Chinelo Tyler, dressed in his black gown and graduation cap accessorized with yellow and red tassels, sat in the Atlanta heat among his peers at HBCU Morehouse College's 2019 commencement, listening to Denver-born and raised American billionaire and philanthropist Robert F. Smith.
At the time, Tyler was considering pursuing a masters in divinity, on track to become a pastor in a few years. That was going to take some work on his part, including paying back thousands of dollars in student loans.
But in one sentence, Smith removed what would have been a years-long hurdle for Tyler and opened an opportunity for him to choose a career that truly made him happy.
"This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans," Smith said.
Just like that, Tyler's nearly $30,000 student debt was gone.
"I know my class will make sure they pay this forward," Smith continued. "Because we are enough to take care of our own community."
Since then, the 28-year-old Tyler, known artistically as Nelo, has been trying to give back to the city through community organizing, mentoring youth, connecting artists across the city and making a name for himself as one of Denver's top tier rap talents.
"I feel like [Smith] being from Denver was a divine thing," Tyler said. "It guides me when I work with students or peers. I think about that gift and how somebody paid it forward to me. It allowed me to have a mission and not just be the next artist who's doing it for personal gain."
Tyler grew up a pastor's kid, bouncing between St. Louis and Denver for many years before eventually settling in the Mile High City at the beginning of 2020.
"God sees beyond the prejudice," Tyler said in his closing statement of a sermon he delivered to a Missouri church. "The Lord sees not as man sees. Isn't it good to be seen, beloved?"
The 2019 sermon shows a young, passionate orator delivering a sermon with the rhythm and cadence of an experienced preacher.
"I would go to church every day," Tyler said. "We were there for all the choir rehearsals and Bible studies. I feel like a lot of my childhood that I reflect on in my music gets tied to the religious background."
Tyler graduated from Morehouse with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. He had plans to pursue a masters in divinity and even served as the Connectional Young People's and Children's Division President of the Black Methodist church. When Tyler's parents split at a young age, his father moved to work at a church in Colorado.
"I just always remember coming to Denver, visiting my dad, and feeling like I had space to think, being close to nature," Tyler said. "I just felt like there was something missing. [Denver] gave me an opportunity to figure out who I want to be. Denver is where I started taking music seriously."
Tyler eventually traded in the Sunday pulpit mic for a different one on stage, releasing music and performing in underground showcases in a city that's adopted him.
"Karl Marx said religion is like the opium for the masses. And I think within that, everybody has a choice drug and my choice drug is music. I like to share that part of me with people because this is how I cope with my s***."
In 2022, Tyler released a handful of singles and two EPs, "Born Again" and "Seasonal Depression," as well as a full-length album titled "Time Is Limited."
Throughout the album, Tyler reflects on his childhood, his proximity to faith and religion. The album plays as a memoir of his life up until now.
His "hunger" for pursuing a career in music is influenced by the momentum he's accrued since taking music seriously just a handful of years ago: Selling out "Dope Sh*t with Friends" residency shows at Denver's Dazzle with Kerrie Joy, and named Westword's best hip hop artist of 2023.
And earlier this year, Tyler was nominated by The Equity Project and The Kaleidoscope Project, a non-profit that Tyler helps run, to be considered as Colorado's next poet laureate. If chosen by Governor Jared Polis, Tyler would serve four years as Colorado's Poet Laureate.
He wrote a song reflecting on the life of unhoused street preacher Marvin Booker that is part of a series of works submitted for poet laureate consideration. It will be also be part of his upcoming album titled "Higher Altitude" which will be out later this year.
For this next project, Tyler says it's going to be a rap heavy, boom bap album that reflects on his experiences in Denver.
"I think it's me graduating as an artist with a chip on my shoulder or wanting to prove things to people to making music that feels good, is on brand with who I want to be, what I want to represent and a history I want to keep alive," Tyler said.
In talking about the construction of his music, Tyler references his time studying at Morehouse College learning about the preaching style of American baptist preacher Rev. Gardner C. Taylor. First you present the problem, then the theme and then an assignment before coming to the conclusion of a message. For Tyler, this is how he curates his albums.
Tyler has also been involved in community and political organizing.
He worked as a regional field organizer in 2018 on Stacey Abrams campaign for governor in Atlanta, an organizer for the Working Families Party in Colorado and most recently became a Co-Executive Director of The Kaleidoscope Project (TKP) alongside Denver artist and organizer, Kerrie Joy.
"I think Nelo and I have found this beautiful way of showing up as the educators and mentors we wanted growing up," Joy said. "During the time of COVID and the rebellion around the murder of George Floyd, people were trying to give money to black people. We felt like we were in the position to bring that back to our neighborhood."
The two were brought on to rebrand the 501(c)(3) in 2019 and a year later, the organization created a business circle that includes more than 30 Black-owned businesses that get together and discuss how they can support the growth and visibility of each member.
They also run BIPOC relief programs, giving out $37,500 to 15 Black-owned businesses, they host Music TheRAPy classes for young artists who cannot afford studio time and they even teach an art-based curriculum called ARevoluTion.
As part of TKP's work, students at Empower Community High School in Aurora took part in a semester-long class that taught them how to trust their inner artist.
Alongside Joy and other local guest artists, Nelo welcomed students on the final day of classes of the most recent school year. He gave out instructions for how to submit their projects and congratulated young artists on their completed works.
Final projects came in the form of recorded music, poetry books, murals, photography portfolios and custom-designed fashion lines. Upon completion, students received class credit and even compensation for their work.
"As artists, people forget we're business people, too," Joy said. "We gave them contracts and they said this is the scope of work based on what they wanted to create," Joy said. "And we compensate them based on the full completion of their project."
TKP invites local creatives within their network to mentor students for an entire semester, teaching them not just how to be creatives but also how to think about the business side of their projects.
Victoria Sekibo, 10th grade, created her "Vitality" clothing brand with the help of guest designer Rob Phillips.
"I learned that it doesn't have to be perfect, but you have to love and continue [working on] it," Sekibo said.
Ninth grader Monika Jefferson wrote an entire poetry book titled, "Euphoric Algophobia" (an extreme fear of physical pain) and with the help of TKP, had the funds to physically publish her work.
"I learned to trust myself as an artist," Monika said.
For Tyler and Joy, their work through TKP is about equipping the next generation of creatives with the basic tools that no one taught them growing up.
"Music has been an escape for us," Tyler said. "We wanted to introduce them to other outlets and resources we never had."
Performing in underground showcases alongside artists he's connected with over the years, Tyler's passion for the stage is what drives him.
In a dimly lit Overland salsa warehouse, Tyler tightly clutched his red St. Louis Cardinals cap in one hand as he jumped around the stage hyping up the sweaty crowd. His Dr. Marten boot atop a subwoofer, the rapper eventually tied his checkered button shirt around his waist and in a sleeveless white shirt continued to recite sermons that have turned into songs.
"I used to preach all the time. Now I get less invitations to do so," Tyler said. "So when I record music and people listen to it, they're listening to a song and a sermon at the same time."
Inside of the Dreams Aren't This Good salsa-brand event space a mix of Hip Hop, Rock and Pop fans came to see the likes of Nelo, dark-pop artist Bunny Blake, indie rock artist Fun Machine, rapper Ason Yugen, and pop/hip hop artist Ego.
Titled All Walks of Life (AWOL), the show was organized with the intention of bringing together a diverse lineup of local artists and listeners. For Tyler, being part of the AWOL showcase felt like an opportunity to work alongside like minded creatives who shared the same vision for community.
Tyler wasn't supposed to graduate with the Class of 2019.
Missing four credits and taking an entire semester off due to financial aid ultimately put him on a timeline to graduate the same year Smith delivered his speech.
"A lot of people don't get that opportunity to choose between doing what we love and doing what we have to," Tyler said. "It gave me this freedom to figure out what it is that I love and not be punished in the meantime."
