Jordan Hamilton stands apart among up-and-coming hip-hop and soul artists from Michigan through more than his inventive beat construction or his engaging vocal and rap delivery; his standout asset remains his command of the cello.
A Kalamazoo native, he started the cello at eight and formed a lasting connection that carried him through his school years. That instrumental foundation supported the bachelor’s degree he completed in 2014 at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio and the master’s degree he earned two years later at Western Michigan University. Outside his appearances with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra and his teaching duties at Orchestra Jammbo’laya, the Kalamazoo youth orchestra focused on Black composers and players, he began shaping original material. Over time he fused his interest in orchestral and folk or pop elements with hip-hop and soul, layering strings over loop pedals and drum machines while placing conscious lyrics across the resulting textures.
After beginning self-releases in 2017, Hamilton reached a turning point in 2019 with two key projects: his debut full-length My Thoughts Are and Seen Not Heard, the album he issued with the local alternative hip-hop collective Last Gasp Collective. Both recordings highlighted his cello work, while My Thoughts Are introduced his vocal approach in full. He issued two projects in 2021, the all-instrumental Vibrations and the varied Tri Magi, a vocal collaboration with producer The Lasso and viral horn player Saxsquatch, each of whom had appeared on Vibrations. The EP Believe In… followed in 2022 and shifted toward electronics after an accident broke his collarbone and forced him to set the cello aside for a period. That same year he recorded the full-length Our Daily Bread with Last Gasp Collective; a year later J.Noh arrived as another experimental instrumental set that combined cello and assorted loops with nature sounds. Project Freedom was released in 2024.
