Johnson Barnes (born April 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Blu, is an American West Coast rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California[1]. Following the major success of his 2007 debut album, Below the Heavens, Blu was named HipHop DX's "Rookie of the Year" [2]. Since then, Blu has become one of the most prolific underground artists in the Los Angeles area, releasing "six full-length albums, and countless other projects and mixtapes" since his emergence on the rap scene [3] . Blu has also become as proficient a producer as he has a rapper. In September of 2011, Blu released his commercial album Open, his 4th solo project [4] which features tracks all produced by the West Coast emcee.
Contents  [hide] 
1 Early Life
2 Music Career
2.1 2003
2.2 2004-08
2.3 2009-10
2.4 2011 and Warner Bros.
3 Current Projects
4 Discography
4.1 Mixtapes
4.2 Instrumental Tapes
4.3 EPs
4.4 Independent Albums
4.5 Produced Albums
5 Guest appearances
6 References
7 External links
Early Life

Johnson Barnes was born on April 15, 1983 in San Pedro, California. Raised by his mother and stepfather who was a pastor, Barnes was highly influenced by gospel and Christian rap when he was growing up.[1] However, Barnes' was also influenced by gangsta rap that he received from his father, contributing to his delivery of conscious yet raw lyrics. In his early days in the music business, Johnson worked as a hype man for underground rap and soul artists such as Slum Village, Steve Spacek, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Emanon.[1] However, taking influence from Common, Barnes began turning from freestyle rhyming to crafting songs.[1] In an interview with HipHopDx, Barnes talks about what it was like to listen to Common's 1994 song I Used to Love H.E.R.:
"When I heard it, it really changed my life. I felt like I had heard Hip Hop for the first time. It made me change my content and my whole approach. It made me serious about writing and wanting to say something."[5]
[edit]Music Career

2003
Some of the earliest tracks by Blu can be found on the 2003 mixtape Bruised Brothers, done with fellow L.A. emcee Blacc also known as Jac Spade[6]. Spade is also a producer and has worked with the likes of Planet Asia and Charlie Tuna.
[edit]2004-08
Blu signed to L.A. independent label Sound in Color in 2004, choosing the label ahead of other big name companies such as Interscope Records and Death Row Records.[1] After Blu was introduced to Los Angeles based producer Exile by Aloe Blacc[5], Blu released his debut album Below the Heavens in August of 2007. New York weekly newspaper The Village Voice called the album "one of the most thoughtful indie-rap releases in some time"[7]. Following the album's success and Blu being named as Rookie of the Year by HipHopDX[8], the rapper began working with Detroit rapper-producer Ta'Raach, releasing the collaborative album The Piece Talks under Tres Records in April 2008. In September of that same year, the company released Blu's collaborative album Johnson&Jonson with producer Mainframe [9]. In an interview with HipHopDX, Blu talked about his work in the underground scene and what motivated him to continue writing:
"The game in 2008 is not perfect and people complain and complain about how wack music is, but there's so much dope shit out there if you just turn the radio and TV off. I find ill shit all the fucking time and I'm like there's way too much music out there"[2].
Following the reception of Johnson&Jonson, Blu and Mainframe formed their joint company New World Color. In celebration of the move, the two released their EP E.Q.E.P.; featuring rappers such as Gonjasufi and Dirty Paper[10]. Aside from these commercial projects, Blu also released his second solo project (So)ul Amazing.
2009-10
In 2009, Blu released his third solo album entitled HerFavoriteColo(u)r. Although the album was originally released as a free mixtape, the tape was re-released as in album in conjunction with Nature Sounds in 2011[11]. The album is known for its jazz, neo soul feel as well its samples of artists such as Billie Holiday and Jimi Hendrix and Curtis Mayfield. During this year, Blu also released his mixtape (So)ul Amazing II with DJ Heat. The tape features a wide variety of artists including Talib Kweli, Will.i.am, Kid Cudi, Evidence, The Alchemist, and Co$$.
In 2009, hip hop magazine XXL named Blu as one of their Top 10 Freshmen of 09'[12]. That same year, Blu also began experimenting with production, releasing his 8 track instrumental NoSleepForADay. The year also found Blu signed to major label Warner Bros.[13].
The following year, Blu released his lyrical/instrumental full length LP theGodleeBarnes[3].
[edit]2011 and Warner Bros.
2011 has been one of the biggest years for Blu thus far in terms of music production. In January, Blu released And If You See The E Drop Em, a title taken from a line on his first track on Below the Heavens [3]:
Blu has proliferated highly in terms of commercial releases this year, producing three albums titled Jesus, NoYork!, and Open with Nature Sounds; the latter of which features a variety of artists with tracks all produced by the emcee. While the album Jesus was released independently under New World Color in July, NoYork!, a project that was supposed to be Blu's major label debut, was not. Initially planned for release under Warner, Blu later dropped from the label in October[14], deciding to release it for free over the internet instead.
Current Projects

In an interview with Above Ground Magazine, Blu expressed his future intentions with music, specifically on his notion of retiring from rap.
“I’ve never seen myself rapping after 30,... I’ve always seen myself doing film. I have like three films I would love to shoot. But I would need a budget for it.”[14]
The rapper is currently working on several projects, one of which includes another link up with producer Exile on Memoirs, which was later released as Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them, a record which was released at the end of 2011. Ucla is another tape in the works, set to be a collaborative album produced by critically acclaimed LA producer Madlib.
Discography

Mixtapes
(So)ul Amazing (2008)
E.Q.E.P. (with Mainframe as Johnson&Jonson) (2008)
(So)ul Amazing II (2009)
Powders & Oils (2009)
Untaped (2010)
ParieArtNommee (2010)
And If You See the E Drop ‘Em (2011)
Heavy(LightYearsBehind) (TBA)
[edit]Instrumental Tapes
Open (theInstrumentalLP) (2009)
NoSleepForADay (2009)
The Norman Rockwell Beat Tape (2011)
EPs
Bruise Brothers (with Jack Spade) (2003)
Lifted (2006)
The Narrow Path (2006)
BeSene (with Sene as Patch Adams) (2008)
IntoBlu EP (2010)
Amnesia (2011)
ar r ie mx a ll pink r ep (2011)
Independent Albums
Below the Heavens (with Exile) (2007)
The Piece Talks (with Ta'Raach as C.R.A.C. Knuckles) (2008)
Johnson&Jonson (with Mainframe as Johnson&Jonson) (2008)
theGODleeBarnes(lp) (2010)
HerFavoriteColo(u)r (2009)
j e s u s (2011)
NoYork! (2011)
Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them (with Exile) (2011)
ucla (with Madlib) (TBA)
TBA (with MED) (TBA)
[edit]Produced Albums
ADayLate&ADollarShort by Sene (2009)
Open (2011)
Guest appearances

Year	Album Artist	Album	Song
2007	Move.Meant	The Scope Of Things	Git It Now (also featuring Trek Life)
2008	Shingo Suzuki	The Abstract Truth	Hi(gh) Music
Evidence	The Layover EP	For Whom The Bell Tolls (also featuring Phonte & will.i.am)
Presto	State of the Art	Pour Another Glass
DJ Cadik	Basic	Hard Times
Freddie Joachim	In With Time	Mars (Remix)
2009	Bembe Segue & Mark de Clive-Lowe	The Politik	Moonlight
J.Period & Q-Tip	The [Abstract] Best	Jazz (Tribute Remix)
Dela	Changes of Atmosphere	Vibrate
Atmosphere Airlines Vol. 2	Mars
Sepalot	Red Handed	Surrender
Blame One	Days Chasing Days	Wonder Why
The Grouch & Eligh	Say G&E!	Old Souls (also featuring Flying Lotus)
Keelay & Zaire	Ridin High	The Times
J Dilla	Jay Stay Paid	Smoke
Waxolutionists	We Paint Colors	Steel Remains
Tanya Morgan	Brooklynati	Morgan Blu
Fashawn	Boy Meets World	Samsonite Man
The Alchemist	Chemical Warfare	Therapy (also featuring Evidence, Talib Kweli & Kid Cudi)
Andy Allo	Unfresh	DreamLand
2010	All City Chess Club		I'm Beamin' (Remix)
TiRon	MSTRD	The Richers (also featuring Asher Roth)
The Roots	How I Got Over	Radio Daze (featuring P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw)
The Day (featuring Phonte & Patty Crash)
Mumbles	Transformations/Illuminations	Never Ending
2011	Dela	Translation Lost	Lucy's&looseleafs
Dela	Translation Lost	Whatuwanna
Co$$	Before I Awoke	Born Again (featuring Sene)

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Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Vic rose to public awareness as a member of the eclectic hip-hop band Kids These Days and founder of the Chicago collective SAVEMONEY alongside Chance The Rapper and other local upstarts Joey Purp and Peter CottonTale. His solo debut mixtape INNANETAPE dropped in 2013, igniting immediate accolades (including a spot on the XXL Freshman cover in 2014), and a fortuitous introduction to Jay Z that led to a record deal with Roc Nation. Mensa went on to help Kanye West pen his esoteric song “Wolves” from The Life of Pablo, drop three critically acclaimed EPs (2016’s There’s A Lot Going On, 2018’s Hooligans, and 2020’s V TAPE) and his debut full length The Autobiography (2017), as well as furthering social causes in his hometown through his nonprofit SAVEMONEYSAVELIFE. In both music and his social activism, Vic challenges the American system responsible for a history of overcriminalization, racial injustice, and issues that affect the lives of people in underserved communities, while showcasing profound levels of consciousness and self-reflection.

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