Chloe Kibble is an enigma. Born in one of the largest musical hubs in the world, Nashville, Tennessee, Kibble’s future in performing arts seemed practically inevitable. Growing up in the suburban neighborhood of Brentwood, her mother and father maintained strong ties to the surrounding music industry, singing with Grammy-winning brother and sister duo BeBe and CeCe Winans, among other gospel groups. Meanwhile, her three aunts would find considerable success performing in the popular gospel trio, Virtue. But while her immediate family earned notoriety within the Christian music scene, Kibble spent her younger years immersed in the visual arts, developing a particular fondness for illustration and graphic design.

Eventually, however, Kibble’s passion for visual artistry would develop into a love of performing arts. While pursuing a degree in Public Health at Brown University, she joined an ensemble neo-soul jazz band named Richard that rekindled her appreciation for music. But a deep love for singing would not be the only revelation that she’d have; while navigating within Brown’s liberal, sex-positive environment, Kibble came to the realization that she identified with the queer community, particularly as a Black femme.

“From then and up until this point, my mother was the only person in my family I had come out to,” Kibble admits. “I’m learning to be unapologetic about it, and I’m still figuring out how I’m going to express that part of me in my music. The ‘Haze x Hush’ video actually started out as two separate projects while I was at school, but I realized the two records were great representations of my story of queerness and finding a community. ‘Hush’ was my first solo work, and the two records inspired me to do a full-length EP. I think that through writing for it, I’ll be able to do some self-reflection and exploring—I’ll have to be honest with myself and my experiences.”

Inspired by Kibble’s interest in Afrofuturism and Black femmehood, “Haze x Hush” is a two-part visual feature that follows the mental state of a budding queer Black woman in American society. It explores two phases in which she navigates a modern dystopian culture; the visuals begin with her coming out and embracing sexual fluidity, and subsequently reconceptualizing her identities, her body, her Blackness, and her community through a futurist lens, deviant and resistant of white America. While “Haze” represents Kibble’s sense of isolation, vulnerability, entrapment, and danger, “Hush”—set in an apocalyptic sci-fi desert wasteland—chronicles her channeling the motherhood and survivability of Black women to reclaim a new space and body. “Haze x Hush” explores a number of themes, including the interplay of technology, Black voices, and signal-transmission through time. Ultimately, it is is an amalgamation of Afrofuturism, queer revelation, and quite visibly, Black girl magic.

After graduating earlier this year, Kibble decided it was time to step out of her comfort zone, so she moved to Atlanta in September. Distancing herself from a stable, supportive community in which everyone knows her has been admittedly difficult, but starting over and creating a name for herself has been a rewarding challenge. Having been set free from the linear career path that most people follow post-graduation, Kibble’s fledgling music career is giving her the opportunity to forge a new path, completely open to her creation and interpretation.

Watch the video above.

Credits

Music
Co-writer – Kevin Haggerty (“Haze” and “Hush”)
Co-writer – Zack Pockrose (“Haze”)
Co-writer – Michele Bazile (“Hush”)

Producer – ushamamii (“Hush”)

Video
Producer – Mar Sudac
Animation – Calvin XINGPEI Shen and Cloe Lee

More Info
Instagram: @ChloeNKibble
SoundCloud: @chloekibble
Twitter: @ckibz01