Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' Cover Art Sparks Buzz With 'Beyincé' Spelling
The Beehive is buzzing over Beyoncé’s new cover art and the Easter eggs within it.
On Wednesday (March 21), the 32-time Grammy winner dropped new cover art for her forthcoming album, "Cowboy Carter." In one of the images, Bey is seen posing nude with a cigar in one hand while cupping one of her breasts. In the frame, she is also rocking a set of red, white, and clear beaded braids and a sash that reads, "act ii BEYINCÉ." While it appears a typo was made in the spelling of the star's first name, it's actually not.
It turns out that “Beyincé” is the maiden name of the "Lemonade" singer's mom, Tina Knowles. Knowles explained its significance and history while appearing on the "In My Head with Heather Thomson in 2020.
"A lot of people don't know that Beyoncé is my last name. It's my maiden name," said Knowles, according to People. "My name was Celestine Beyoncé, which at that time was not a cool thing to have that weird name. I wanted my name to be Linda Smith because those were the cool names."
She also revealed that a clerical error resulted in some family members having their surname spelled “Beyincé." Unfortunately, racial injustices against Black people at the time prevented the error from being fixed.
"It's interesting — and it shows you the times — because we asked my mother when I was grown. I was like, 'Why is my brother’s name spelled B-E-Y-I-N-C-E? You know, it’s all these different spellings,'" Knowles continued.
"And my mom's reply to me was like, 'That's what they put on your birth certificate.' So I said, 'Well, why didn't you argue and make them correct it?' And she said, 'I did one time. The first time, and I was told ‘Be happy that you're getting a birth certificate’ because, at one time, Black people didn't get birth certificates."
"act II: Cowboy Carter" is slated to be released on March 29.