TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Blu

"Smoking Sessions With..."    By Corey Bloom on August 4, 2007 at 1:28 pm

About a year and a half ago during an interview with Aloe Blacc, solo vocalist and one-half of the group Emanon alongside producer Exile, the name Blu came up on multiple occasions. I hadn’t heard the name, but it stood out in conversation. Every time the name was spoken, praise followed, and while one might have expected hints of competitiveness from an MC whose producer had been working with a different MC, it was not the case. Aloe spoke of the kids energy, charisma, and lyrical prowess in abundance, and gave no reason to believe he was anything less than the next. About a year later while doing an interview with MC/producer Ta’Raach he arrived joined by three individuals, one of which was the highly coveted Blu. He was quiet and laid low in the cut, conspicuously unlike other gassed up “about-to-get-on” MC’s. Between Aloe and Ta’Raachs’ cosign, he had to be official. Come to find out, there is no better feeling than not being lied to or mislead.

Produced entirely by fellow Los Angeles native Exile (think Mobb Deep’s “Pearly Gates”), Blu’s Below The Heavens is the kind of debut that sparks bright careers. It’s not hard to draw parallels to other great albums from previous eras, and like those acutely crafted pieces of works, Below Is The Heavens is on point and right on time. Penned like an autobiography of sorts, Below The Heavens journeys through life’s joys and ills, contradictions and convictions on a level that anyone can relate to and feel. His passion and sincerity is unwavering throughout, and while dealing with real issues he has fun at the same time, disbanding from the preachy or monotonously serious and dull role. Catalyzed by an amazing collage of chopped up loops, punching drums and soul clinching melodies, Below The Heavens is an example of the complete album that should be the norm, but shines brilliantly in contrast to the reality. It’s clear that Blu and Exile went to great lengths to connect all the dots, and their commitment to the artistry is beyond admirable.

It’s only the beginning, and already taking on a handful of side projects and collaborations, Blu is undoubtedly a name that will be around for years to come. Take note, and most importantly take a listen. It should only take on.

TSS: What’s going on man?

Blu: Chillin, in the car heading to a meeting and then after that going to rehearsal for the show tomorrow. I’m working with a band so we’ll see.

TSS: Is that for a side project or something?

Blu: Nah, it’s all Below The Heavens material, but we’re just doing live versions of some of the songs.

TSS: Damn, so how many pieces is it?

Blu: Two. Fender Rhodes and drums.

TSS: Does Exile playing anything or is he just DJ’ing?

Blu: Well he does an MPC section for most of the shows, like he’ll get down and just…it’s just a crazy set, I don’t really know how to explain it. He’ll just get off, drums, samples, everything and chop it right there.

TSS: Dude is true master of the MPC.

Blu: Yeah, DEFINITELY.

TSS: Alright, so for the unaware can you introduce yourself, let em know how old you are, where you’re from and all that.

Blu: Ok, I’m 24, from all different areas of Southern California from LA, Inglewood, Long Beach, Piedro, just all over.

TSS: So when was your introduction to hip-hop, and what did it mean to you back then?

Blu: Oh shit, we’ll I was listening to rap before hip-hop, but the first song that made the difference was when I heard “I Used To Love H.E.R.” But I heard that after I was listening to It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot… Yeah (laughs). That was like mid-high school, and before that I was into Al Green and gospel music.

TSS: When people think of LA, they think N.W.A., G-Funk, and maybe Freestyle Fellowship. So that wasn’t your reality growing up then?

Blu: As far as hip-hop?

TSS: Yeah, just the environment.

Blu: Well by the time I got into it it was all freestyle, the Blaze battle and that shit, Supernatural vs. Juice. I was just into freestyling, everybody was freestyling, but it was after Freestyle Fellowship, like the era we were in, were just hyped off the battles on TV and shit, so it was a little different. Cannibus was the shit, and Chino XL.

TSS: You hint at in the album, but throughout high school you were a ball player then?

Blu: Yeah, somewhat. Something happened every year, broke my ankle, got kicked off, or grades, just one of the three.

TSS: So was it was hoops first, and then rap as a hobby?

Blu: Yeah, and by 12th grade it just took over. That’s when it was like I like rapping, and I don’t give a fuck about basketball because if I wanted to go pro I would have had to play three years already.

TSS: You might have already touched it, but was there a certain album that changed your perception of things?

Blu: Uhh, One Day It Will All Make Sense was probably the first album that changed my perception of everything. Yeah…

TSS: Damn, even before Ressurection?

Blu: Yeah, cause I didn’t even own Resurrection before One Day It WIll All Make Sense. I had just heard “I Used To Love H.E.R.” before all of that shit, but I was still late. Like I said, I was bumping DMX before Resurrection. It’s all mixed up man. I got hip-hop from different…I mean, I was just on Ill Communication last month.

TSS: So senior year you start taking it serious and approaching rap as something that you want to do then?

Blu: Yeah, One Day It Will All Make Sense made me want to write and stop freestyling, that and my boy B saying ‘fuck freestyling’. With him saying that, and Common dropping that album, I wanted to write.

TSS: What was it about the album that really hit you?

Blu: I related to it more than anything I’d heard from a rapper personally. I was like “ok, word.” I see that I do have a place and I don’t gotta just freestyle and eat peoples heads off and shit to be valid.

TSS: So did you do the four track tapes and all that?

Blu: We did the shit through headphones, stuff like that. Me and my boy had this fake radio show and we would give away tapes at school. We called it the Break Up show cause the Wake Up Show broke up, so we were the Break Up Show. We had the little tapes, I’d freestyle like I was DMX. He’d make the beat right there and be recording it, drums and keys, two hands on the keys recording into his shit, and I’d be on the mic right there. Shit’d be all live, the whole thing, freestyle a song right there like yo, we got the new Blu song. We were in high school ditchin.

TSS: So it’s always been Blu?

Blu: Yeah, I mean I had a lot of rap names but for the most part, any recognition came from the name Blu.

Ta’Raach: Scatter Brains!

Blu: My name was never Scatter Brains.

Ta’Raach: I thought your name was Scatter Brains.

Blu: Nah, you did a song with Scatter Brains

Ta’Raach: That was your old rap partner.

Blu: Nope, Scatter Brains lived across the street from me. That was never my rap name. He went to school with Basic, and you did a song with him. That’s all I know about him

(Whole car starts cracking up.)

TSS: Since, we got Ta’Raach in on things, what’s up C.R.A.C. (Collect Respect Anna Check) Knuckles?

Blu: It’s CRAS man, it’s CRAS. He said CRAC Rach.

Ta’Raach: It’s CRAS BIIITCH.

Blu: I need that on my phone, “It’s CRAS Bitch”. It’s pronounced C-R-A-S, but spelled C.R.A.C. We about to handle that right now, we’re gettin busy. Ya’ll about to get some stuff real soon.

TSS: So it’s the real deal, not just a few collaborations here and there?

Blu: Nah, the next shit…AWWWWW. Man, Ta’Raach is right here. If he wasn’t right here I would tell you everything that’s going on (Laughs).

TSS: Ok ok, so moving along. When did you start performing and getting the name out beyond the tapes you were giving out?

Blu: I felt like I started performing when I was battling, and even before that in Church. But when I started doing shows I was doing stuff in high school at the YMCA and shit. I was setting up battles, and even out of high school we were doing the spots around Piedro. I’ve always pretty much been performing.

TSS: So when did you feel like people started to recognize you then?

Blu: Last month. Nah, last month I went overseas and realized “Damn, motherfuckers have their ears opened, I gotta tell em something.”

TSS: So what did that do you, did it fuck with your head that people over there know you and vibe off your music.

Blu: Oh yeah, definitely. I uh, you know you learn from everything. You can learn the biggest lesson from something small. All kinds of shit you can learn from.

TSS: I always ask people this, but can you describe the feeling of being somewhere where the people don’t speak your language but stick to your every word.

Blu: That shit….they get amped man. It’s like….that shit is crazy. (laughs) It’s all energy, just good vibes in the air. That’s just what you’re giving them, they’re reciprocating that back. The words, a lot of times they’ll be on em, like after a punchline, it’s like they understand, but a lot of times they’re there for more of the energy aspect. Out here, especially LA, I feel like I’m lecturing or some shit, just standing there talking to people.

TSS: That’s a crazy concept though, for what we perceive as a lyrical dude like yourself, to someone else it’s this invisible force that drives them. It just shows it’s something way deeper than what we think.

Blu: Yeah, exactly. It’s something you can’t put into words, and that’s why the words don’t matter when it’s going down. It definitely does in other aspects, many aspects, but it’s that energy though.

TSS: I understand you met Exile through Aloe Blacc, how did that go down?

Blu: I met Aloe through Glory, and Glory was working with Science Project and Science Project was working with Aloe. We all had lunch in Long Beach and that’s where I met Aloe, I invited him to a show and then he introduced me to X at the show, and then X was like let’s work (Laughs). And then we started working.

TSS: So it was an instant chemistry then?

Blu: Yeah, definitely. As soon as we did the first song we said we were gonna do an album, and then boom, the album came together.

TSS: Did any of those first recordings make this album?

Blu: Nah, like the first song we did was “Party For Two” and that was the B-Side for the “Narrow Path” single, but that one ended up on Exile’s album Dirty Science. We didn’t start working on the record right away. I did a lot of songs for his record first. But the first one we did for the album was “I Am Blu,” that was a four-track original.

TSS: And that was the tailored made cut right there.

Blu: Exactly, we just pulled the Grover (Sesame Street) sample, and just do it what it do, let’s go and start it from here.

TSS: This album is a very personal album for you so I’m curious. Were a lot of the topics and actual songs stuff that you had pent up inside that you were waiting to get off for your debut, or did the music really draw you in that direction? I ask that because Exile’s music has so much into it, it seems like it would have the tendency to make you dig deep.

Blu: A lot of it was just general writing, just getting shit off the chest, some were long ass verses cut short.

TSS: I guess that’s what I was referring to, was a lot of the writing done prior to hearing the music or was it…

Blu: About 25% of the writing was done. Like “Dancing In The Rain” and “Soul Amazin,” those joints were already written. Some of them I just wrote to different beats, but sounded better on another one like “Below The Heavens,” that was like two different beats.

TSS: Does being presented with so many dope beats, does that complicate things or does it make it easier?

Blu: I don’t know, Exile has so many different sounds and we just pick the best of. Like, we got a lot of songs that didn’t fit this record…It’s not like we did all soul songs, we did crazy shit like we re-did “Cars That Go Boom.” It’s what fit the record, but it worked out though.

TSS: When you were piecing together the record how much influence did the fact that this is the debut, your official introduction, have. Was it a conscious effort to choose certain songs because it was your debut?

Blu: Kinda, yeah. Some samples we got, like once we found the intro, it was like that’s the intro. It was crazy because I found it digging through Exile’s crates and I was like what’s up with this. I was like what’s up with this one, he was like oh it’s probably wack. We played it and that shit was bananas. We went to the homies spot to make it, and all of a sudden we lost the record. We couldn’t find it for a year. We’re looking around in the shops trying to find it, and we ended up having to sample that shit off a CD. Shit sucked, and then I found the record right after that.

TSS: Where was it?

Blu: Exile’s house (Laughs). I had to cop it right off him, like “Let me buy this off you.” Actually, they used it on the intro for Ghost’s Fishscale. We were pretty pissed, but it’s Ghostface, what are you gonna do? You know, it’s Ghost. I was like fuck it man. But O-Dubb was gettin on my neck about it like, “everybody used that sample.” I was like well what do you expect me to do (laughs).

TSS: (Laughs) So what does writing mean to you or what does it do for you personally?

Blu: It’s crazy, cause recently….I don’t know, writing used to be such a passion. Not even verses, just writing. I like rapping, so writing was a part of that, but I always liked writing on another end. It was always a subject I was good as it. So it was something else, and rap was something else, so writing made my raps better. And then with me and Ex, there was a lot of content that he couldn’t relate to, so it helped me find a middle ground or a way to relate to everyone. It’s crazy.

TSS: So he was very instrumental in the shaping of the content too?

Blu: Oh, everything. We came to a meeting with everything, that’s why his name is on the cover. This is our record, this is not my record.

TSS: Has your approach to writing changed since this has become your job? Has that passion died out or intensified?

Blu: Nah, cause I find myself writing a lot less now, but when I write it’s pure enjoyment. I’m more into production lately, so I’ve been writing to my own beats. When I write to my own stuff, I’m wide open, just free. It’s a little different now, a whole different playing field…it’s a lot bigger.

TSS: So you’re messing with the beats now?

Blu: Yeah, I’ve got some stuff that should be coming but I don’t want to push it out too soon. Been doing that since last summer. Got my first turntable, a computer, that’s it.

TSS: Well between Exile and Ta’Raach you got some wise and talented folks around you to help you out.

Blu: Those are the two people who gave me my production sound. Right now, I’m molding my sound off those two, they taught me so much. Exile has been telling me since we started working on the project that I should produce, but I was like fuck that, but the time that shit was over, I was producing. It’s crazy how stuff works out.

TSS: One of the themes throughout the album is, I don’t want to say contradiction, but like battles within yourself, like you could go this way or that way. Can you speak on that a little bit?

Blu: Yeah, that’s with everybody, to the smallest degree. I may do it a lot, 2Pac may do it more and Common may do it less, it’s all different. You got cats like Redman who, shit, he just said he jumped off a bridge yesterday. It’s all rap, and really the whole contradictions and all that, that’s just me. They’re all sides of me, I go through different things. One day you’ll be praising God all day, and the next thing you know you’re on your knees repenting for some crazy shit.

TSS: Your age now and the time period when you recorded the album, it’s very versatile time in a man’s life and development. How much of that contradiction on this album comes from your youth?

Blu: It is in a way, it’s all youthful raps. I’m 24 now, but I wrote “Dancing In The Rain” when I was 19, and “Soul Amazin” at 20. Mostly every rap on the album, I don’t agree with today. “Soul Amazin” is probably the timeless piece with me. “Alive” is just past mind states and how I thought about things then, everyone grows up. I’m trying to keep everyone with a refreshed perspective. You know, I felt like I just conveyed things well at that time. Things I was going through…I just hope I can continue to convey my perspectives and see where I’m at whether they agree or disagree with it, we’ll see.

TSS: So do you look at the songs like portraits of time, or is there some apprehension to put them out since you don’t necessarily agree with what you’re saying?

Blu: Definitely, but I have to get used to that with everything. If I look at material later than that, and it took me to realize a lot of that for this album to come out. It was held back for more reasons than just the technical difficulties. It was something I had to be satisfied with, and feel good about it first actually, and I’ve been feeling the best about it now. The shit is like…it’s a good introduction. It’s very honest, and I’m cool with that. I just hope people can……feel me (laughs).

TSS: That’s what it is; honesty. Let me ask you this, how hard is it really to be honest today with music?

Blu: It’s not hard at all. Sometimes you can be too honesty, or like you’re honest could hurt you. To be honest now…you gotta be cautious how honest you are. Not lie, always be honest about what you put out, but you gotta be conscious about people other than yourself. But being honest, that is something you should be daily.

TSS: It’s a trip, the album doesn’t come out until August 14th, but it is out digitally first. It’s probably nothing new, but it’s an interesting concept that an album comes out digitally first. What is your take on that?

Blu: It wasn’t planned that way, it just worked out like that. I think it’s just a sign of the times really, like that’s about to be happening a lot more. It’s easier to put out music like that. I know labels are starting to just put out digital shit. That’s just where the game is going period. If it was up to me, my shit would be out on wax first, but the album has been online for a while. It’s been out there because of the Internet…I wish it had been available, officially digitally.

TSS: Anything I’ve read about the album, anyone I’ve heard talk about it or played it for, I haven’t heard one complaint or negative statement. Do you check on that stuff, or does it mean anything to you?

Blu: I’ve checked it, but it’s been a while since I had the Internet. I actually just paid it off today so hopefully when I get back to the crib I can hop and be on it more. Last time I was on though, which was like May, I was peeping what cats were saying, and shit felt good. Real good. I remember the first shit me and Exile did, the “Soul Provider” original, the reviews were cool but one dude got on my head just not feeling it. It was like damn, but since then I haven’t heard nothing. It’s kinda trippy.

TSS: Is there anything else you want to let the readers know, or anything you want to add?

Blu: Let me know what ya’ll think. If you buy it, bootleg it, whatever you do, just let me know what you think about it. It helps me. We can’t depend on record sales to know if we’re a good artist.

For more info, visit www.myspace.com/bluroc.

Listen to

“Dancing In The Rain”

“Soul Rising”

“Pearly Gates” (Remix)

“Thoughts” (Produced By Exile)

Posted in "Smoking Sessions With...", ARTIST INTERVIEWS, GENERAL — Tags: "FIFTEEN MINUTES WITH...", Blu, Exile, Ta'raach, TSS Presents Smoking Sessions