Inspired by seeing Janet Jackson perform live, a young Bryan James Sledge knew that performing music was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Armed only with one sweet voice and a passion for music, he moved from his native Chicago to Los Angeles when he was a mere 19 years old to pursue his dreams. Fast Forward to 2024 and now known as BJ the Chicago Kid, the Grammy-nominated R&B and soul singer has racked up some amazing credits including an appearance on Stevie Wonder’s album “A Time To Love” in 2005, a collaboration with Kanye West “Impossible”, the end credits song for Mission: Impossible III and recordings with Kendrick Lamar, and Chance The Rapper. BJ first gained recognition with his 2012 independent album Pineapple Now-Laters and his standout appearance on SchoolBoy Q’s Grammy-nominated single “Studio.” His major-label debut album, In My Mind (2016), earned him three Grammy nominations, solidifying his place as one of contemporary R&B’s most distinctive voices. In 2023, BJ released the single “Forgot Your Name,” showcasing his effortless blend of pop-soul fusion and in 2024 released his acclaimed album Gravy, which features appearances by Robert Glasper, Philip Bailey and Cory Henry.
As BJ the Chicago Kid makes his Australian debut at Bluesfest Byron Bay 2025, as well as playing Melbourne and Sydney sideshows, fans can expect a soulful, dynamic performance filled with hits from his catalogue, including fan favourites like “Church,” “Studio,” and tracks from Gravy. Don’t miss the chance to experience BJ the Chicago Kid live as he brings his powerful vocals and signature style to Australian stages for the very first time.
Ahead of his Bluesfest 2025 tour, Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips caught up with BJ the Chicago Kid amid the domesticity of unpacking bags after returning from the supermarket with his active two year old son.
“I’m sorry. I have my son,” BJ tells me. “I’m putting up groceries and watching him, making sure he don’t run all around the house. I have a 2-year-old right now. He’s very busy.”
All good. How are you BJ?
Man, I’m blessed. I’m blessed. How are you?
Yeah, good man. So you’re in LA?
Yeah, I’m in Los Angeles.
You were brought up in Chicago. Does that make you a Bulls or a Lakers guy?
Bulls naturally just by heart but I’m here and I definitely support the Lakers while I’m here.
So you’re coming to Australia in April for Bluesfest and shows in Sydney and Melbourne. What have you heard about Bluesfest?
Oh, man. Bluesfest, from what I hear, is an awesome experience, so I can’t wait to play a part. Very unique lineup.
Have you toured much overseas?
Yeah, I have. Yep. I started touring overseas on the first album. Even when I was singing background, I was touring overseas as well.
So going way back, growing up, was there much music in the house?
Always. That’s why I couldn’t get away from it. Kind of the dot connecting the letters where we are right now.
Were your parents musicians?
Vocal musicians I would say, my mom was choir director and a songstress. My dad was a choir director as well. My grandma played guitar better than my granddad, and he was a guitar player for the church, so there was always some music going around. I’m the youngest of three boys, so both of my brothers played drums and sang anything they touched I touched.
Who were your vocal inspirations, singers whose styles that you admired?
Oh man, so many. A lot of playground legends too. What I mean by playground legends, meaning people that never got a chance to have a record deal but still had amazing voices and inspired people all around the city of Chicago and beyond. Now we have the internet, it stands beyond what we used to see as kids. Now people still have those VHS videos and they can go back and show those times to people that were never there to witness them. So the inspiration just goes on and on and on and on. But man, I would say Joe, the RnB singer, Joe was a huge inspiration. Who else? Jagged Edge was an inspiration. Boyz 2 Men, Brian McKnight, Mint Condition, Uncle Sam, Dave Hollister, Blackstreet. Who else? So many to take it back even further, Donnie Hathaway, Marvin Gayes. The Isleys, the Sam Cooks, the list goes on and on and on and on.
You moved to LA from Chicago. Did you have mentors, people who helped you out when you got to LA?
Absolutely. What’s crazy is when I was in Chicago and I graduated from high school, I worked at the mall and I was selling clothes. I was working at this to store called The Lark, where this gentleman by the name of GLC, which is one of Kanye’s best friends at the time, he was the manager at store and he got me hired. GLC also graduated with my middle brother from elementary school.
So I’ve always known him my whole life, always looked up to him, always was the big brother to me as well. But he got me hired there at the store, and I remember when they hired me, they said, are there any other things that you do that you love that can be competition with your time here at the job? And I said, I write songs from time to time. Sometimes I travel when I do that, but beyond that, we should be okay. But as the music began to pick up and I was an awesome salesman, they didn’t like that I was travelling to do it because I made really good commission from them and sold awesome merchandise for them. So that became a clash, and that clash began the more time for the music to happen.
So my dad, he got very strict at a time. He said, man, you either got to find you a job, go to college, the army something, but you can’t just be sitting around the house, man. So for about maybe two months straight, I would fake going to look for a job, but I would go write these songs with a good friend by the name of Kevin Randolph. I would take the bus to his house. I would ditch filling out applications, but I was filling out musical applications with him, just trying to figure out my sound, sharpen my skills, learning about who’s who. Those favourite songs knew that I liked. He’s telling me who wrote them and that he knows them and how they work. And I just wanted to know more about just being closer to something that you can’t see and can’t touch, that you feel so strongly. You know what I’m saying?
There’s something that you love that much. And Kevin Randolph told me one day, he said, hey man, I know we talk about LA all the time, but I’m moving to LA. I was like, nooooo! So now my partner, who I’m hanging out with every day that’s teaching me so much and deepening my love for music, telling me that he was moving to LA. So now what am I going to do? I’ve been thinking about all these track applications. I ain’t got no job here. So now I got really, I got to go figure something out. So low and behold, he landed a job with Mary Mary, the gospel singers. But then him being there for, I would say maybe about two, three months, not even three months, I would say a couple months… he called me and he was like, do you know the male singer for Mary, Mary, Chris? I was like, yeah. He said, Chris is leaving and the girls want to know would you like to audition for the job? I said, hell yeah. This was my opportunity to move to LA now and kind go forth and kind of do my thing. So it was my start. That was my beginning and I never looked back since.
Your music is very melodic, feel-good music. Where does the positivity come from?
Thank you. Oh man, the hope, the dream, the belief that, I grew up from that too. All of that is instilled in my upbringing from my grandmothers. My grandmothers prayed for us to have a life that would have a few more options than our parents. And we pray the same for our children, but not just the prayer. We got to do the work for it too. So it’s amazing to even be on this call with you right now to talk about those plans and how far they’ve come since those prayers. And maybe soon my son will be talking about his and his inspiration from us and how he’s pushing the banner even further. I think that’s the way it should be from what I’ve read about and what I believe, I think that’s the way it should be. Every generation should get better and better.
You’ve worked on recordings by Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye. What kind of things do you learn from doing those sessions?
Those sessions, it’s so many different things. Each one calls for a different task. So each one calls for a different superhero moment from someone in that room that would help make this thing magical and make it memorable for a song. And that’s the kind of thing that I put into my music and expecting rotation.
You have a fantastic new album called Gravy. I believe it was recorded at Al Green’s studio in Memphis. That must have been a blast?
Yes, sir. It was. And I mean an absolute delight to be there and to share that moment with The Indications, Yeti Beats and any other awesome guys that was just a part of that. Boo Mitchell shoutout, the Boo Mitchell man and my team, Yeti’s team, everybody that kind of helped this thing really come to fruition. There was so many bodies involved, but once we got it on track and everything we needed, everything we wanted and more.
There are some amazing artists on your album, Earth, Wind and Fire’s Philip Bailey appears a couple of times. How did you hook up with Philip?
I call him Uncle Philip. It always happened from my dad introducing me to his musical, his style, his art. I’ve always been a fan, but I worked with Philip Bailey on Stop Trying To Be God with Travis Scott. A lot of people didn’t know that was myself, him and Kid Cudi singing on that album, on that particular song. So I had a time, do you remember the thing that they were doing in the States called Versus some time ago?
Yeah, Earth Wind and Fire Vs The Isley Brothers!
So during the time of Versus when the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind and Fire, we were in the studio with the great incredible production team, 1500 or Nothin’. So they were working with Ron Isley. They called me to come work with Ron. So I’m like, yeah, sure. So the Versus happened, Ron, tell us the day after the Versus that Philip Bailey and the guys from Earth, Wind and Fire were coming by. I’m like, great. So because they were coming by, I said this is my time to tell him that’s me singing on Stop Trying To Be God with him. So I was like, I’m going to tell him when I see him. His daughter comes in the studio and she was like, are you BJ? I was like, yes. She said, I’m Trinity, pleased to meet you. She said, my sons are such fans of your music and me being the guy that I am, I’m like, yeah, let’s call him right now. Let’s surprise him. Let’s make their day. I love putting smiles on people’s faces, especially if I have the time to do so. So we called and her son answered the phone. We had a good laugh, smiles, took some pictures over FaceTime and got off the phone. Philip gets there, I tell him that’s me on Stop Trying To Be God. We both got to laugh and go crazy and he says come in and talk. So we talking the whole time. He’s setting up for the session with the Isley Brothers, and we just, man, we just clicked and everything made perfect sense. And man, we end up working on this album with Yeti and I gave him a card and everything happened perfectly. So it all started from Scott. So we can kind of thank Travis Scott for Mr. Bailey being a part of the Gravy project.
Robert Glasper, another respected artist is on the album. Is he somebody you have worked with before?
Oh, yes, sir. Robert Glasper is an incredible friend of mine. Somebody that will forever, forever, forever be a brother to, incredible soul, incredible spirit.
At this point of the interview BJ’s dog starts barking, causing my dog to bark as well.
That’s your dog too? Good people dogs! I’m sorry. I’m dealing with these herbs and spices in the cabinet, but dogs … good people, man. That’s my bro.
There’s a photo of you and Quincy Jones on your social media. Can you tell me about that photo?
So we took that photo during the time, where Will I Am, and a good friend of mine by the name of Keith Harris, they were doing a celebration of Quincy Jones and the eras of his music and just the awesome contributions that he’s done to the music. I think it was around his birthday time, maybe about three, four years ago. And I was so honoured to play a part in it. And man, I waited definitely 30 minutes to speak with him for however long I could and get that picture and tell him thank you for everything that he’s contributed to us through the music, the lessons, the interviews, the stuff people wasn’t supposed to see. I love it all because it helps us just get a little bit closer to icons and our teachers.
What are you up to between now and the Australian tour?
Really recording music, finishing stuff. I’ve been doing stuff for ads and commercials and movies and all types of stuff. So really just nonstop work, man. Nonstop work and being a dad, the job that never ends.
What are you most proud of in your music career so far?
Saying yes! Saying yes to every experience. Every person that I’ve met has helped this journey become what it is. Everybody that I’ve been blessed to learn from, people that have been blessed enough to allow me to be blessed enough to come into their space and learn from them personally, up close and personal. Even being on the new Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre album, that’s an incredible thing for me. I love that I’m able to be a part of something so unique and so classic. So time is something so historical. So it’s just being at the right place at the right time with the right talent, I guess. Yeah.
What are you looking forward to most about coming to Australia?
Man, getting there, man, I was supposed to be there some time ago, but things didn’t work out, I guess, with whatever the show was going on. But man, I’m so happy that we have a chance to come back. I can’t wait to pretty much honestly, man, absorb the culture, eat with the locals man, laugh with the locals. Go where you guys go. See what you see. I’ve been a fan for so long, I can’t wait to have my own time there.
Well, BJ, I’m glad we got to chat and we look forward to seeing you down here soon.
No doubt. Thank you, man. I appreciate you.
BJ The Chicago Kid dates:
Wednesday 16 April: Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
Thursday 17 April: Metro Theatre, Sydney
https://www.bluesfesttours.com.au/
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ABOUT BLUESFEST
Held over the Easter long weekend from April 17 to 20, 2025, at the beautiful 300-acre Byron Events Farm, just 11km north of Byron Bay, the festival will continue to uphold its commitment to quality, featuring multiple stages and a diverse lineup that spans the best in Blues, Roots Music, and Beyond.
This final edition is not just the end of an era; it’s a celebration of everything that Bluesfest has stood for over the past 35 plus years – music, community, and unforgettable experiences. Recognised globally for its excellence, Bluesfest has earned numerous accolades, making it the most awarded music festival in the Australian entertainment industry.
BYRON BAY BLUESFEST 36TH AND FINAL FESTIVAL
EASTER 2025 APRIL 17 – 20 APRIL 2025
Announced so far:
Crowded House • Vance Joy • Ocean Alley • Tones and I • Gary Clark Jr • Rag’n’Bone Man • RY X • Allison Russell • Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram • Brad Cox • Here Come The Mummies EXCLUSIVE• The California Honeydrops EXCLUSIVE • Marc Broussard • Pierce Brothers • Taj Farrant EXCLUSIVE • Fanny Lumsden • 19-Twenty • WILSN • Cimafunk EXCLUSIVE • Neal Francis EXCLUSIVE • Hilltop Hoods • Xavier Rudd • John Butler • The Cat Empire • Kasey Chambers • Melbourne Ska Orchestra • C.W. Stoneking • Budjerah • Lachy Doley Group • Ash Grunwald • Kim Churchill • Miss Kaninna • The Beards • Velvet Trip • FOOLS • ROSHANI • Sweet Talk • The Memphis Three Feat. Fiona Boyes, Jimi Hocking & Frank Sultana