A year ago at this time, Calboy was but another name in a tangled environment of Chicago’s underground. A year later? he’s the toast of the town. The city has been getting used to fast come ups. Chance’s ascent cut Ye’s in half or more before Juice WRLD made it with only about six months in the game. While Calboy definitely falls into the category of surprising upstarts, he also stands alone in his ability to do so. “Envy Me” off of Wildboy was the world’s first glimpse, and it left them wanting more of the 20-year-old who obliged with this talented and impressive offering.
The single was the first time many had heard from Calboy, and he made it count. “Envy Me” ended up peaking on Billboard at No. 31 and ignited a bidding war across the industry for his services. Earlier this year he came to terms with RCA. The summer 2019 release was a re-rendering of sorts of his 2018 drop, Calboy The Wildboy, albeit with distinctive resources from the new relationship.
The project is tightly wound. Carrying the sensibilities of underground Chicago Drill that highly inspired it, Wildboy is the culmination of a decade of artistic renderings happening in his periphery whether realized or not. They all connect appropriately on this one, arguably one of the most well-heeled debuts we’ve seen from Chicago in a minute. Calboy isn’t looking back either. Similar to the fast-paced upward climb of Juice and others, Cal’s world has been in fast forward since dropping the seminal project and doesn’t appear to be letting up soon. Wildboy may prove to be one of the breakout releases we’ll look back on years from now.