Lauryn Hill), and I’ve been a fan since the early days of Destiny’s Child (Remember “No, No, No” with Wyclef?)

Here are a few things Nigerian girls, especially, the talented, ambitious ones can learn from the life of Queen Bey.

• Talent Over Sexy: Being hot and sexy is cool, but eventually beauty will fade, boobs will sag and the booty will deflate. Talent, however, shines bright through the years. No one can ever dispute Bey’s skills – as a songwriter, dancer, vocalist and even as a business woman.

• Hard Work Pays: From the dance routines, live shows, and volume of releases, you can get an idea of Beyonce’s work ethic and see how much work she puts in her craft.

• Family first: We’ve seen many a celeb lose it after fame. Bey has managed to keep Jay, Blue, Solange, her Mom, Kelly and the rest of her family as priority.

• Be Proud of Your Man: Back when Jay Z and Beyonce started dating over 10 years ago, many said he was too rough, hood and even UGLY for her. The tabloids went crazy, with everyone chipping in their opinion. Well, fast-forward to 2015, and the 2 are still together going strong.

• Keep Smiling: There are a few not-so-cool photos of Beyonce on the Internet, yeah. But you’ll rarely ever catch her looking sad, lost or messy. The Queen is always ready to smile, wave and say something nice to her people. Little wonder the paparazzi love her!

• Keep Your True Friends Close: Sure, there are assistants, producers, writers and a retinue of domestic staff tending to the needs of the Queen night and day. However, you cannot ignore the fact that her mom still designs her dresses, her father managed her for most of her career (even post- Destiny’s Child), and Kelly/Michelle remain her best friends after all these years.

• Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat: Through all the rumour, banter and slander, you’ll rarely ever see Queen Bey lose it. She’s always well put together and seemingly in control of her emotions no matter what’s going on around her in public – another thing she has in common with her husband Jay Z. Remember the Solange elevator incident?

• It’s Okay To Be The ‘Wife’ To A Man… Feminism Or Not: Clearly, in the Carter family, Papa Jay remains the ‘Daddy’ of the house. Even if Bey rakes in more $$$ than Jay every now and then on Forbes list ($115m in 2014), she still manages to ‘present herself’ as his lady. Marriage doesn’t isn’t meant to reduce a lady’s value.