As a Michigan native, Berklee dropout and up-and-coming musician, Justice Hill has long been awaiting his well-deserved debut album, “Room With a View,” which comes out on April 20. After losing a close friend and mentor and living out of his car only a short seven years ago, Hill knew he needed to make a change for himself and his career. He decided to move to the city of Chicago to care for his grandmother while working as a bartender to save up to buy his own instruments.

This is exactly what Hill proceeded to accomplish while writing his album. Hill never ceased his writing, even after receiving the soul-crushing news that his grandmother had passed away. Between his deep personal life and the COVID-19 pandemic, Hill felt that he needed to escape from his own world and enter his well-known world of music.

“At that moment I just tried to escape myself and to find a room where I could look out and see everything, to try and see all the paths, the cause-and-effect of everything in my web,” Hill said.

During the pandemic, Hill spent most of his time in his bedroom alone, only comforted by the sounds of his instruments and creative mind. While he was frustrated with the pandemic at first, Hill still ultimately completed his masterpiece that is “Room With a View.”

“I honestly don’t think I would have finished it by now if not for the existential dread of last year, but I’ve learned by now that that’s how life works,” he said.

Hill’s soulful, baritone voice floats over the album’s mixture of pop, indie-alternative, electronic and rap notes. His master piano skills are showcased along with his balance of electronic programming. Hill works closely with the band Eshé All Day Hues on the album after he met Eshé in 2017.

The album also features vocalists such as Swäm, guitarists such as Rob Campbell, Charles Corley and Noah Gitlis, saxophonist José Guadalupe and bassist Conor Roe. All of these creative minds worked closely together to create several versions of “Room With A View” until the near-perfect final version was finalized.

Fans of Frank Ocean, Digable Planets, Vanilla and Clams Casino will find similar sounds in Hill’s debut album. The release of the album follows the single released in early March of this year, “Outta This,” also featuring Eshé.

The album starts with “Enter,” a well-constructed piece that introduces listeners to Hill’s versatile high and low tones of his sweet, smooth vocals, along with the use of other electronic instruments and sound effects.

The second track of this album features an Eshé All Day Hues and Justice Hill duet, “Outta This.” The two voices blend to create a near-flawless track. “Empathy Machine” allows fans to listen to a more emotional Hill as he sings about a lost love.

“Missing Room” highlights Hill’s impeccable piano skills played over a Bon Iver similar-sounding hallucinating vocal tone. “Without Them,” a personal favorite, features a rhythm and blues sound over vibrant techno dance music and an extremely catchy chorus. “Takeout,” featuring Swäm, will be stuck in listeners’ heads as Hill and Swäm sing about eating takeout versus making out. Hill ends his long-awaited album with “Coming Down,” a piece that beautifully concludes his thoughts.

Justice Hill is a promising young artist with hopes to surprise listeners with his unique sounds and soulful baritone. His musical journey has been intense, though it’s only just beginning.

“I couldn’t finish ‘Room With a View’ until I was forced to find one for myself,” Hill said.

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