xlsrebelsx - Sinnaman (ft. Blu)

"Sinnaman" is a new track from xlsrebelsx off his forthcoming "desire" EP which will be with us tomorrow, June 4th.  Since his real name is Anthony "L's" Cruz, I'm assuming that that name is pronounced as L's Rebels with some x's thrown in there for the cool factor (Just one x has been working out great for Alexsaurus...)  Cruz has crafted a unique sound that crosses crooning hip-hop and classic rock, with an occasional twinge of fuzzy blues music.  We also get a tinge of Blu music; I was delighted to hear the MC fit himself so nicely into this head-nodder.  My interest is piqued, and I can't wait to hear more from xlsrebelsx.

Listen/Download:

Blu - Everything'sOK (ft. Jack Davey) (prod. by Flying Lotus)

Ahh fruition.  It's always nice when a plan comes together perfectly in the end.  In this case, it took me several months to finally bring you the total presentation I had imagined, but here it is.

For a while now, I have been pleasantly surprised by the steady stream of talent coming out of the west coast music scene.  I've found myself developing favorites from the Pacific Northwest, the Bay area, and Los Angeles.  As a bit of background, I had originally been intending to dedicate a single post to several L.A. artists that have captured my attention over the past couple years.  Those artists were Blu, J*Davey, and Flying Lotus.  Each one of them has impressed me in different ways recently, and have demonstrated the health of that local music underground.  As I was contemplating how to feature them all at once, an answer dropped into my lap.  Sometime in March, Blu let a tweet fly that contained a download link to a song done by himself, and with the assistance of none other than Miss Jack Davey and FlyLo.  It was a Godsend.  I knew then that I had to devote a post to each individual musician in order to properly culminate with the excitement of this release.

So here we are.   I have shown you the lyrical skills of Blu.  You have heard the distinct voice of Jack Davey. Flying Lotus's video game-like production is instantly recognizable.  This track is off Blu's forthcoming No York! album.  Enjoy.

Listen/Download at Okayplayer.

Blu

I'd like to introduce you to Blu, stage name of Johnson Barnes.  He's a rapper out of L.A. who has been rising in the underground hip-hop world since he started putting out music several years ago.  There are many shades of Blu; he has collaborated with a variety of producers and has recently begun producing himself.  The beats he rhymes over offer a wide variety of styles and genres ranging from gospel to soul to television and movie samples.  He also often incorporates vocal samples that use the word 'blue'.

Whenever I've got to get down to business on something, or if someone even says these words this song starts playing in my head:

Blu & Exile - First Things First (ft. Miguel Jontel)

This joint is off of Blu's collabo with Exile, Below The Heavens.  It was his debut studio album and helped him to earn HipHopDX's honor for Rookie of the Year in 2007.

Notice his rapping style.  His delivery is more similar to talking, but he still maintains the aesthetics of skillful end and internal rhyming.  A big reason for the critical acclaim he has garnered is his lyrical content.  Unlike many rappers, he tones down the braggadocio in preference of more grounded, everyman raps.  He's a young guy, but he's seen a lot of the world; he had NBA aspirations and helped raise his eleven siblings so he's got plenty of experiences to keep his music honest and real.

Blu - Jazz (Tribute Remix)

Here's his version of A Tribe Called Quest's classic track Jazz (We've Got).  It's hard to touch a gem like the original, but Blu manages to add his own shine to it.  He even has a Nas sample in there to say "True in the game as long as blood is BLU in my veins".