Cruz Beckham is the latest member to join the long line of famous children who have dipped their toes into the world of music.
Interestingly, beyond a 2016 Christmas single, Cruz Beckham has yet to actually release any
music. His 1.9 million Instagram followers are experiencing this career launch primarily
through photos of him holding a guitar, or through his controversial i-D cover story, which saw him posing in his underwear at just 16-years-old.
One of life’s constants is the presence of the ‘nepotism baby’ in our media landscape. When trying to get noticed in the music world, it helps to know someone in the celebrity industry but it helps enormously to have that someone be your parent, or in this case, parents.
Famous children have the access to act on the near-universal teenage impulse to start a band or make music, regardless of talent levels. Cruz Beckham told i-D that he had his first recording session when he was just 11 years old, with legendary producer Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins, an obviously out-of-reach experience for the 'average' person.
It can be seen as a slap in the face to the many talented artists working hard to get their music out there and be recognised. That being said, it is not impossible for famous children to take their absurd leg-up in the industry seriously and do something with it.
Willow Smith undoubtedly has her parents to thank for finding success in the industry, especially the fact that her debut ‘Whip My Hair’ came out when she was just 10-years-old. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t now creating interesting music, like her critically acclaimed 2020 album WILLOW.
Cruz Beckham will have to prove a lot to show that he is worth the listener’s time. He joins the current generation of nepotism babies in music such as Deacon, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s son, who released a single with Nina Nesbitt in 2020.
In the end, it is entirely up to Cruz Beckham to show us if the answer to the question ‘why do you make music?’ is simply because he can or because he has something worthwhile to offer.
Only time will tell!
Edited by Hannah Youds
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