Sir and Rumi Carter are four years old today! In February 2017, pop icon Beyonce broke the Internet with her epic Instagram announcement that she and her husband, rap icon Jay-Z, were expecting twins. On June 13, 2017, Beyonce and Jay-Z welcomed their twins, Sir and Rumi Carter into the world. Considering the attention their eldest child, 9-year-old Blue Ivy Carter gets as the daughter of two of the world’s most famous entertainers, Beyonce and Jay-Z wisely keep Rumi and Sir out of the public eye. Perhaps in the future, Beyonce and Jay-Z will be more comfortable with showing off Rumi and Sir, so for now, here is a list of six things to know about Rumi and Sir Carter.
1. Their birth wasn’t easy for Beyonce
In an interview with Vogue in 2018, Beyonce revealed that she and her twins’ health was “in danger” and she needed a c-section (cesarean section) to give deliver her twins. Beyonce spent months recovering. “I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit],” said Beyonce. ” I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later.”
2. Their names have unique stories behind them
Rumi and Sir’s names are quite distinctive and in an interview with his streaming service TIDAL, Jay-Z explained how his twins got their names. Rumi was named after Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet. “Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter,” said Jay-Z. As for Sir, they named him after he was born. “Sir was like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir,” says Jay-Z.
3. Their names are trademarked
If Rumi and Sir decide to follow in their parents’ footsteps, they won’t have to worry about anyone using their names, as “Sir Carter” and “Rumi Carter” have already been trademarked. Their big sister Blue Ivy Carter has her name trademarked too.
4. They have opposite personalities
Rumi and Sir are twins, but their personalities are complete opposites. Their grandmother Tina Lawson said of their personalities in 2019: “The girl is just going to rule the world, and the boy is kind of laid back and chills like the dad.”
5. Rumi inspired Beyonce’s epic Coachella performance
Beyonce made history in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to headline Coachella, the music festival in Indio, California. Her performance drew widespread praise and acclaim, and she has Rumi to thank for it. She explained why in her 2018 Vogue interview. “One day I was randomly singing the black national anthem to Rumi while putting her to sleep. I started humming it to her every day,” said Beyonce.
“In the show at the time, I was working on a version of the anthem with these dark minor chords and stomps and belts and screams. After a few days of humming the anthem, I realized I had the melody wrong. I was singing the wrong anthem. One of the most rewarding parts of the show was making that change.”
6. Beyonce’s visual album, BLACK IS KING is dedicated to Sir Carter
On July 31, 2020, Beyonce released BLACK IS KING, her visual album based on her 2019 soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift, which she made for Disney’s 2019 The Lion King remake. She proudly dedicated the album to her son Sir Carter. At the end of the film, a message reads: “Dedicated to my son, Sir Carter. And to all our sons and daughters, the sun and the moon bow for you. You are the keys to the kingdom.”
