Music is her breath of fresh air,” close friends say about Lyric Jones. Lyric’s musical repertoire includes rapping, playing drums and bass, singing, writing lyrics, and even DJ-ing a little. She dips into jazz, hip hop, and neo-soul. But whatever she’s doing, she brings a presence like no other.   

“All I want is the exhilaration of being on a stage,” Lyric said. And her hunger shows. She’s hungry for the crowd to feel her music as deeply as she does, her powerful, message-conscious lyrics spilling out of the speakers.  

Originally from Boston MA, Lyric began singing when she was in elementary school. Her first stints were in church and community choirs a few being the NEC Millennium Gospel Choir & Boston Pops Gospel choir; performing with the likes of Richard Smallwood, Kurt Carr, and Jennifer Holliday to name a few. As a high school student, she spent three years participating in summer and academic year programs at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ma., an institution lauded by serious musicians interested in contemporary music like jazz and rock. Grammy Award-winners Diana Krall, Melissa Etheridge, Quincy Jones and John Mayer are only a few of the notable alums who spent their early musician days at Berklee. It was at Berklee, where Lyric polished here natural ability as a performer and to play drums.  

As a drummer on the jazz scene, Lyric may take on a more modest look, lights flashing off the brass of the saxophones and trumpets, illuminating the stage. But she performs with the same captivating spirit as when she’s playing emcee. But her true love of Hip Hop must always be honored, as her hi-tops hide in the shadows of her tailored dark gray pinstriped pants. Even when sharing the stage, in the most subtle of ways Lyric steals the spotlight with her presence and her joyful grin that emanates only from someone for whom this very moment is pure perfection.  

Lyric Jones is all things music. In her bedroom, CDs are propped up around the room, as though the very items themselves are a piece of art. Posters of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Ella Fitzgerald plaster her walls. Baggy sweatpants and t-shirt on, there is no quiet without a constant stream of music in the background. There’s a bass in one corner, mini-amp under her desk, and stacks upon stacks of cds everywhere else. Ledisi, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill & Jean Grae stand among her favorite. 

Lyric released her first EP titled "Jones For Lyric" in August 2007. Recently, she’s traveled to Beijing, China & Italy exhibiting her other side as a drummer. Currently she’s finishing up her last year at the University of Georgia, majoring in broadcast journalism. Her highly anticipated debut album titled “Jones St.” is expected in drop in 2010.