Chicago artist Rich Jones has been releasing music since the beginning of the decade. Over the years he’s worked with everyone from Vapor Eyes to the O’Mys to Show You Suck, just to name a few. While he came up as an emcee, in recent years he’s been exploring more of his soul/singer/songwriter side. Nowhere is this more apparent than on his latest EP, The Shoulder You Lean On.

In the spring of 2017, Rich Jones met up with producer J. Kelr for a possible collaboration. After knocking out the last song on this EP, “Step Into You,” they both felt that they were onto something, so they kept at it. Now that TSYLO is here, you can see what they were after. Jones has a nice singing voice with a pure tone and a great feel for melody and rhythm to his delivery. In working with J. Kelr, he finds this perfect mix between indie rock, soul, and hip hop to create a sound that’s all their own. It’s an album that finds a home somewhere between The Sea and Cake, The O’Mys, and Sidewalk Chalk. That is to say, this album sounds like Chicago. This style of music also pushes Jones to get really personal with his lyricism, as he deals with personal relationships, taking a chance on himself, and just trying figure out where he fits on this planet. It can be a little moody at times, a little introspective, but it also has a sense of humor to it as well. Along the way, we get appearances from vocalist Kiara Lanier, Kenny Keys, and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, who all add some distinct flavor and complement Jones in just the right ways. It all comes together for this extremely well-rounded and unique listening experience.

The Shoulder You Lean On is a different side of Rich Jones, but also something he’s been building toward. It’s something that is at once accessible, but also different and exciting. That’s not easy to pull off.