Megastar Beyoncé Knowles’ early years were a secret hell of drugs, booze and child abuse, The National ENQUIRER has uncovered in a sensational exclusive.
The future music icon, 34, began her career in Texas, where she was part of the group Girl’s Tyme, mentored by manager Andretta Tillman.
Yet as she got her first taste of the spotlight, she was surrounded by druggie lowlifes — and even a child molester!
Andretta’s nephew, convicted felon Belfrey Brown, confirmed to The ENQUIRER he was Beyoncé’s “babysitter” in the years before he went to prison for drug dealing.
Brown said from 1989 onward, “I was around (Beyoncé) a lot. Andretta Tillman’s my aunt. She was the original manager for ‘Destiny’s Child’ and Beyoncé. I did spend a lot of time around them in the early years. I guess you could say I was Beyoncé’s babysitter!”
In 1994, he was indicted for felony drug charges and ultimately sentenced to prison.
He confessed to The ENQUIRER: “At the time, I was selling drugs. I did get caught up in a federal indictment and I had to leave them all behind to go to prison … for 12 years.”
He wasn’t the only druggie around Beyoncé. According to another family pal, her dad was a cocaine-snorting serial cheater in those early years.
“The Making of a Child of Destiny,” a memoir by Texas family friend Brian Moore, claimed Beyoncé’s dad, Mathew Knowles, would come to meetings “high as a kite.”
The book said he often would go in Andretta’s “garage to do cocaine or other drugs” during rehearsals.
He “would come back ranting and raving” in front of the girls and Andretta, Brian claimed.
Drugs weren’t his only issue.
An admitted sex addict, Mathew often cheated on wife Tina, the book said.
As Beyoncé’s group took off, “Mathew increased … his drug use,” Brian wrote. “It was getting out of control. He started lying even more to Tina and giving her the impression that there were meetings going on … Mathew used them as a cover for extramarital affairs with different women.”
Brown told The ENQUIRER that Tina and Mathew’s explosive fights over his infidelity were legendary.
“Have you seen the show ‘Empire’?” he joked. “That whole thing between them was like ‘Empire’ before the TV show!”
Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s best friend and another member of Girl’s Tyme, LaTavia Roberson, was living her own private hell as she was repeatedly molested by a Houston cop, the book alleged.
LaTavia has since confirmed the abuse and, according to Brian, it was that incident and witnessing Mathew’s rages that turned Beyoncé from a sweet Houston girl to a ruthless international pop icon.
“After this, Beyoncé started to get thick skin,” he wrote. “She was more edgy and protective. You could see Beyoncé sort of grow up.”
