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| Born | Johnson Barnes III (1983-04-15)April 15, 1983 (age 42)[1] Inglewood, California, U.S.[1] |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
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Johnson Barnes III (born April 15, 1983), better known by his stage nameBlu, is an American rapper and record producer fromLos Angeles, California. He performs as one half of the duoBlu & Exile, which was formed in 2007 and whom released their debut studio album,Below the Heavens in July of that year.[2] He is also the forefront member of the California-based collective, Dirty Science. He is recognized for his collaborative albums with record producers Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Bombay,Damu the Fudgemunk,Madlib,Nottz, and Union Analogtronics. Since his debut, he has had a productive standard of releasing multiple albums.
By age 19, Blu was selling out local shows at theKnitting Factory,House Of Blues, and headlining once a month at the Rumba Room onUniversal City Walk. Back then, he recorded with various rap groups such as the Ill Flava Crew, Infinite Legacy crew, The Untouchable Mob, Glory For The People, The LA Metro Crew and the Bridgetown Steel Crew. He was also a contestant on theMTV game show, "Who Knows The Band" and won. Grammy award-winning producerMegahertz had flown Blu out to New York to sign him to his new label after producing hits forJay-Z,R Kelly,P Diddy,Busta Rhymes, andNas but eventually walked away from the deal. At age 20, he had started negotiating a record deal withDeath Row Records[1][3] but decided to independently release his first solo album titledCalifornia Soul (which would be re-released onto streaming platforms on January 1, 2024). It was produced by early collaborators L's and Bombay, and featured Bridgetown crew members Donel Smokes (Black Spade) andMiguel.
After doing a feature for the group Science Project, Blu was introduced toAloe Blacc,[4] who was also featured on the album. Aloe Blacc said he had heard a lot about Blu and said he should work with the DJ/producer of his groupEmanon,Exile. Exile came out to a Blu show, and afterwards invited him to be on his new compilation album entitled "Dirty Science" on Sound In Color Records. After hearing Blu on various compositions throughout Exile's album, "Sound In Color" signed Blu to a one-album deal and immediately began to feature him on various releases for the label. After working withOh No, and reaching out toJ Dilla andMadlib for production on his own album, Blu decided to have Exile produce his entire LP for Sound In Color. By the time the album was done, Blu had completed two other full-length albums, one with Detroit hip-hop rapper/producer Ta'Raach and with Sound In Color/Operation Unknown producer and CEO, Mainframe.[citation needed]
In 2006, Blu pressed up theLifted EP and mixtape premiering various productions withExile and songs withJ Dilla andKRS-One. While an opening act on a tour with Seattle-basedLifeSavas and Dallas-basedStrange Fruit Project, Blu discovered all three of his unreleased but fully completed full-length albums had leaked. The leak grew and crowds already knew his songs as he debuted them at each show for the rest of the tour. These three albums began to build a huge buzz online and caught the attention ofOkayplayer, as well as other sites likeHipHopDX and Nah Right, who all named him "Rookie Of The Year".[5] The Exile-produced album was eventually released in 2007, entitledBelow the Heavens. However, since the label Sound in Color were almost bankrupt, only 7,000 copies of the album was pressed on CD, with no vinyl other than the single for the album, "The Narrow Path", which was also released in 2006. The label went bankrupt a few months later following the release.[citation needed]
In 2008, Blu & Ta'Raach released the album titledThe Piece Talks under the moniker C.R.A.C. (or C.R.A.C. Knuckles).[6] It was completely produced by Ta'Raach and featured Shawn Jackson, Noni Lomar, and Jazmin Mitchell. Originally sold on tour in 2005, the album included their hit single, "League Leaders" (The Friar cover) and the 6 inch single, "The King".[citation needed]
During that same year, Blu's album with Mainframe was released under the group nameJohnson&Jonson.[7] It was produced by Mainframe with rapping by Blu (alongside some occasional rapping from Mainframe), as well as features fromGonja Sufi andMiguel. It was promoted with a mixtape calledPowders & Oils, which consisted of a few more exclusive songs. All of Johnson&Jonson's music consisted of only loops and raps.[citation needed]
Blu used the production techniques he learned from working on albums withExile, Mainframe, and Ta'Raach and began to produce beats. He started working on a what was intended to be a self-produced follow up toBelow the Heavens. However, Blu's hard drive crashed, and the master files were lost; the album was eventually released in an unmixed and unmastered form, as a continuous mp3 file, in January 2010 under the titletheGODleeBarnesLP. Blu also showcased his production on a albums including the collaboration with Brooklyn rapper and actor Sene entitledA Day Late & A Dollar Short and the instrumental albumOpen, which was later turned into a rap compilation of the same name, with various artists who rapped over the instrumental version of this album. Furthermore, Blu produced an album titledHer Favorite Colo(u)r for himself, which was initially released for free download online after breaking up with his girlfriend. The album was officially released in 2011.[8]
In 2009, Blu signed an artist deal, an independent film deal, as well as a label deal for his company, New World Color, with Tom Whalley atWarner Bros. Records.[9] He then began working on a movie and album calledNo York. The album would feature production from Los Angeles beat scene heavyweights such asFlying Lotus,SA-RA Creative Partners,Daedelus,Madlib,Knxwledge,Samiyam, and others. The film was to be written by Blu and directed by Khalil Joseph. Eventually, labelmates began to leave the label and all the A&R representatives began to lose their jobs. Then Tom Whalley was fired and the entire label was bought out. This took place over a year and a half and brought complete stagnation to any Warner Bros. releases.Def Jam presidents and A&R's were hired byLyor Cohen, andKyambo Joshua became Blu's A&R representative and creative director. After so much stagnation and no one being paid for contributions, Kyambo eventually helped Blu leave the label and release his music independently. However, promo copies ofNo York were pressed.
Blu then released a mixtape in celebration of his independence titledJesus, which was released under his imprint New World Color, in conjunction withNature Sounds Records. This album was recorded in two days, produced by Blu, and featuring production fromMadlib,Alchemist,Knxwledge,Hezekiah and Rome, as well as guest appearances fromPlanet Asia & Killer Ben ofDurag Dynasty.
During Blu's stay with Sire/Warner Bros, he was given 50 beats from Exile. Blu didn't feel the production would fit hisNo York album, but found a bunch of old songs he wrote that had no beats. Blu recorded about 25 songs in two weeks to the Exile beats, which were later leaked online and eventually officially released under Dirty Science/Fat Beats, asBlu & Exile'sGive Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them.[10] The album featured guest appearances fromFashawn, Dag Savage, andHomeboy Sandman. An instrumental version of the album was also released.
The demo songs for "No York" were released as an album titledYork through New World Color. Recorded in New York and Los Angeles; and initially leaked in 2011, the album featured exclusive and previously released production fromFlying Lotus,SA-RA Creative Partners,Daedelus,Madlib,Knxwledge, Dibia$e,Samiyam, and Exile. It also featured vocals fromU-God,Edan,Theophilus London,SA-RA,J*Davey, Andy Also,Pac Div, UNI, Tiron, and Ayomari.York was toured along the West Coast with the live band, Koochie Monsters replaying all the songs from the album. A group with Ken Beats, co-producer ofYork, also spawned off under a group called Neu Ngz. They performed live but never released any material.
After a lack of recently recorded albums in two years, Blu released a double album titledGood to Be Home in 2014, produced entirely by one of his earliest producers, Bombay.[11] Released on Nature Sound Records, the album was inspired by Blu connecting back with his West Coast roots after touring the world; and features guest appearances fromProdigy,Planet Asia,Strong Arm Steady,Step Brothers, Chace Infinite,Imani, LMNO &2Mex from the Visionaries,MED,Oh No,Fashawn,Pac Div, Co$$, Definite Mass and many others.
Blu followed up with a collaboration album withMED, produced entirely byMadlib calledBad Neighbor[12] with features from Stones Throw alumniMF Doom,Aloe Blacc,Dam Funk,Anderson .Paak,Mayor Hawthorne, Frank Nitt and Oh No, as well asHodgy Beats (Odd Future),AMG, andPhonte. The album was promoted by a video and single for "Burgundy Whip" with Jimetta Rose back in 2013, and followed up with the single, "The Buzz" b/w "Peroxide" featuringDâm-Funk. The album was also released as instrumentals.
In 2013, Blu teamed up with infamous Virginia producerNottz for the EPGods In The Spirit which featuredHomeboy Sandman,Aloe Blacc, Dag Savage, and many others. The EP was followed up in 2016 with another EP,Titans in the Flesh[13] which featuredSkyzoo,Torae,Bishop Lamont and many others. Both EP's were released underCoalmine Records, with the 2018 re-releaseGods in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh compiling both EPs into a full-length album. Other projects from 2016 includedCrenshaw Jezebel with Ray West,Cheetah in the City with French production duo Union Analogtronics; andOpen Your Optics to Optimism with Fa†e. Blu also released45's withAlchemist andThe 45 King.
In 2017, Blu & Exile celebrated the 10th anniversary ofBelow the Heavens at Regent Theater in Los Angeles, California, with a performance in its entirety with a live band.
In March 2018, Blu released a mixtape exclusively on hisBandcamp titledThe DS Dumbstyle Mixtape, Volume One; which served as a compilation of songs Blu produced for various artists includingHomeboy Sandman, Sene, Roc C, ScienZe, Young RJ andMED.[14] This was then followed up a month later by the albumThe Blueprint, which was entirely produced byShafiq Husayn.[15] His project with Nottz titledGods in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh, was also released the same year. In 2019, Blu teamed up with rapper/producerOh No to releaseA Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night, which served as a concept album based on underground life in Los Angeles.
2021 saw Blu not only release the Sirplus-produced EPFor Sale, but also his first multi-produced project since 2013'sYork:The Color Blu(e); which was released on September 24, 2021. Preceded by the singles "People Call Me Blu(e)" and "Because the Sky is Blu(e)" and featuring production fromExile, Sirplus andJ57, the project serves as a concept album that celebrates and reflects on Blu's creative journey, with the word "Blu(e)" being featured in every of the album's song titles.
In September 2023, Blu releasedBad News, a collaborative album with producer Real Bad Man, which featured guest appearances fromC.L. Smooth,Planet Asia, Cashus King, Donel Smokes and Definite. This was then followed up three months later by the albumAfrika, which was entirely produced byNottz, and served as a concept album based on the diasporic connection between African Americans and Africans.[16]
The beginning of 2024 saw Blu reissue a number of projects onto streaming platforms, including his first projectCalifornia Soul, his unmastered self-produced albumGod is Good and his producer compilation albumOpen. He also released a series of extra projects, that acted as accompanying bonus material to some of his albums, includingGod is Good (The Bonus Songs),Back Home Again (a compilation of outtakes from theGood to Be Home sessions) andOther Shades of Blu(e) (a compilation of outtakes fromThe Color Blu(e) sessions).
A month later, on February 9, Blu released his first official project of the yearRoyal Blu, which was entirely produced by underground producer Roy Royal. On March 29,Out of the Blue, which was produced by Shafiq Husayn and was a follow up to their mixtapeThe Blueprint, was released. His third project of the year,Los Angeles, was produced by rapper/producerEvidence, and was released on July 12.[17] His fourth project of the year is theBlu & Exile album entitledLove (the) Ominous World, released on September 20, 2024.[18]
| Title | Album details |
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| In the Beginning (Before the Heavens)(withExile, asBlu & Exile) |
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| Title | Album details |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 1(with DJ Space Monkey)[19] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 2(with NDJnous)[20] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 3(with DJ Lowkey)[21] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 4(with DJ Josh One)[22] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 5(with Alchemist)[23] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 6(with DJ Artistic)[24] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 7(with DJ Lowkey LA)[25] |
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| The DS Dumb Style Mixtape(produced by Blu)[26] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 8(with DJ PWC)[27] |
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| Soul Amazing Volume 9(with DJ Cristano)[28] |
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| Title | EP details |
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| Gods in the Spirit(withNottz)[29] |
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| Crenshaw Jezebel(with Ray West)[30] |
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| Titans in the Flesh(withNottz)[29] |
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| Open Your Optics to Optimism(with Fate)[31] |
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| The Turn Up(withMED andMadlib) |
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| True & Livin'(withExile asBlu & Exile) |
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| Underground Makes the World Go Round(with Fat Jack) |
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| The Narrative (withMickey Factz andNottz) |
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| Live from the End of the World, Vol. 1 (Demos)(with Fatlip) |
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| I(with Jabee) |
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