Blu & Exile
Formed: 2007 -
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre: Hip Hop, Jazz Rap
Years Active: 2007 -
Meaning of the Name:
Core Members: Blu (rapper) & Exile (producer)
Way of Working: MC and DJ
Essential Releases
Below the
Heavens (2008) (2001)
The story of a young man named Blu.
Miles (2020)
Reunited together as one, all these years later. A odyssey of road's traveled and the lessons learned along the way.
Blu & Exile are a traditional DJ & MC combo from the West Coast, who sound like they were inspired by hip hop from the East. On 'No Greater Love' Blu compares falling in love with 'Mrs. Right' to the first time he heard O.C. - 'Time's Up' and to the first time he heard Common rapping, who are both seminal figures in hip hop, but neither are from the West Coast.
Blu spent time refining his craft in New York and met Exile while he was working as a hype man for Detroit's Slum Village. Before teaming up the pair had released other projects, but only found success upon joining forces. Exile was the more well-known of the two, due to his work in Emanon with the rapper Aloe Blacc.
Since 2007, Below the Heavens, the group's debut LP, has become a bona fide classic of underground hip hop for obvious reasons. It just sounds that good. Exile, with his crisp, soulful boom bap and meticulously chopped beats is, in my opinion, one of the best hip hop producers of the last 20 years. His work could, and has, carried albums alone (see Radio), but in combination with the everyman concerns of Los Angeles rapper Blu, Below the Heavens is elevated into a record that stays with the listener long after it finishes, because his lyrics paint such a vivid picture of ordinary life.
Part of the reason for the albums success was that only 7,000 copies were pressed as a part of its original run. It sounds strange, I know. How could an album that was so hard to find become lauded by the very fans who were having difficulty finding it? Counter-intuitively, scarcity can drive interest. Owning an original copy became a badge of honour reserved only for hardcore hip hop fans. Can you imagine how it would feel to go crate digging and discover a dusty pressing in the real world?
Today, rappers such as Mach-Hommy purposefully employ the tactic of artificial scarcity in order to drive demand, similar to how the De Beers Group controls the diamond trade. But for Blu & Exile, the winning strategy was stumbled upon accidentally.
Their record label, Sound In Color Music, was experiencing financial difficulties and could only afford to press the limited number in what was a failed, last-ditch effort to save the company. Mach, as well as others, such as Ransom, would later release a small number of physical copies to deliberatley increase the value of each. Mach's 2017 album The G.A.T was limited to only 17 physical copies that sold for $3,000 each. The highly sought after album is unavailable on streaming (in 2025) and was unavailable on Discogs at the time of writing.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
75
Mental Impact
75
Originality
65
Artistry
55
Authenticity
95
Live
60
Production
100
Musicianship
70
Rapping
80
Songwriting
90
Danceability
45
Fun
55
Consistency
80
Range
65
Cool
65
Charisma
50
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications
Charts
Critics
CRITICISM
- Blu has launched Twitter tirades against Evidence and Alchemist in what appears to be linked with his mental health struggles.
- Some fans have said he performed live when he was so high he forgot his lyrics.
