Albert J. Robinson, who plays The Bricks in Ybor City, Florida on Dec. 14, 2024. Credit: Photo c/o Albert J. Robinson

After a 14-year journey, Albert J. Robinson has decided that he is content with how much he has accomplished musically.

The homegrown rapper started his journey in 2010 after writing his first song in a halfway house, following mental health issues that caused severe self-harm. From there, Robinson formed a friendship, and released nine studio projects, with fellow rapper and Long Islander-turned-Tampeño Psych Montano, releasing albums like Mansion Music and throwing unique concerts in non-traditional venues like The Vault.

Albert J describes his final album Welcome—produced by ABR and due the same day as a stacked farewell show this Friday in Ybor City—as a project “sequenced to tell a story about spiritual growth and finding love through painful experiences.”

Some of those experiences include a harsh breakup, the death of his mother, and a fall from grace.

“I have plans to further my creativity through fitness, traveling and developing a more personal relationship with God by learning myself and acquiring my identity outside of what it is I do,” Robinson told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, later adding that after this gig, he’ll be deleting his social media and focusing on spending time with his kids and starting up a personal training business. Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Dec 12-18, 2024.