Get To Know H.E.R.

If you’ve been following hip hop for the past year or so, no doubt, you know who Blu is. After appearing on a couple of guest features on Exile’s Dirty Science, he and Exile teamed up to rock the 2007 hip hop scene with the absolutely incredible Below The Heavens. Earlier this year Blu did it again by teaming up with fellow rapper Ta’Raach as C.R.A.C., dropping the strange but enjoyable The Piece Talks. And now we have the official release of his work with Mainframe in the form of Johnson and Jonson. Blog frequenters may have had a “copy” of this since last year. That however was a bootleg and what we have on our hands now is the final project. Let’s see how our wonder boy did on this one.

Hits aka Why You Should Care:

1. Blu. This boy just can’t be stopped. In all honesty, he’s not nor will he probably ever be one of the greats. In terms of skill, he’s not even one of the greatest cats out right now (that’ll be Royce, Elzhi, Joe Budden, and Sean Price). And yet, one can’t help but love any track he’s on. It may be his confident swag behind the mic that is entirely apparent as on listens to him. You know he’s comfortable rapping and that transfers over to the overall listening experience. Whatever it is, Blu is one enjoyable dude to listen to.

2. Mainframe. I won’t lie, I was a bit worried to hear an entire album by a producer who I’ve never really heard before. Those worries were put to rest only a couple of tracks in. Dude is nice. He works on a complex multi sample layering level that most low profile producers just don’t do, and the result is some great quality beats that are a whole lot better than what one can usually expect from non big label projects these days.

3. Some good tracks: J and J, Up All Night, Mama Told Me, The Gusto Room, Wow, Spell Check, Long Time Gone, Still Up All Night, A Picture Perfect, The Oath, Hold On John (Hidden Bonus Track)

Strikes aka Reasons You Should Be Wary:

1. Not the biggest complaint but some of the album just felt very chaotic and the sequencing a bit unorganized.

2. I just couldn’t get in to these tracks for whatever reason: Half A Knot, Anything Is Possible

Balls aka Whatever Floats Your Boat:

1. Numerous interludes are found all throughout the album, whether instrumental or spoken. Some of them aren’t bad, some are actually pretty good, and one I really couldn’t understand the point of. If you like interludes, this is all for you.

2. Solid tracks: The Only Way, In The Building, Bout It Bout It

Final Thoughts:

It’s Blu. Right now this dude can make a track about taking a crap and that shit would sound great. So the ultimate question here is how does working with Mainframe stack up to his work with Exile. Well, that’s almost entirely up to you. While both albums are dope, the difference in producers makes a huge difference and that’s where your preference comes in. Below The Heavens sounded like one big, chill contemplative session with bits of unrestrained partying mixed in. Johnson and Jonson on the other hand is one big party with spots of contemplative moments thrown into the mix. Whichever you prefer, I would recommend a pickup, although just for the record, I will personally still bump Below The Heavens a whole lot more than I will this one.