There are some presents that stand the test of time, and JAY-Z decided to gift one to his grandmother Hattie White. On Christmas Eve, the Carter family presented their matriarch with her own landmark: an engraved bench in Prospect Park.
Hov, his mother Gloria, Beyoncé, and their three kids Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir were photographed at the bench in Brooklyn alongside White. The inscription on the bench reads, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. With love and admiration to our root, Hattie White.”
Photos of the gathering quickly circulated thanks to the Beyhive, and 93-year-old White was photographed reacting to the gift. Check out the photos below.
For Christmas this year Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Beyoncé and their three children Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir gifted Jay’s 93-year-old Grandma Hattie White a park bench in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Dedicated in her name, the touching inscription reads “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. With love and admiration to our root, Hattie White.” The Carter family are back in New York City for the holidays, and were photographed viewing the bench on Christmas morning with Hattie and Hov’s mother Gloria Carter. Hattie White was a formative figure in Shawn Carter’s life, with her famous banana pudding holding a key to happiness while they lived in the Marcy Houses. In the final moments of the LEMONADE standout “FREEDOM” the root of the Carter dynasty can be heard speaking during her 90th birthday party in October 2015, delivering us a piece of wisdom we can all apply to our own lives: “I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.” Jigga’s most real (see: heart-breaking) reference to his Yaya came in 2002 on his Blueprint² track “I Did It My Way”: “Grandma’s favorite, she could not understand how there’s people in the world who wouldn’t want me as a neighbor? Has to explain to her, ‘You think these folks want me in the penthouse as a reminder that I make top paper?’” This four bar stanza refers to Jay’s disrupted purchase of his seventh-floor penthouse on 195 Hudson Street in TriBeCa. Buying from advertising executive Peter Arnell and his wife Sarah, the original sale negotiations and $6.5 million deal were sabotaged and derailed by other tenants in May 2002. Some residents feared Hov would bring his “celebrity lifestyle” to the “placid” halls of their exclusive downtown address. They went so far as to post messages in the lobby warning residents of his “criminal record and lifestyle of knives, guns and violence,” stating “we are of the opinion that due to [Jay-Z’s] lifestyle of violence, if he moves into our building, he will place us in danger.” (Continued in comments) #JAYZ #Beyonce
A post shared by Hovstorian (@aintnojigga) on Dec 26, 2018 at 6:01pm PST
White’s influence on the Carter lineage is evident in JAY-Z’s and Beyoncé’s music. The rapper most recently references her in his feature on Meek Mill’s track “What’s Free.” White also narrates part of Lemonade at the end of “Freedom.”
“I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade,” she says during the visual album. The quip came from her 90th birthday celebration in 2015, which reportedly influenced the Beyoncé’s historic project.
Fans flocked to the new images not only for the sweet family moment, but for the opportunity to see updated photos of Rumi and Sir.
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