Over the past decade, few have been as ubiquitous in Chicago’s local hip-hop scene as Rich Jones. Be it hosting a monthly showcase for up-and-coming artists, plastering promotional posters for himself and others, or rocking a stage with his upbeat demeanor, the MC was visible and active in many ways in the city’s local scene. However, over the past two years, Jones had to start over and find new ways to connect with friends and fans as the pandemic has continued to alter everyday life. 

While you were less likely to spot Jones sharing a blunt or a pull of Hennessy outside of a music venue in 2021, he was still able to share his passion for music, food, and good vibes in innovative ways. In March of last year, he teamed up with Gotham Bagels to produce a bagel sandwich called the Irving Park, which consisted of pastrami, latke, egg, and jerk cream cheese. It was later brought back for the final three months of the year, due to popular demand. He also got involved in charitable efforts with J. Bambii’s We Deserve a Home project and raised funds for Chicago Community Jail Support mutual aid network.

Rich’s most notable move in 2021 was releasing a four-track EP, Blue Beach, released in late September. For the project, Jones teamed up with first-time collaborator, New Jersey producer Killer Kane, who laid out the lush, meditative soundscape. 

Like his 2020 project, How do you sleep at night?, Jones channeled the turmoil and anxiety of a chaotic time into his songwriting.  While How do you sleep at night? was urgent and direct —with many songs reflecting on the wide-spread protests of police brutality and the upper class’s lack of empathy during the pandemic—Blue Beach touches on unresolved tensions and ambiguity that reflects a year that failed to live up to the promised hope that things were going to improve.

“[How do you sleep at night? and Blue Beach] are definitely related to each other energy-wise,” Jones told These Days. “I think the anxiety and uneasiness is definitely more present now than when I made it though. We got vaccinated, things were starting to look like we might get to live a little, and then a combo of the variants and people being shitheads shot that all to shit. But at the time I was writing all this, I was feeling cautiously hopeful. Shame it wasn’t to be.”

In the months following its release and in the wake of new COVID variants and the lack of urgency from the Biden administration to address climate change, Jones’ ambiguous, reflective writing on Blue Beach feels a bit heavier and darker. Most notably, on the EP’s finale/title track, Jones’s imagery about atom bombs and cannon balls crashing through walls feels more dystopian than a chill day at the beach.

For 2022, Jones says he’s been working on the followup to How do you sleep and night? and Blue Beach and hinted to look out for more info in the spring.

“Tentatively, the next project is going to feel like you just got back from that lovely little break and things are still just as fucked up as when you left them,” he said. “It’s not all gloom and doom though, I’ve got some levity up my sleeve too.”

The rapper and food enthusiast has already kicked off a productive 2022 by releasing a pair of loose singles in January. He reunited with Killer Kane on “Pushing Buttons,” on which he shares verses with Chicago hip-hop mainstay greenSLLIME and New York rapper Big Breakfast. He also dropped his first visuals of the year for a loosie called “Go Free,” a collab with two Chicago veterans, rapper/producer Vyle and producer Meaty Ogre. Jones said he’s been a fan of the two since he was a teenager. “The fact that I have not one but BOTH of them in the mix here is truly ‘cup runneth over’ territory,” he wrote about the single.

“As far as the year goes, I really hope I’ll be able to perform more,” he said about his moves in 2022. “But regardless, there’s a lot of music I’ve made that needs to come out and a LOT more music that hasn’t been made that I’m mulling over at the moment so stay tuned for all that.”

How did you two link up, and what made you decide to do a full project together?

Rich Jones: I first met Kane in 2017 at a show Fess Grandiose and I were playing in Brooklyn. Since then, I’ve stayed abreast of what he’s been up to or working on because I’m a fan! Dude’s great. When it came to this project, I didn’t even know we had a project until after he sent me the beats that became Blue Beach. I had figured since I had a lot of time on my hands that I should make some cool shit and he was really enthusiastic when I reached out so there you have it.

Killer Kane: Everything just kinda felt right. He hit me up to send him some stuff and damn near the whole pack became Blue Beach. Just worked out really organically.

Rich, it seems like you’ve been pretty selective on what shows/venues you’re playing. What’s been your approach to performing in the past year?

Rich Jones: For the time being, I feel safest if I can do it outside. I appreciate the venues that are taking things seriously, but I personally would feel awful if someone I love or a fan were to get sick or worse because they went to one of my shows. This has been really hard to be honest because I really do enjoy performing, and I’ve had to turn down things that at almost any other time I’m saying a resounding, “FUCK YES,” before they’ve even finished offering me the gig.

Photos by NEW TRASH

Last year you put out a project with Montana Macks, who you’ve worked with and known for decades. What was it like making a project with someone like Killer Kane, who you haven’t had a lot of experience working with?

Rich Jones: It was really easy and fun. I’ve been taking over mixing duties the last couple projects and it meant a lot that he trusted me to deliver while also giving me great feedback and tips on how to get better. The main thing I focused on was communication and letting him know from the jump that I wanted both of us to be in a better spot post-release, which I think we succeeded on that score!

You recorded the vocals to this project at your partner’s family’s home in Massachusetts. What was that experience like, recording a project in an unfamiliar setting? Was it difficult to focus, or was getting away from Chicago able to help you hone in on finishing this project?

Rich Jones: I’m no stranger to working elsewhere, and in this instance, what really helped me jump in was my familiarity and comfort level with my gear. It’s not complicated by any stretch, but instead of having to get hip to somebody else’s setup, I just had to find a cozy corner and get going.

In terms of focus, I had nothing but space to do that. We were staying in an old farmhouse in a really quiet area, especially when compared to the noise on our street back home, so that helped immensely. Also allowed me to write and create at a completely stress-free pace because I had so much time on my hands, something that hasn’t been the case for me in recent years.

What’s the significance behind the title Blue Beach? And what would you say is the overall theme of this project?

Rich Jones: I took the photo that would end up being the cover the day after we got in and then when Kane sent me the beats, everything just sort of clicked for me after. I took one look at the photo and thought, “That sure looks like a blue beach to me!” and really dug how those words fit together.

As it pertains to the significance of the EP, it helped me frame up the flow and energy of the project nicely. I wanted people to feel like they had gone somewhere new; that they’d had a true departure from their normal environment to a place far more placid, tranquil, and chill. Hence why the project starts with the more high-energy “It’s Over” and then ends with the relaxed, ethereal “Blue Beach”. A lot of people, myself included, have taken a real drubbing mentally, and my default way to regroup has been to travel my blues away, so I can see the forest from the trees—or in this instance the beach from the sand. With that not being an option for a lot of folks, my hope is that this could be something that’ll recharge anybody and it only takes 13 minutes to get through. How about that?

Killer Kane: You know I don’t think we ever directly discussed it—forgive me if we have Rich, the weed, it melts my brain. But we both just were at this kinda rut, with the pandemic and all the other bullshit in the world, yet we both tend to make more laid-back stuff. Rich came up with Blue Beach, and I thought it really fit with the kinda sadness in some of Rich’s lyrics paired with some laid-back beats.

You described this project as a “meditative vacation of the mind.” What do you mean by that?

Rich Jones: Rather than being a piece of music for folly’s sake, this is meant to relax while also allowing room for people to sit and be, and work through some shit should they choose. Everybody needs a break, I just want this one to be a journey that people approach intentionally.

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Keep up with Rich Jones on Instagram & Spotify