On Beyoncé's eighth album, "Cowboy Carter", her first major foray into country music, one of the many guests featured is one near and dear to the superstar's heart -- her daughter Rumi Carter.
Rumi's voice opens "Protector," the fourth track on Beyoncé's new album, where she asks her mother, "Mom, can I hear the lullaby, please?"
Beyoncé and her husband, hip-hop and rap mogul Jay-Z, share two daughters, Rumi and Blue Ivy, and son Sir.
The couple began to grow their family of five after tying the knot in 2008. They welcomed their first child, Blue Ivy, in January 2012.
While promoting her Super Bowl halftime show in 2013, Beyoncé opened up about becoming a mother to Blue Ivy.
"When I wake up in the morning, the best thing in the world is seeing her face," Beyoncé told the NFL Network. "She's starting to talk. It's just such a beautiful time in my life to have a child, and every day see something new and see her learn something new."
In 2017, the couple welcomed their twins Rumi and Sir.
After becoming a mother of three, the 32-time Grammy winner got candid about finding the balance between her personal and professional life while speaking to Elle in 2019.
"I think the most stressful thing for me is balancing work and life," she told the outlet at the time. "Making sure I am present for my kids -- dropping Blue off at school, taking Rumi and Sir to their activities, making time for date nights with my husband, and being home in time to have dinner with my family -- all while running a company can be challenging."
Jay-Z also spoke about fatherhood in a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times, sharing the importance of providing support to his kids.
"Feeling loved is the most important thing a child needs, you know? Not, 'Here's this business that I'm going to hand over to you, that I'm creating for you,'" he shared.
"What if my child doesn't want to be in music or sports?" he told the outlet. "I have no idea, right? But as long as your child feels supported and feels loved, I think anything is possible."
"Be very attentive to who they want to be. It's easy for us, as human beings, to want our children to do certain things, but we have no idea. We're just guides," he added.
What to know about Beyoncé and Jay-Z's 3 kids
Blue Ivy Carter
Born on Jan. 7, 2012, in New York City, Blue Ivy is the couple's first child together. Beyoncé first shared news of her pregnancy at the 2011 MTV VMAs in Los Angeles, showing off her baby bump.
Blue Ivy has followed in her parents' footsteps into the music industry and became the youngest person to be recognized on a Billboard chart after her dad featured her vocals when she was only two days old in his song, "Glory."
At the age of 9, Blue Ivy became the second-youngest person to receive a Grammy trophy for her part in her mom's song, "Brown Skin Girl," which won the best music video award. Blue Ivy also took home an MTV Video Music Award, a BET Award, and an NAACP Image Award for being featured in the song.
In 2020, Blue Ivy narrated "Hair Love," a book by Mathew A. Cherry. Two years later, when she turned 10, she also performed at the 94th Academy Awards, joining other dancers onstage during her mom's performance of "Be Alive."
Blue showed off her moves during her mother's "Renaissance World Tour" in 2023 as well, performing dance routines to "My Power" and "Black Parade."
Rumi and Sir Carter
Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed their twins on June 13, 2017. Two months following the arrival of the twins, Jay-Z explained the meaning behind their younger daughter's unique name.
"Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter," he explained in an interview with Rap Radar hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian Miller, which was posted to his streaming service Tidal.
Jay-Z also said he and Beyoncé agreed on the name of their son after he was born.
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"Sir was like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir," he shared.
Beyoncé first announced her pregnancy with the twins in a surprise post on Instagram in February 2017, sharing a photo of herself cradling her baby bump.
"We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over," she wrote in the caption at the time.
"We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes."
In 2021, the twins made an appearance in Beyoncé's Ivy Park ad. "The rodeo isn't just for the grown ups," the athleisure clothing brand teased on Instagram at the time. "Introducing IVY PARK Kids."
The twins were also featured in a rare family photo Beyoncé shared on Instagram in November 2022, where the family donned outfits inspired by characters from Disney's animated sitcom "The Proud Family."
"Family every single day and night," she captioned the post at the time.
