Bill Gates 'surprised' to be in Beyoncé's 'Formation' lyrics

'This is kind of a strange set of words here'

Bill Gates (Getty Images)

Unlike many Beyoncé fans who have been memorising the lyrics and dance routine to "Formation" ever since it debuted ahead of the Super Bowl, Bill Gates didn’t even know he got a mention until somebody in his office sent him a copy of the single.

The song and video, which celebrate black empowerment, were surprise drops from Beyoncé who released the song unannounced in a move reminiscent of her unexpected self-titled album release in 2013.

Speaking to Wired, the Microsoft co-founder was asked how he felt about being referenced in the latest track on everyone’s lips in the line: “You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making.”

“Yeah, I hadn’t realised that she did that until somebody in the office actually sent me a copy of the lyrics," he explained, "And I said, ‘Are you serious? This is kind of a strange set of words here.’ I’m surprised - I’m not sure she said those words at the Super Bowl, though, did she?"

She did, in a politically-charged performance featuring dancers dressed in leather and berets in homage to the Black Panther party. The performance soon became a talking point in itself after drawing criticism from conservatives, former mayors and police unions and the organisation of a protest rally against the singer (which reportedly only attracted three people).

After being told by Wired that the lyric referencing Gates is one that’s “been passed around a lot” since the song’s release, the 60-year-old said: “I guess it’s nice that people consider me successful.”

He also added that he has never met Beyoncé but knows her husband Jay-Z “because when I did some humour right when I was retiring from Microsoft - he was nice about participating in that, and did a great job on that”.

Gates added that maybe he should “do a Bing search” on his name to “see if there are any more uses of my name that I don’t know about”.

There certainly have been. Lil Wayne’s 2010 album I Am Not A Human Being actually included a song simply titled ‘Bill Gates’. Other references to the richest man in the world have been made in songs by Sean Paul ("Ever Blazin’"), Nelly ("Country Grammar"), Snoop Dogg ("From tha Chuuuch to da Palace") and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds ("Babe, I’m on Fire").