Rumi Carter, first of her name, younger sister of Blue Ivy, niece of Solange and granddaughter of Tina Knowles, has officially made her debut as a recording artist.
Beyoncé‘s youngest daughter, who is 6, scored a featured artist credit on “Protector,” the fourth track on Cowboy Carter — the second act in Queen Bey’s sprawling Renaissance trilogy. A tender, guitar-plucked ballad, “Protector” finds Beyoncé singing of the challenges that come with shifting your approach to parenthood as your children get older. “And I will lead you down that road if you lose your way/ Born to be a protector/ Even though I know someday you’re gonna shine on your own / I will be your projector,” she croons.
Rumi’s appearance occurs at the very beginning of the track when she adorably asks, “Mom, can I hear the lullaby? Please?”
Her contributions to the track echo the earliest of Blue Ivy’s appearances on her parents’ music. Back in 2012, Jay-Z included Blue’s cries — she was just 10 days old when the song dropped — on “Glory,” which reached No. 23 on Hot Rap Songs, making the eldest Carter child the youngest person in history to have a charted song on any Billboard tally.
Of course, “Glory” kicked off what has become a Grammy-winning career for Blue Ivy, who is now 12. She won her first Grammy for best music video thanks to her contributions to her mom’s The Lion King: The Gift single “Brown Skin Girl” (with Wizkid and SAINt JHN), picking up honors at the BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards and NAACP Image Awards in the process. That song also became Blue’s very first Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 76. Blue has also appeared on several other songs, including Beyoncé’s “Blue” (2013), “Daddy Lessons” (2016), “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing (Blue’s Version)” (2019), Jay-Z’s “Blue’s Freestyle / We Family” (2017) and Coldplay‘s “Up&Up” (2016). On her parents’ 2018 joint album Everything Is Love, Blue appears on “Boss” and “Salud,” on which she shouts out her younger twin siblings, Rumi and Sir Carter.
Time will tell if Rumi continues to appear in the studio, but for now, she can enjoy her official musical debut on one of the most buzzed-about albums of the year.
Listen to “Protector” below.
