Any artist that can learn the ropes from a mentor in the music industry has a slight advantage in navigating his or her career, especially if the mentor is a musician as well. When fans think of artists and their protégés, few come to mind: Dr. Dre and Eminem, Lil' Wayne and Drake, or perhaps Jay-Z and Rihanna. However, with big name acts such as these becoming known as mentors, there are high expectations of the artists they are supporting. In 2015, Beyoncé signed sister duo Chloe x Halle to her Parkwood Entertainment label, and over these past few years, the girls have easily showcased Queen Bey's influence while also elevating their own artistry.
Since the world was first introduced to Chloe x Halle as teenagers uploading song covers to YouTube, the duo has shown tremendous growth. As if having arguably the world's biggest entertainer as a mentor wasn't enough, over the years they toured with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, earned two Grammy nominations for their debut album The Kids Are Alright, and landed starring roles in the sitcom series, Grown-ish. As Chloe x Halle grew up out of their teenage years and are maturing into young women, fans were curious to see how adulthood would play into the music and if their young fan base would grow with them. That's where the sophomore album Ungodly Hour comes into the picture.
The 13-track album enlists production from the sisters along with Scott Storch, Sounwave, Jake One, Disclosure, and Mike Will Made It. After earning rave reviews from the album's lead single, "Do It," perhaps the next single should be the playful, "Busy Boy."
Chloe x Halle teamed up with producer Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, who's known for making hits with the likes of J. Cole, H.E.R., Anderson. Paak, and Ty Dolla $ign. "Busy Boy" tells the story that many people have encountered, dealing with a playboy. Chloe x Halle describe this particular "Busy Boy" as the type who's trying to add to his roster of women, sending girls the "You up?" text message, attempting to make moves on girls within the same friend group, all while expecting a baby on the way — a busy boy indeed. The song adds to the album's theme of showing one's different sides, dealing with everything that comes in this crazy thing called life such as love, situationships, insecurities, independence, and confidence.
The lush harmonies, the layered melodies, and the hands-on production and writing work continue to broaden their artistry as a step in making them a household name—it's safe to say, the kids been alright. If the week calls for putting a playboy in his rightful place, put Chloe x Halle's "Busy Boy" in the rotation.
