Meet the “Rap-brarian”: Chicago librarian by day, rapper by night

CHICAGO — The Secret Life of Librarians may not sound like a bestseller, but at a library branch on Chicago’s West Side, it’s definitely what everyone is talking about.

Roy Kinsey, Richard M. Daley’s librarian, loves a good book. But it’s his own story that might just be one of the best stories

Kinsey is a librarian by day and a rapper by night.

“To be a good rapper and a good lyricist, you have to be a good reader, from my point of view, and a good storyteller,” he said.

The two worlds linked for him thanks to the power of narration

“I think there’s real power and real chemistry in knowing your story,” he said. “And creating your story is something I learned at the library.”

You could say Kinsey grew up among aisles of books, his father working in the collections at the Chicago Cultural Center and his mother at the Harold Washington Library.

He grew up during the golden age of hip hop.

Learn more about his Rap-brarian Instagram here

“I think having rap as an expression and as a tool for empowerment and literacy has been really, really transformative in my coming of age,” he said.

So he made the unconventional decision to do and be both.

“There came a point where I realized that these worlds that I kept separate were actually informing each other,” he said.

He is the only Chicago librarian to have released multiple rap albums.

Kinsey uses rhyme as a personal narrative on stages at Thalia Hall, Millenium Park, Soho House, Empty Bottle and House of Blues. He finds himself behind that mic, embracing his own identity as a black, queer artist who also happens to be a librarian.

“We all need to express ourselves and I think when you’re young and black and queer and you’re trying to understand yourself, you want to say, “I was there.” You want that proof,” he said.

Her love of music and books are on full display, along with her passion for supporting the community through yoga and gardening workshops and the library’s first Pride Health Fair.

He will lead the Richard M. Daley Library’s first Rainbow Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, June 15. To learn more about her creative writing classes and other programs for teens, click here.