While there’s rarely a bad word to be said of him, Blu’s career is too often reduced to his early, classic work with Exile. The reality is that he’s a contender for indie GOAT, with a huge, diverse catalog that he’s still building upon after nearly 20 years.
After a solid 2023, dropping unexpected collabs with Real Bad Man and Nottz, Blu kept it coming with more single producer projects this year – a habit that’s always been best for him, building a unique world and tone on every album.
On top of that, I was lucky enough to catch him back in July on his West by Midwest tour. It was a bit jarring seeing him at a very small hipster brewery with a crowd that didn’t seem too familiar with his work, but it made for a nice show in the end. There were some great local openers (including !Jay Hill!, a highly energetic MC on Fake Four and one of my favorite discoveries of the year, and of course, Devin Burgess), but absolutely no bullshit or frills when it came time for Blu to perform. Very little discussion between songs or departures from the recordings – just rapping, up close and personal. I got to say what up to him after the show, and can only wonder how he isn’t more high profile these days.
That’s a whole separate what-if discussion though; Blu is doing his thing and then some. Here, we’ll discuss some of his 2024 musical highlights.
Out Of the Blue (w/ Shafiq Husayn)
Dropping back in March, most Blu fans would’ve been happy even if Out of the Blue was all we got from him for the year. A recurring issue in his work is that he sometimes manages to get too caught up in concepts to the point that the actual writing suffers (think how crammed The Color Blu(e) and Afrika felt). Instead, Shafiq Husayn’s off kilter beats maintain a funk that ends up being irresistible to just spit on. Out of the Blue doesn’t bother with some grand theme – it’s just rich production and a clinic in rap.
Listen to Out Of the Blue
Los Angeles (w/ Evidence)
Blu and Evidence have always occupied a similar space in hip-hop – that brand of West Coast backpack that almost leans further East in it’s affinity for jazz over funk. Think People Under the Stairs or Jurassic 5. So, it’s a little surprising this collaboration didn’t come even earlier.
The subject matter is nothing new for either artist, being a look at Los Angeles culture from all angles – albeit with fresh approaches like on “LA Traffic“. The features add even further depth to the intimate theme, giving a look at indie Cali artists from the very beginning to the modern day, from Self Jupiter to Navy Blue. Evidence is on a hell of a run as a producer ever since linking with Brother Ali on Secrets & Escapes in 2019 (on top of projects with Planet Asia and Domo Genesis), so to finally collab with Blu for Los Angeles feels like such a natural culmination.
Listen to Los Angeles
Love (the) Ominous World (w/ Exile)
At this point, the bar for a Blu & Exile collab is almost unreasonably high. They’re one of the great producer / MC duos, having dropped a backpack classic and, in my opinion, the best album of the decade in Miles. So sure, Love (the) Ominous World doesn’t seem to be going down as their most celebrated work, but it’s still a damn good album.
Love (the) Ominous World is at it’s best when Exile digs into that dark, old school LA sound reminiscent of CMW or Cypress Hill, like on “Suge Knight“. The rest of the album with his more familiar, flowery pianos is still good, but it’s just a bit tired after three albums full of it. Call me spoiled. Blu manages to bring some new subject matter as well though, like the storytelling on the aforementioned track which really puts you in his shoes coming up in music, or a full song centered on “Gold“. Kurupt and Kxng Crooked make for fresh collaborators that stay true to Cali as well. Also – how cool is that title?
Listen to Love (the) Ominous World
More 2024 Releases by Blu
Royal Blu – Produced by Roy Royal, kicking off his run early this year.
Soul Amazing (part 13) – The ubiquitous new compilation of all his recent features.
abc – An instrumental tape. We haven’t been getting as much Blu self-production given all these recent collaborations.
As always, Blu is surely poised for another big year in 2025. It’s already confirmed that he’s got something cooking with August Fanon, a sonic chameleon that’s sure to fit Blu’s taste in light samples. It might even be nice to see a return to his early 10s lo-fi work, which got a mixed reaction at the time but ended up leaving a significant mark. He’s done it all and worked with most relevant producers in his lane at this point, so let’s just sit back and hope for something new and unexpected.