# Eric Roberson

Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represent", was released through Warner Bros. Records in 1994 and he recorded an album for that label which remains unreleased.

## Career

Raised in Rahway, New Jersey, Roberson attended Rahway High School.
He subsequently returned to Howard University to complete his studies in Musical Theatre. After performing in a number of musicals and plays, he landed a songwriting deal through the EMI label, and went on to collaborate with Philadelphia-based artists such as Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and most extensively, DJ Jazzy Jeff.
As a member of Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production company, Roberson made contributions to Jeff's debut album, The Magnificent in 2002. He continued songwriting work as well as releasing his own material through his Blue Erro Soul imprint. He also appeared on DJ Spinna's Intergalactic Soul LP in 2006.
Roberson was nominated for two Grammys in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category. He was nominated for two songs from his 2009 album Music Fan First- "A Tale of Two" in 2010 and "Still" in the same category a year later.
In 2013, he was a member of the band, United Tenors together with Dave Hollister, Fred Hammond and Brian Courtney Wilson.
Roberson's 2014 album, The Box, peaked at #8 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums. It was on the chart for 3 weeks. The album reached #104 on the Billboard 200. The album cover and promotional material featured speakers by BoomCase.
Roberson's "I Have A Song" was chosen to be the fundraising single, produced by Jak Beula and released in February 2016, to enable the permanent installation of the first dedicated Commonwealth war memorial in the UK to African and Caribbean service men and women of both World Wars.
In 2024, Roberson signed with the Universal Music Group distributed label SoNo Recording Group. His first release for the label is the Jeff Lorber featured "Every Kinda People", a cover of the 1978 Robert Palmer single.

## Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications :
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Album details | US | US R&B |
| 2001 | The Esoteric Movement Released: June 15, 2001 Label: P-Vine | – | – |
| 2003 | The Vault, Vol. 1 Released: July 1, 2003 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2004 | The Vault, Vol. 1.5 Released: February 24, 2004 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2005 | The Appetizer Released: November 7, 2005 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2007 | ...Left Released: February 27, 2007 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2009 | Music Fan First Released: August 25, 2009 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | 89 |
| 2011 | Mister Nice Guy Released: September 5,2011 Label: Purpose, eOne Music | - | 85 |
| 2012 | Eric Roberson Prestons When Loves Calls Released: February 2, 2012 Label: Blue Erro Soul/Purpose Records/E1 Music(US), Dome Records(UK) | 98 | 14 |
| 2013 | United Tenors (with Fred Hammond, Dave Hollister, Brian Courtney Wilson) Released: March 22, 2013 Label: Verity/RCA Inspiration | 39 | – |
| 2014 | B-Sides, Features & Heartaches Released: February 4, 2014 Label: Blue Erro Soul/Liaison (US), Dome Records (UK) | – | 45 |
| 2014 | The Box Released: August 12, 2014 Label: Blue Erro Soul/Liaison (US), Dome Records (UK) | 104 | 19 |
| 2016 | Tigallerro (with Phonte) Released: July 22, 2016 Label: Blue Erro Soul/Foreign Exchange Music | – | 19 |
| 2017 | Earth – EP Released: April 21, 2017 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2017 | Wind – EP Released: July 21, 2017 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2017 | Fire – EP Released: October 20, 2017 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2020 | Hear From Here Released: April 3, 2020 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |
| 2022 | Lessons Released: April 1, 2022 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – |

## Live albums

| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Album | U.S. | U.S. R&B | Certifications |
| 2006 | Erro Live Vol. DC Released: August 10, 2006 Label: Blue Erro Soul | – | – | |

## Selected discography

* 112 – Room 112 (1998), "Funny Feelings" (writer)
* Wild Wild West (1999), Tra-Knox "Lucky Day" (writer), Kel Spencer featuring Richie Sambora "I'm Wanted" (background vocals), Neutral "Chocolate Form" (writer)
* Gina Thompson – If You Only Knew (1999), "Ya Di Ya" (writer), "Take My Number Down" (writer, background vocals)
* Will Smith – Willennium (1999), "I'm Comin'" (vocal production)
* Jill Scott – Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000), "Getting In The Way" (background vocals)
* Musiq Soulchild – Aijuswanaseing (2000), "Mary Go Round" (writer, vocal arrangements)
* Will Downing – All the Man You Need (2000), "Thinkin' About You" (writer, background vocals)
* Case – Open Letter (2001), "Driving" (writer, background vocals), "Love Of My Life" (writer), "Wishful Thinking" (writer)
* Vivian Green – A Love Story (2002), "What Is Love?" (writer, background vocals), "Emotional Rollercoaster" (writer, background vocals), "Ain't Nothing But Love" (writer, background vocals)
* Musiq Soulchild – Juslisen (2002), "Previouscats" (writer, background vocals)
* Cam'ron – Come Home with Me (2002), "Tomorrow" (writer, uncredited background vocals)
* Dwele – Subject (2003), "Hold On" (writer, background vocals, vocal production)
* Carl Thomas – Let's Talk About It (2004), "Rebound" (writer, producer)
* Charlie Wilson – Charlie, Last Name Wilson (2005), "Thru It All" (writer)
* Phonte – Charity Starts at Home (2011), "Who Loves You More" (vocals)
* The Foreign Exchange – Love in Flying Colors (2013), "Better" (vocals)
* Robert Glasper – Black Radio 2 (2013), "Big Girl Body" (vocals)
* Algebra Blessett – Recovery (2014), "Mystery" (writer)
* Lil' John Roberts – The Heartbeat (2014), "Space" (vocals)
* AverySunshine – Twenty Sixty Four (2017), "Heaven Is Right Here" (writer), "Twenty Sixty Four" (writer)
* Phonte – No News Is Good News (2018), "Find That Love Again" (vocals)
* Brandon Williams – The Love Factor (2019) "Don't Give Up on Love" (vocals)
* Zo! – FourFront (2019) – "Love Up" (vocals)
* Nao Yoshioka – Undeniable (2019) – "Invest in Me feat. Carolyn Malachi" (producer)

## Compilations

* "Couldn't Hear Me" appears on the compilation Gilles Peterson Worldwide Exclusives 3 (2004) Talking Loud.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Artist/work | Category | Result |
| 2006 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | The Appetizer | Album of the Year | Won |
| 2006 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | BET Awards | Eric Roberson | BET Cool Like That Award | Nominated |
| 2007 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Left | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "Pretty Girl" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2009 | Soul Train Music Awards | Eric Roberson | CENTRIC Award | Nominated |
| 2009 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Music Fan First | Album of the Year | Won |
| 2009 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "Dealing" with Lalah Hathaway | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2009 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "The Power that Kisses Hold" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2009 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Won |
| 2010 | Grammy Awards | "A Tale of Two" feat. Ben O'Neill & Michelle Thompson | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Nominated |
| 2011 | Grammy Awards | "Still" | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Nominated |
| 2012 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Mr. Nice Guy | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2012 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "At the Same Time" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2012 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | The Box | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "Mark on Me" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Wind | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | "Lessons" | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2022 | Pop Awards | "Lessons" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Lessons | Album of the Year | Won |
| 2022 | SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards | Eric Roberson | Male Vocalist of the Year | Won |