Biography

Rich Robbins is a rapper. Rich Robbins is a poet. He is a producer and an educator. But more than anything, the Oak Park-born, Chicago-based artist is a world-builder. In his young career, he has journeyed from Chicago to Philly to Madison, WI. Rich’s early years as a college student saw his music take an outward, conceptual look against the ills of society. Being in Madison and the First Wave hip-hop scholarship program jumpstarted his artistry by providing resources and collaborators that defined his early sound. He also recorded wide-reaching tracks like "Dreams" feat. Mick Jenkins. Moving back to Chicago provided what he needed to reach the next level. The proximity to artists like Chance and Noname, and to family, collaborating with other Chicago heavy-hitters like Saba, his work as an activist, experience as a Spoken Word educator/coach, and journey through meditative practices, have all led him to a freer mind and sound. This freedom allowed him to look inward as well as out for society's ills and to create spaces in his songs for listeners to explore. In short, Rich’s work critiques the old while envisioning and manifesting the new. In his latest project “On The Horizon”, Rich invites you to bring all the baggage, all the weight, unsaddle yourself and kick it for awhile. Each song is a chance to sit with the good and the bad, and provides the necessary reflection to understand both.