It’s that time of the week as we delve into The Breathe of Fresh and bring you April’s slept on artist, the California native, Blu.
Named one of XXL’s top ten freshmen of 2009 Blu was far from a novice at that point. Rapping since 2004 he signed with the independent label Sound in Color, and put out his first mixtape, The C.O.R.E., and EP, Lifted, in 2006. In 2007 alongside San Diego producer Exile, Blu released the critically acclaimed yet overlooked, Below the Heavens. Not staying quiet Blu steadily put tracks out on his MySpace and began to create a buzz for his next collaborative project with Detroit rapper/producer Ta’raach. Forming C.R.A.C. (pronounced Crash) Blu and Ta’raach re-released, with more polish and elaborate tracks, their collaborative debut, The Piece Talks, an album originally released in 2006. Two years later Blu alongside producer Mainframe released the self titled album Johnson & Johnson. Blu is also a producer under the name GodleeBarnes and has released several instruamental projects.
California hasn’t had an artist like Blu in years. Muddled with gangster rap and 2pac wanna-bees, it’s refreshing to see a new artist show a different side to Cali through collaborations and expansions on an evolving genre.
Here are a few of Blu’s mixtapes…
…and here’s his first LP as a producer
To check out his new blog click here, and remember to support his albums Below the Heavens, Peice Talks, and Johnson&Johnson all out now!