In 2007 Blu emerged as one of hip-hop’s most thoughtful young lyricists with his debut album with producer Exile, Below the Heavens, an aughts indie rap classic. In the years since the prolific emcee/producer’s eccentric introspection has continued to evolve with collaborative efforts with Ta’Raach, Mainframe, and Madlib, last year’s beautifully cryptic gem, Jesus, and the jaggedly experimental No York. With the recent release of Blu and Ex’s Heavens follow-up,Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them, we asked the rapper also known as Johnson Barnes to contemplate his creative roots a little further. Here, in his own words, are a few of the record that changed his life.
