Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them

by Blu & Exile

Blu and Exile are fantastic collaborators.  Their first album together, Below the Heavens, was an instant underground classic, and neither of them have done as well on their own or with other artists since.  Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them has them working together again, with Exile producing and Blu providing some amazing lyrics.

This album shows that both artists have grown in the years since they first worked together.  Lyrically, Blu is a monster, best shown on tracks like 'A Man' and 'Maybe One Day', where his laid-back, laconic flow serves him particularly well.  Exile, meanwhile, has gotten both richer and a little weirder in his sound.  He often uses cartoonish or childish samples on one track (like 'Good Morning Neighbour', which samples Mister Rogers), and then gives us lush pianos and a Tom Waits sample on another (the sublime 'Seasons').

There are guest appearances by other Exile collaborators like Johaz (of Dag Savage) and Fashawn, as well as Homeboy Sandman and Black Spade.  Many tracks feature flutes by Randal Fisher, which helps add to the general wealth of sound.

I'm not sure if this album is going to capture new listeners the way Below the Heavens did, but it's definitely one to return to time and again.

NoYork!

by Blu

So, after years of releasing albums on his own, or on independent labels, Blu finally drops a major-label album, and it has poorer distribution than anything else he's done.  I haven't been able to find this album on sale anywhere in Toronto, and instead had to mail-order it from the US (I am not a downloader).  When I get the album, it's in a cardboard sleeve with no name, credits, or track listing.  The picture shown to the right shows the four different packages that this disc comes packaged in one of.

Anyway, who cares about all that stuff, because it's all about the music, right?  Blu has been on my radar since Below the Heavens, his excellent debut with producer Exile.  This is easily the most solid release he's had since then.

There are a few sides of Blu.  We get the young rapper who likes to brag about his early exploits - sexual and otherwise, but we also get a more thoughtful, contemplative artist (like on 'Spring Winter Summer Fall').  He has a great voice, and a nice laid-back flow.

The production on this album is wonderful.  Blu works with Madlib, Flying Lotus, Shafiq Husayn, Samiyam, Dibia$e, Exile, and Knxwledge.  I think he produces a couple of tracks himself too - there are some with credits missing on the album's Wikipedia page.  He is joined by Edan, Jack Davey, Sa-Ra, U-God, Tiombe Lockhart, and a number of other singers and rappers I'm not that familiar with.

This is easily one of the best hip-hop albums I've heard lately, from an artist who is maturing nicely into a unique and consistent voice. It's well worth getting if you can find a copy (it's not available on Amazon).

Jesus and Open

by Blu

It's been a while since Blu released any albums, and then these two became widely available at the same time.

Jesus has eleven tracks, produced by a number of different producers, with an even mix between known quantities and people whose beats I believe I'm hearing for the first time.  Hezekiah, Alchemist, and Madlib each provide a single track (Madlib's is the best), while the bulk of the album is done by people like God Lee Barnes, Rome, and Knxwledge, whoever they are.

Blu sounds great throughout - he's really coming into his own as an emcee, and each of these producers give him Exile-like beats, helping keep this project in similar territory to the wonderful Below the Heavens.  This project really allows Blu's versatility and laid-back flow to shine through.

Open, on the other hand, barely gives us a chance to hear Blu's voice.  This fourteen-track album instead shines the spotlight on his production.  He has found a roster of artists to rap over his beats, with mixed results.  Blu shows up spitting on only two tracks, and with the exception of up-and-comer Sene, I haven't heard of a single other artist on this disc.  The fact that most of them have listed e-mail addresses, or URLs for Myspace and Facebook accounts makes me think that we are listening to a bunch of people hoping to gain some contracts or representation from this project.

 Featuring so many rappers, there is some inconsistency to this disc, and it kind of sags a little towards the latter half, before rallying for a strong ending.  I particularly enjoyed the songs featuring AaronSmartz, ScienZe & Versis, and Chop & FreshDaily.  SouthBroad also caught my ear.

Blu's beats on this album are very nice.  Again, Exile's influence is apparent, but there is also an individual voice that shines through.  Blu is one of the more exciting artists in hip-hop right now.  With these two projects he proves that he can handle being on both sides of the boards, and it is my hope that he will have a truly solo project in the future, where he raps on and produces an entire album on his own.

4trk Mind

by Exile

Exile is one of the best producers working in hip-hop today.  From his start as part of Eamonon, to his album-length collaborations with artists like Blu and Fashawn, he has carved out a name for himself as a producer who makes rapper-friendly beats that are also progressive.  Had he stopped there, he could have been one of the greats, but then he went ahead and released his masterpiece, Radio, an instrumental hip-hop album sampled completely off the radio.  This led to a follow-up album album that had various artists reworking or spitting over those tracks.  The path to independent stardom was assured.

And then, he gave us 4trk Mind.  Sigh.  There needs to be a law about producers wanting to rap.  A law with severe punishments.

It's not that this is a terrible album - the beats are great, and there are some decent tracks - it's just that it would have worked so much better as a beat tape.  An instrumental beat tape.  Exile continues to lay down some jazzy tracks, he just kind of ruins them by spitting over them himself.  Much of the content here is hopelessly juvenile (rapping about having three dicks), mawkishly sentimental (I don't understand the need to sample from so many children's entertainers), or kind of embarrassing (the first three or four tracks).

When Exile gets serious, as he does on 'Younger Days', '4ever (Friend Zone prt. 1)', and 'Momma Song', things are pretty bearable.  On most of those tracks, he kind of apes Blu's delivery, which could be why they were an improvement.  Blu shows up for 'When Nothings Left', and it is predictably the best track on the album.  The worst?  '2039'.

I kind of hope that Exile has rapping out of his system now.  I'd much rather see him do another album with Blu, or find us a new rapper like he did Fashawn.  I just would prefer he stay behind the boards (oh, and never work with the person who designed this cover ever again).

Boy Meets World

by Fashawn
Exile's been doing some great work lately. His album with Blu a couple years back was an instant classic, and his 'Radio' disk was one of my favorites of 2009. Now he's hooked up with Fashawn, a young rapper from Fresno, California, and produced another excellent album.

Fashawn is another rapper, like Brother Ali, who comes across as a nice guy. He fills his album with a realistic, yet ultimately optimistic, world-view, not shying away from the struggles he's faced in life, but also choosing (at least I presume) to not exaggerate them for commercial gain and notoriety. He clearly believes in the value of working hard, and applies this earnestness to every facet of the album, making it a debut of high quality and consistency.

High points on this album include 'Freedom', which samples Talib Kweli for an effective hook; 'Hey Young World', with Aloe Blacc helping out on an old standard; 'Life as a Shorty', and the sing-alongable 'Sunny CA'. Blu steps in and helps out with 'Samsonite Man', a song about travelling, and Exile even steps to the mic with 'Bo Jackson'. 'Boy Meets World', the title track, brings the album to a close with some lovely a capella singing.

This is one artist to watch for the next decade.

Crate Digging: Below the Heavens

by Blu & Exile

This album magically appeared two years ago bringing hope to the world of hip-hop. Blu is a clever and thoughtful lyricist, who, despite his young age, speaks with a voice of wisdom and thoughtfulness. He mines his past for material, or speaks honestly about his fears and ambitions. Exile matches his flow with soulful samples and beautiful head-nodding beats.

The album features a couple of the duo's partners in other ventures: Ta'Raach (who, with Blu makes up CRAC Knuckles), and Aloe Blacc (who when partnered with Exile forms Emanon).

Favourite tracks are 'Show Me the Good Life' and 'In Remembrance of Me', although the whole album works remarkably well as a cohesive, single unit. This is the type of disk you want to play over and over, without it feeling played out. These guys need to release some more stuff together.

Radio

by Exile

This entire album was made only with a radio and an MPC 2000XL. When I first heard that, I thought of Negativland, and their overly-earnest work. Exile however, keeps the politics to a minimum, and instead creates lushly layered beats that show he is a producer of great talent and originality.

The album does contain a large number of 'skits' in the Madlib vein, but between them are beautiful pieces of music, especially towards the end of the album ('Love Line' and 'IN LOVE' are excellent, if thematically similar, examples).

Below The Heavens, Exile's album with Blu, made me take notice of this producer, but this album puts him into the category of 'must buy'.