Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Chris Rob makes music like someone who never saw a reason to stay in one lane. A keyboard virtuoso, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and composer, Rob moves fluidly between R&B, funk, hip-hop, jazz, and house music, tying it all together with the soul and rhythmic instinct of his hometown.

That musical DNA comes into sharp focus on his latest single, “I Was Wrong,” a hypnotic collision of soulful R&B vocals, electro-funk textures, hip-hop swagger, and booming 808s. It’s a sound that feels both rooted and restless — steeped in tradition while constantly reaching for something new.

That same versatility has made Chris Rob an increasingly sought-after composer for film and television. He served as a music composer for the Netflix series The Upshaws, starring Mike Epps, Kim Fields, and Wanda Sykes, and most recently scored the Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution. His arrangement of “Young, Gifted & Black” was featured in McDonald’s national Black & Positively Golden campaign, while “Sex. Money. & Drugs,” from his album Mental Notes, appeared in the Tyler Perry film Peeples.

Chris Rob’s live career has placed him on stages tied to some defining moments in music and American culture. He performed during President Barack Obama’s first inauguration festivities, opening for Stevie Wonder, and more recently appeared alongside DJ D-Nice as part of Jay-Z’s 30th-anniversary celebration of Reasonable Doubt at Yankee Stadium. He was also a featured performer for the 30 years of Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite tribute during Harlem Week festivities and appeared as a featured artist at the Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York.

His own performances have taken him to storied stages including The Apollo Theater, House of Blues, and City Winery venues across the country. And for a musician whose identity remains deeply connected to Chicago, there was particular resonance in taking the field to perform the national anthem at a Chicago Cubs game.

Long before those stages, Chris Rob had already built a reputation as a go-to sideman. He has worked as a writer and music director alongside his older brother, comedian, actor, and musician Craig Robinson, and has collaborated with artists spanning generations and genres, including Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Leon Ware, Nile Rodgers, Dave Chappelle, Meshell Ndegeocello, Anita Baker, Lauryn Hill, Roy Ayers, The J.B.’s, Kanye West, Slick Rick, Warren G, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, CL Smooth, Twista, Chuck D, Common, Slum Village, and Rakim. He also served as music director for John Legend’s Get Lifted Tour.

His reach has extended well beyond the concert stage. Chris Rob has appeared on television programs including Celebrity Family Feud, NBC’s The Office, the Grammy Awards, Celebrity Apprentice, Windy City Live, and Last Comic Standing, where he wrote and performed a live musical skit.

But beneath the credits, collaborations, and genre-hopping musicianship is a remarkably simple mission: connection. Whether he’s behind a keyboard, at the microphone, composing for the screen, or commanding a stage, Chris Rob approaches music as a direct line to the listener — groove first, soul always.