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)

Hayes Carll has spent over two decades building a reputation as one of Americana’s most beloved and consistent voices—not by chasing trends, but by being unflinchingly himself. 
With a knack for cutting through noise and naming the hard truths with humor, humility, and heart, Carll’s songs feel both deeply personal and universally understood. He doesn’t aim to preach or persuade, but rather to reflect the world as he sees and feels it—flawed, funny, complicated, and worth showing up for.

“...It’s [Carll’s] testament to the power of slowing down and appreciating the moment: to having fun, to loving another, to parenting, to engaging with the world around him in an enduring and meaningful way." 
- Rolling Stone Country

Carll’s voice—both literal and lyrical—is warm, weathered, and unmistakably his. He’s got a knack for pairing clever turns of phrase with real emotional weight, and for tackling big questions without taking himself too seriously. Whether he’s singing about grace, distraction, judgment, or joy, there’s always a sense that he’s letting us in on something real. His songs resonate because they aren’t safe—they’re personal, imperfect, and deeply human.
See above. Hayes Carll is the transmutable jester whose incisive songs and funky beats play as well in shitkicker bars as they do hippie festivals, somewhere as organic as American Public Radio’s “Mountain Stage” concert series and middle America as “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

Maybe it’s the influences – Kerouac, Dylan, Guy Clark, John Prine, Hubbard… Maybe it’s the fact that somebody has to say something… Maybe it’s just the fact that some people are born to play…

But for whatever reason, over a decade into a recording career, Hayes Carll shows no signs of having arrived at his creative apex. Each album expands on his already extreme vintage country, extreme thumping bad road boogie, extreme heartbroken ache – and finds new ways to take on the fate of the nation. Whether it’s the GI protagonist in the propulsive title track of KMAG YOYO, the train wreck objet d’amour of “Drunken Poet’s Dream,” also recorded by Hubbard, the road warrior of both “I Got A Gig” and “Little Rock” or the stoner liberal and the uptight Republican vixen of “Another Like You,” Carll paints vivid pictures of humanity as it really is.
Thick-headed. Avaricious. Squalid. Hungry. Angry. Getting by.

Like so many Texans before him, there’s no agony in the ecstasy – just the wonder of capturing the perfect character in the song. When you’re 6 beers down on a 12 pack night, you know Hayes Carll understands. At a time like that – whether in your own backyard or some jam-packed bar – that’s the best kind of friend to have.

Over the years, Carll has earned praise from critics, peers, and fans alike. His work has been recognized by the Americana Music Association, nominated for a Grammy, and championed by The New York Times and Pitchfork. His songs have been recorded by the likes of Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne—but it’s his own delivery that leaves the lasting mark. Through his records and live shows, Carll has become one of Americana’s most beloved voices—not by chasing trends, but by staying true to himself.

At the heart of it, Hayes Carll is a storyteller with a songwriter’s soul—always chasing truth, sometimes stumbling into grace, and never losing sight of the power in simply being human. His songs are filled with snapshots of quiet clarity, hard-won insight, and wry observation. He sings like someone still doing the work—and that’s what keeps people coming back. Because in a world full of noise, Hayes Carll offers something rare: a voice that’s still listening.

Toni Both aka Toni The MmG (MmG is the abbreviation for Mixman Germany) is a producer & remixer  from Germany.Among other things produced Toni the MmG the last track for Ruth Flowers aka Mamy Rock "kissy kissy"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H5qD1iZPhg
For remix requests contact me message here on soundcloud

SEUN KUTI “You gave me your mud and I made gold from it” 

This famous Baudelaire quote could be the Kuti family motto, employed by father and son alike. Their songs, filled with the corruption, ignorance, malady, sadness, pollution and the many others ill that ravage contemporary Africa, are veritable musical treasures, flamboyant, jubilatory songs that make you want to get up and dance. So are you ready to dance like crazy to the misfortunes of Africa? Just be sure to dance and listen to what Africa is telling us. Manu Dibango, Seun Kuti’s friend has said that “the most beautiful flowers grow out of manure”. 

Seun’s songs, like those of his father, are these “flowers of evil” blossoming out of the shit, out of the foul smelling lagoons of Lagos, the most unbearable, yet most alive and most human of cities, the place that both Seun Kuti and his father would never dream of leaving. The illustrious Ransome Kuti family come from the Yoruba people, the largest ethno-linguistic group in Nigeria. It is said they descend from Oduduwa, the demi-god who founded the Ife kingdom in the 12th century. 

When Oduduwa died, he ignored the custom of leaving his throne to the first born son and instead left it to the cleverest and most capable last born. Since then the Yoruba people have always maintained a particular esteem for the youngest family member and it’s no different for Seun Kuti, born in 1982, the third son to be recognised by Fela Kuti... Seun (pronounced “Shehoun”) is an abbreviation from his Yoruban name Oluseun: “God has done great things”. It’s also, ironically, the first name of President Obasanjo, the Kuti family’s sworn enemy and originally comes from the Abeokuta village, like the Nobel literature prize winning Wole Soyinka, Seun’s uncle and friend. 

Long before the General Obasanjo became president in 1977 following a military coup, he had already organised a murderous assault with over a 1000 armed men on the residence of Fela, who had called his home “The independent Republic of Kalakuta,” and which is still where Seun Kuti and the musicians in the Egypt 80 orchestra live. 

Seun’s grandmother, Funmilayo, Nigeria’s most important human rights and feminist activist, was thrown out of a window to her death by Obasanjo’s troops. The satirical song, whose title is also that of the album, Many Things, starts off with an extract from a recorded speech by Obasanjo and is a good summary of his dotted 30 years in power: They built magnificent bridges but the people underneath them still had to drink the water into which they piss. 

There’s no doubt that Seun is the worthy heir of Fela Kuti’s hardline militancy. Moreover he has adopted his father’s second Yarouba name, Anikulapo (“I’ve got death in my quiver”). In other words his songs are arrows that never miss their targets; the corrupt, bribers and oppressors. Apart from the erotic Fire Dance, every track on this CD is a ravaging pamphlet against the corruption and carelessness of African leaders from Think Africa and Many Things to Na oil and African Problems. Seun had recently joined Youssou N’Dour in a major project fighting against malaria and Mosquito Song explains how the governments’ negligence in teaching the importance of hygiene is responsible for the effects of this plague that kills more people than AIDS... With the same energetic and booming voice as Fela, Seun has added his own raging rhythm clearly influenced by rap. He cites Chuck D, Dr Dre and Eminem among his musical heroes. Aged eight Seun Kuti was his father’s orchestra’s mascot travelling everywhere with them as his mother – who passed away last year – danced and sang in the chorus of Egypt 80. 

The name of Seun Kuti’s inherited orchestra might be seen as surprising. Fela’s renamed his original group, Africa 70, in 1983, after he’d read the resounding works of Senegalese historian-physician, Cheick Anta Diop, on black Africans originating from Pharaonic civilisation. The orchestra is legendary in the true sense of the word... it is Africa’s equivalent of what Duke Ellington’s jungle music did for the Afro-American Diaspora and boasts some remarkable resemblances. For example, just like Ellington, the baritone saxophone is at the heart of Kuti’s music, Afrobeat. Veteran musician Lekan Animasahun, nicknamed Baba Ani, has now relinquished his sax lead to the excellent Adedimeji Fagbemi, (stage name Showboy, who also plays the role of MC) as the instrument became too heavy for the seventy-year old. Baba has now taken on the keyboards but remains musical director of the orchestra. And what an orchestra it is! 

As soon as Egypt 80 blasted out their first notes, they instantly set things straight. It’s been easy to forget what big dance orchestras are all about, what the likes of Fletcher Henderson, James Brown and Sun Ra, Count Basie and Lionel Hampton really mean. And not forgetting George Clinton, another – very audible! – influence on Seun Kuti. But Seun’s orchestra isn’t a clone of his fathers, even if we do see as much crazy, frenetic movement on stage and even if two thirds of the orchestra’s members were already there in Fela’s time. Above all they are just the best funk group today, which is no surprise really. For the last 25 years they’ve played and rehearsed daily in Lagos at the Shrine Club... the name of the club says it all. Egypt 80 embody the major aspect that’s been lost in popular music; endurance. They been together for over 20 years and it shows. Music is after all about human relations. 

Duke Ellington once said that to play well with another musician, you have to know how he plays poker! And that’s where the magic of this album lies. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 are more than just an orchestra, they’re a musical family who deserve enormous respect for having stayed united so long, especially since the last years of Fela and those that followed were so hard. This cohesion and longevity alone explains the absolutely terrifying precision of the rhythmic reflexes down to the thousandth of a second that makes their ultra-syncopated polyphony the perfect ‘swing’ model. It could seem passé to use a word like swing, but it’s difficult to find a better way to characterise Afrobeat at this level of expression. 

Let’s not forget that in the 1930s and 40s, Ghana and then neighbouring Nigeria adopted and adapted jazz to create “highlife”, the direct ancestor of Afrobeat, which Fela himself practised in the early days. Today Seun too makes the most of this long musical tradition. Aged eight, Seun would find himself back stage at the Harlem Apollo, the place where, little did he know, all the Afro-American musical greats from Aretha Franklin to James Brown, had begun. He watched his father sing and said to himself, “I want to sing too.” Fela laughed but let him try anyway... with success. From that moment on Seun never quit the orchestra, taking control after his father’s death from AIDS in 1997. He briefly studied music, as his father had long ago, in England. Nothing too serious though, just like his father he isn’t a virtuoso saxophonist and he knows it, but maybe that’s not what counts... 

When playing live Seun can’t help but pay homage to Fela by playing a couple of his tunes. But this first album is resolutely his, emphasising his own compositions and those of the orchestra. From the opening bars of Many Things, as with Fela’s records and perhaps even more so, ideas, words and notes whiz about with abandon. The Afrobeat magic is set in motion, the delirious, unrelenting machine carries us away and yet we can’t miss a second. The rhythm section is simply arresting. Then there’s drummer Ajayi Adebiyi, who follows in the footsteps of contemporary jazz greats such as Al Foster or Paco Séry. The two guitarists, David Obanyedo and Alade Oluwagbemiga have a very contrasting sound as they endlessly braid captivating riffs that weave the whole thing together. 

Both Emmanuel Kunnuji and Olugbade Okunade, the two trumpet players, perform remarkable solos on Many Things and Mosquito Song. So ten years after Fela’s death, the orchestra of which he was so proud continues, and there’s no doubt that he would be happy with what his son is doing and proud of the singer that he has become. Seun Kuti is indeed a great live performer with his daddy’s charisma and energy radiating from every pore. After several triumphant tours everyone who has seen him in concert knows this and he hadn’t even recorded an album, only a rare 12” vinyl... 

His first American tour, last summer, was certainly on everybody’s lips. The Egypt 80 musicians only got their visas after Barack Obama intervened and their concert in Chicago practically became a riot as hundreds of spectators leapt onto the stage, much to the distaste of the security services. The festival organiser declared it the best concert of his life! All you have to do now is listen to the album and understand why all other dance music seems so desperately mechanical, static and dull when compared to the incredible Afrobeat of Seun Kuti and Fela’s Egypt 80.

Toni Both aka Toni The MmG (MmG is the abbreviation for Mixman Germany) is a producer & remixer  from Germany.
Among other things produced Toni the MmG the last track for Ruth Flowers  aka Mamy Rock "kissy kissy": 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H5qD1iZPhg

First a club now an independent record label. We capture what is vital in music today with limited runs of vinyl pressings, digital downloads and live shows. Every release is tailored, every release is personal and our bands sound and vision are paramount.

Releases:

DBR 001 - CLOUT! E.P

DBR 002 - Novella - The Things You Do/Oh Brian

DBR 003 - Woman's Hour - Jenni/Human

DBR 004 - SHINIES - Shola/Pillow Talk

DBR 005 - Drop Out Venus - Elastic Teen Rent/I Kill Foxes

DBR 006 - SHINIES - Ennui/Eighteen

DBR 007 - Men's Adventures - Solitary Trip E.P

DBR 008 - SHINIES - Tangle EP

DBR 009 - Paradise - Stars Shine Bright/I Can Feel Your Love

DBR 010 - Night Flowers - Night Flowers E.P

DBR 011 - SHINIES - Nothing Like Something Happens Anywhere Album

DBR 012 - Night Flowers - Sleep/Sitting Pretty

DBR 013 - Night Flowers - Glow in the Dark/Amy

DBR 014 - Night Flowers - Wild Notion Album

DBR 015 - Night Flowers -  Losing the Light 

DBR 016 -  Night Flowers - Cruel Wind

DBR 017 - Night Flowers -  Hey Love/You Don't Tell Me / Rush Hour (Cover) 
 
Dirty Bingo Records store: http://dirtybingorecords.greedbag.com/

i make music for people to relax in Jesus c: <3 hope you enjoy c:

wanna collab or talk about pringles?
then here is my email ussjs01@gmail.com (:

ussjs01@gmail.com

i like cloudy days
canceled plans
withered flowers
..the things people don't see the beauty in

supported by 
https://soundcloud.com/fresh_edm
https://soundcloud.com/chill

Just a fan expressing my creativity. Here are some beattapes I've produced:

The Brain Never Sleeps: http://www.mediafire.com/?idmw2jyoyoy

Leftovers: http://www.mediafire.com/?hpww9vba2xyz52o

Where The Wild Things Are: http://www.mediafire.com/?uqqazqiui7s0x75

Flowers: http://www.mediafire.com/?qt7n58s5c3q9kt7

Veckatimest In The Key Of Cee: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zunudz2j9gruhhp/VITKOC.zip?m

Vine Tape:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/k4qhf7of25y08j1/Vine_Tape.zip

Vol. 23:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hp0euata04uumqz/Vol._23.zip

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