Reasonable Doubt About Jay-Z's Age

See what I did there? Reasonable doubt? Get it? Get it? See, see, because that's the title of one of his albums?! BWAAAAAA-ha-ha-ha!!! God, I crack myself up!

Ahem. But this is no laughing matter. People, nothing so bedevils an astrologer as an attempt to draw up a natal chart that is not only unclear in terms of birth time but ambiguous as to the very year involved. (See also: Jennifer Lopez.) And this, unfortch, is the case with Jay-Z.

I was all set to deliver to you, gentle readers, an analysis of the deeply troubling recent talk of a Jay-Z–Beyoncé breakup. The story goes that she got frustrated because he was off doing his own thing and didn't have enough time for her {Source}, which, sad to say, sounds about right for a Sagittarius (Jay)–Virgo (B) relationship.

Now, I have been trying to quiet my anxiety over the growing awareness that Jay was long overdue to make an honest woman of our Miss Knowles. Sagittarians are, how you say, restless, and they don't like to be locked down ("99 problems but a bitch ain't one," anyone?), even by a Scorpio-Moon bootyliciosa of B's caliber. Surely, if anyone could be cured of an allergy to commitment, Beyoncé would be a big old dose of Benadryl. See Beyoncé Knowles's birth chart (Astrotheme, no birth time)

But now, if rumors are to be believed, it would appear that a wild Sag cannot be tamed, and his control-freaky, solid-ground-seeking Virgo babe has grown tired of waiting for a proposal. Perhaps this is not so surprising when you think about it, considering her lyrics ("I was in love with a Sagittarius / See the emotions he put me through.... / I was in love with a Sagittarius he blew my mind / He also had a flip side too much like a Gemini" {Source}) and his (uh, take your pick). Still, one would like to think these luminaries of hip-hop and R&B could make it work.

But I digress. My point is, when I set out to take this analysis past the most superficial Sun sign level described above, I was faced with a terribly annoying conundrum: Jay-Z's birth date is alternately given as December 4, 1969 and December 4, 1970, with an almost even split among online sources between the two discrepant dates. So annoying!

In my post dealing with J.Lo, whose publicly recorded birth data also has a 1969/70 conflict, I opined that it would be bizarro for an actress to add a year onto her age, so that would support the earlier date. But by the same token, it seems kinda bizarro for a thugged-out rapper to lie about his age. What would be the incentive? Would a year one way or the other make or break his street cred? Being myself a resident of Brooklyn, Jay-Z's birthplace (as Shawn Carter), and having experienced the work ethic of the public servants there (prove me wrong, postal workers, prove me wrong!), I cannot but wonder if shoddy record-keeping, rather than professional vanity, is in effect here.

In any case, rest assured, gentle readers, that I will continue to pursue this investigation and bring you a proper astrological forecast for Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Meanwhile, if you have any evidence supporting one date over the other, puh-leeeze email me or post a comment posthaste! Thanks in advance.