It’s Thursday, June 10th of 2021. The weather is near perfect —not overwhelmingly hot but certainly not chilly. After spending the better part of the last year and change trapped within my home and the two-block radius surrounding it for trips to the corner store, I’m popping out for my first live music event since pre-pandemic days. Specifically, I was headed to the Golden Dagger in Lincoln Park to moderate a Q&A session for Rich Robbins’ listening party for his latest album, On The Horizon.

Going into the event, I was actually nervous as hell. As mentioned earlier, it was my first time going to any type of music event in more than a year and I would be presenting in front of an audience of strangers, no less. When I showed up and ran into Rich just outside the front door, he confided in me that he was feeling the same nerves as I. 

“Before I go into any type of social event, I really have to center myself for a second when I get really overwhelmed,’ Rich shared. “So it’s like, chances are if you see me out in a public event, I'm like making sure all my toes and fingers are there and shit. Like I know what's going on, you know?”

By the time the audience for the listening party had settled in though, and it was time for Rich to present the project he had been working on during a historic pandemic, any signs of nervousness were gone, or at the very least, overshadowed by his natural charm and charisma. After every three songs, we held a brief Q&A for him and his collaborators to discuss the creation that went behind what we had just listened to. By giving listeners an in-depth look into the creation of his album, he created a new layer of vulnerability and intimacy in a time where people are just figuring out how to interact with one other after an extremely difficult year—a time where authentic human connections are needed more than ever as part of the healing process.

“You know, with great power comes great responsibility. So I feel like Rich Robbins is a community builder and also leading with mindfulness as a brand. I think we need a little bit more intention with artistry nowadays, you know? I feel like a lot of people are just making shit just to kind of make it, and they're like leaning on their talent to get them really far, but we're all getting older, so we're going to need a little bit more than just our talents.”

On The Horizon is the best Rich Robbins project to date. It’s a wonderfully diverse palette of sound, boasting a production that reminds me of the joy that comes from watching Saturday morning cartoons. With its pristine sound and mixing, it’s hard to believe that it was crafted entirely through Zoom studio sessions in which none of the artists involved in the making shared the same room. This was certainly one of the most difficult hurdles that Rich encountered.

“You don't have the same energy over Zoom that you do in person. When you're over the computer screen, especially if there's a lag, it just sucks out the energy of the immediacy of making shit. Luckily I think the people that I work with are just really good at what they do.”

The diverse sound is one of the album's biggest strengths, with each song having its own eclectic production. Rich makes his voice an additional instrument being played seamlessly with the instrumentals. He even went as far as experimenting with vocal pitches that reminded me of artists in the vein of Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator on songs like “Bottom of the Lake” and “Money Won’t Last.” Flow and delivery are essential skills he learned from his background as a spoken-word poet, and as such, they are among his best strengths as a rapper.

Aside from his technical skills, his lyrical content boasts reflective verses promoting healing, mental health, and overall good energy. He’s honest and vulnerable in standout tracks “Poltergeist” and “Boys to Men (Interlude),” opening up on his experiences dealing with psychedelic-induced existentialism and toxic masculinity. 

“When you asked me about psychedelics at the listening party, I was nervous because my mom was right there, but she was totally understanding, telling me how different cultures have always taken psychedelics to reach a higher plateau and transcend reality. My first experience with acid… was just like this world-breaking fucking experience, man. Like the walls were melting, but not like in an intimidating way. I felt like I was really connected with everything, and I could see the veins in it all and the network of it all. And I think I've always just carried that feeling into everything that I do, that we’re all really connected. So like how you write a song that's like that, that touches on that network. That's always been my goal, to find that perfect balance between lyricism, but not to the point that it's like preachy. Let me put you on these other ways of maybe approaching some things you don't have to approach it with anger, with a little bit more compassion. You're gonna live longer if you're a little less angry, you know? So let's talk about why we're angry, the systemic reasons, and the individual reasons. And then maybe we don't got to walk around with all that baggage anymore.”

With so much care and intention going into each song, Over The Horizon is one of those albums where your favorite song might switch depending on your mood. The reception from listeners has been overwhelmingly positive, with every song coming up as a fan’s favorite.

“People are coming at me with a whole bunch of different favorite songs. It’s across the whole album, which is cool because that means that people are really listening to the whole thing and not just stopping at the first three songs or something like that, which I think we've kind of grown into a habit of. I'm really grateful to be able to make music that is engaging enough that people want to stay for the whole ride… We're only here for a finite amount of time, you know? There's only so much music that I'm going to be able to make in my lifetime. And if I kind of waste that on some like shit that is like going to make somebody get in a bad headspace, then I feel like I just haven't really used my talents to the best of their abilities.”

After a year and a half since the whole world practically shut down, an album that emphasizes positivity and growing into a better version of yourself is like listening to the comeback story of the ages. The title itself refers to looking at the sun that shines over the horizon every day, emblematic of always forward to a brighter future.

“There's something about the sun and the brightness of natural light that just feels like life to me. And I think that's kind of the feeling that I want people to feel a little bit more alive in whatever sense means for them when they come to my music,” Rich shares. “I'm always a fan of comeback storylines, and I feel like we're all having our individual comeback storylines right now. I never really thought that this was going to be like a comeback type of event, but I'm glad that it felt that way though.”