At a respectable hour—2:47 p.m. EST on Sunday, to be exact—Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z’s philanthropy and benevolence blessed the world with a performance during the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Unlike Beychella, which aired at an ungodly hour, Beyoncé and the father of her children hopped on South Africa’s FNB Stadium stage for an appearance broadcasting in the mid-afternoon in the States, looking like wealth and abundance wrapped in drip as they performed the bits that we were all eager to see.
The power couple—who are the best to ever do it (fight me)—followed a speech from everyone’s rich Auntie Oprah that was almost as long as the late Queen of Soul’s funeral. But it’s Oprah, so we just sat there and let that woman talk, because no one puts Oprah in a corner. No one.
I have to give it to Auntie O, because she just lost her mother, and yet mustered the strength to go out and inspire a stadium of people eager to see Bey. That alone warrants her a pass to talk until she feels like it.
Allegedly, the performance was only slated to be streamed for 25 minutes, while the rest was to be only for the ticketed audience. But because our God is real and forever in the blessing business, we found various links to still catch a glimpse of Beyoncé and the man who is lucky to call her wife. Frankly, I’m pretty sure Nelson Mandela would’ve wanted the entire show to be streamed. To me, that seems like a great way to honor the life of a man that gave so much to a nation at an event that honored 100 years since his birth. A centennial turn up, indeed.
During her performance of APESHIT, Beyoncé was in her bag and proved why she’s the current King of Rap. I knew God was real when she threw up her leg and went AWF. It felt like the one-legged twerk opened the door to prosperity and good tidings. I was delivered. Bey popped up that one leg and started the benediction. A leg twerk to the alter. A salvation. I am saved.
Choppy live-streams and 25 minute restrictions aside, Beyoncé and Jay-Z did what they had to do and delivered a show that left us all full and satisfied.
And with that, I leave you all with the wish that your lives remain as strong as Beyoncé’s earlobes. If your bodies are as strong as her earlobes, then no weapon formed against you shall prosper.