Jason Ivy

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Jason Ivy began to gain mainstream recognition in late 2018, after releasing his first studio recorded single, "Higher," which gained admiration from both peers and established artists like Majid Jordan. He then released his first EP project, CØMPLIMENTS, on February 9, 2019, which garnered critical acclaim. It earned him placement in Billboard Magazine.

Jason went on to attend Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. During his time there, he was triple enrolled at Kennedy King Community College and the University of Chicago, and studied abroad at the University of Cambridge. Throughout his high school days, Roberts founded an anti-violence organization, and was a featured speaker at several non-violence events. He was extremely involved in his education, participating in programs like the Center for Companies that Care’s Aim High Program, winning several awards from his commitment to academic success.

Roberts’ interest in music began at a very young age, when he would sing along to whatever was playing on the radio. Growing up, Roberts’ parents consistently played music across a large span of genres. His father enjoyed music, owning a large catalog of digitally downloaded albums and physical CDs.

Jason’s favorite songs as a child were "I Wanna Know" by Joe, "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac, and "If I Ain’t Got You" by Alicia Keys. He grew up on the music that the older generation enjoyed, and this influenced his soulful, melodic sound. Surely, the Chris Brown and Mariah Carey concerts he attended as a child shaped his perspective on musical artists as well. Jason began writing poetry and songs as early as eighth grade, when he noticed the apparent link between written poetry and musical rhythm.

Roberts then left The Inspiration to join The Collctve and explore the more collaborative side of music with “a diverse network of creatives, risk-takers, innovators, and collaborators coast to coast.” (2) Jason recorded two songs with them, titled “Freshman Cypher” and “Don’t Mind.”

Roberts’ music has been described as smooth and uplifting, taking listeners “Higher.” His music generally consists of RnB-fueled melodies and harmonies, and Gospel-influenced runs and melismas.

Roberts’ lyrics are extremely illustrative, often walking listeners through a complete train of thought with multiple double and triple entendres along the way. His musical style and instrumentation makes for chill, easy listening, but his lyrics provoke through and reflection, often addressing real life problems rather than reciting the music industry standard of “money, women, cars, clothes, and jewelry.” Jeff Mitchell at Odd Nugget has described Roberts’ lyrics as “sonic fire with a chill flame.”

Though he may rap from time to time, the majority of Roberts’ music consists of traditional singing songs. Jason possesses a lyric-dramatic tenor voice with an expansive vocal range that covers 4 octaves. Roberts’ vocal range reaches its extreme low nearing vocal fry at the bass low B (B1), and rises to its high at the soprano C (C6) in falsetto.

Roberts’ fashion style is a significant part of his public image, and he has taken interest in the industry for many years. He is part owner of the “No Homo Company” a fashion line dedicated to the reclamation of the deleterious homophobic phrase “no homo” for the LGBTQ+ community. This company illustrates Roberts’ ally-ship for the aforementioned community. In addition to the No Homo Company, Roberts has designed apparel for college student groups, as well as all of his own artist merchandise.

He then attended St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Oak Lawn, Illinois for one year to complete his middle school education. St. Paul School is now closed until further notice, as of 2018.

During a self-exploratory gap year from UPenn, Roberts underwent formal musical training for the first time in his life, with Rev. Dr. Lena McLin, the woman responsible for the musical education of Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, and R. Kelly. After graduating from UPenn, Roberts returned home to Chicago to being writing drafts for his first EP, CØMPLIMENTS. In April of 2018, Jason began the process of incorporating himself as Jason Ivy LLC, with the help of the legal team at DiSchino & Schamy, PLLC in Miami, Florida. This process was finalized in May of 2018, and Jason officially began his career in the music industry, surrounded by the familiar scenery and local artists of his hometown.

When Roberts was sixteen, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Cognitive Neuroscience and minored in Linguistics. He received his degree in December of 2017 and returned home to Chicago to pursue music full-time.

Jason Ivy explains that the “concept behind both the EP and the cover art is that these are all separate concepts that function as a whole, all mostly contained within this jar. Each of the songs addresses the state of the jar — being emotionally empty or filled — which doubles as a graphic metaphor for the state of the narrator’s own emotions.” It is apparent Jason uses his extensive education to clearly convey meaning through the mediums of art and music.

His younger brother, Brayden Roberts, is also working on gaining a footing in the music world, by writing and producing music as a hobby. Brayden is credited on the first song of CØMPLIMENTS, “Hate,” as a songwriter. His younger brother, Brayden, is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities.

First homeschooled, he was taught the basics of American education to prepare him for attendance at Marva Collins Preparatory School (MCPS). Skipping preschool and kindergarten, he began first grade at three years old and attended MCPS until the school closed down just after his 7th grade year in 2008.

Roberts served as an election judge during high school, and was a lively participant in voter activism. Throughout his career, Roberts has completed over 600 hours of community service, through his affiliation with the National Honor Society and his fraternity organization, Alpha Phi Omega. 

Jason Victor Roberts (born December 9, 1996), known professionally as Jason Ivy, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor.