Beyoncé is selling limited-edition merchandise to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her second album, B’Day — including a nearly five-figure wood crate with nothing inside.
Beyoncé listed the “Bey Keeper Collector’s Box” on her official website on Friday, September 4, which also serves as her 45th birthday. Only 500 pieces will be available for purchase, and each one is numbered with custom engraving.
The crate, described as “an essential piece of art for the Hive,” is priced at a whopping $948.01 — a nod to Beyoncé’s birth date, 9/4/81.
“Inspired by the beauty of traditional beekeeper crates, this limited-edition collector’s box is designed to house and display your Beyoncé vinyl collection,” the description reads, cautioning buyers that albums are “not included.”
The 18-by-14-inch crate is “handcrafted from solid pine wood, finished with beeswax oil, lined in deep green velvet and fitted with a faux gator-skin leather carrying strap with gold hardware,” according to the site. It also includes an engraved bee on the lid and Beyoncé’s name on the side.
After Beyoncé’s company, Parkwood Entertainment, announced that the item is available to preorder, fans took to social media to troll the singer — whom Forbes declared a billionaire last year — over its high cost.
“For that price I need you to pop out the box and perform,” one Instagram user commented.
“Look Bey, I just don’t got [the money] rn okay. Happy Birthday Queen. I love you tho,” another quipped.
“900 damn dollars you MUST HAVE LOST YO MIND,” a third fan wrote, referencing the title of the B’Day song “Lost Yo Mind.”
In addition to the wood box, Beyoncé’s shop is selling B’Day-inspired T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits and even a $40 candle.
Beyoncé also dropped a 31-track deluxe edition of B’Day on Friday, which includes the original 2006 album plus rare bonus songs, Spanish-language versions of singles such as “Irreplaceable” and “Get Me Bodied” and collaborations with Maluma and the late Selena.
“I wanted the album to be big, percussive, hard, up-tempo and energized, and it was important to me that we used live instrumentation,” Beyonce said in a statement released by Parkwood, reflecting on the making of the record. “Hip-hop was taking over at the time, but I was fighting to preserve the bridges, melodies and harmonies that have always been at the heart of R&B. The goal was to blend those two worlds through the art of sampling. I loved the minimalism of a beautiful vocal arrangement over a simple drum loop or a classic guitar like ‘Irreplaceable’ … but only if that 808 was banging underneath.”
