Eric Roberson

A trailblazer within the independent R&B sphere, Eric Roberson has assembled an extensive body of work distinguished by his luminous tenor voice, sincere lyricism, and ongoing evolution across contemporary soul, gospel, organic hip-hop, and deep house. He first entered the business as a teenager via a major-label deal. Though that initial chapter concluded abruptly once the post-new jack swing ballad "The Moon" (1994) reached the charts, he resurfaced in the ensuing decade by unveiling his self-released debut Esoteric... (2001) and the club smash "Don't Change," also known as "Change for Me." Arriving somewhat after the peak moment and operating largely beneath the radar that benefited comparable neo-soul acts, Roberson nevertheless demonstrated equal merit to his soul-rooted peers; following several additional LPs he secured Grammy nominations for a pair of tracks from his sixth album, Music Fan First (2009). His subsequent studio releases Mister Nice Guy (2011) and The Box (2014) placed inside or close to the upper half of the Billboard 200. In the years since he has delivered the Phonte collaboration Tigallerro (2016), Hear from Here (2020), and Lessons (2022), alongside numerous further solo projects and external endeavors.

The Rahway, New Jersey native made his Warner Bros. bow in 1994 as a teenager with "The Moon." Although the polished post-new jack swing ballad became a modest success, climbing to number 53 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart that summer, the accompanying album was ultimately shelved. Roberson resumed studies at Howard University under a musical theater scholarship and completed his degree. Throughout the second half of the 1990s, equipped with an EMI publishing agreement, he composed and arranged material for artists including Phajja, 112, and Gina Thompson.

In the decade that followed, Roberson fully embraced independence through his Blue Erro Soul imprint, inaugurated by the full-length Esoteric... (2001). The same year the album appeared, he also generated club attention as Erro with "Don't Change" (aka "Change for Me"), a single first issued on Osunlade's Yoruba label. While his solo trajectory regained momentum, he simultaneously collaborated with Philadelphians Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Vivian Green, as well as with Detroiter Dwele, co-writing and co-producing the latter's single "Hold On," which likewise reached number 53 on the R&B chart. Roberson continued issuing solo albums at regular intervals, expanding his discography with The Appetizer (2005), ...Left (2007), and Music Fan First (2009). The last of these yielded "Borrow You," his first R&B/hip-hop chart entry since "The Moon," along with "A Tale of Two" and "Still," both nominated for Grammy Awards in the Best Urban/Alternative R&B Performance category.

Recognition from the Recording Academy, coupled with fresh backing via a Purpose Music partnership and eOne distribution, propelled Mister Nice Guy (2011) to number 14 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Roberson subsequently contributed to contemporary gospel figurehead Fred Hammond's United Tenors project and fronted Zo!'s "We Are on the Move" (both 2013), before returning to Blue Erro output with B-Sides, Features & Heartaches and The Box (both 2014). He later rejoined occasional collaborator Phonte for Tigallerro (2016) and assembled the empowerment-themed EP trilogy Earth, Wind, and Fire (all 2017). Before the decade closed he released the full-length LNS (2019), an abbreviation for Late Night Sessions, comprising tracks chosen by his online subscriber base, and accepted a professorship at Berklee College of Music. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic he made available Erro Live: Vol. UK, documenting a London performance from the prior year, together with the studio album Hear from Here. Those 2020 projects were succeeded by Lessons (2022), whose title track rapidly emerged as one of Roberson's strongest-performing singles.