Blu (Rapper) Biography
Blu whose birth name is Johnson Barnes III was born on April 15, 1983, he is an American West Coast rapper from Los Angeles, California.
Blu (Rapper) Career
By age 19, Blu was selling out local shows at the Knitting Factory, House Of Blues, and headlining once a month at the Rumba Room on Universal City Walk. Back then, he recorded with various rap groups such as the Ill Flava Crew, Infinite Legacy crew, The Untouchable Mob, Glory For The People, The LA Metro Crew and the Bridgetown Steel Crew.
Blu was also a contestant on the MTV game show, “Who Knows The Band” and won. In the Grammy award-winning producer Megahertz had flown Blu out to LA to sign him to his new label after producing hits for Jay-Z, R Kelly, P Diddy, Busta Rhymes, and Nas but eventually walked away from the deal. He had started negotiating a record deal with Death Row Records but decided to independently release his first solo album titled “California Soul” at the age of 20.
It was produced by early collaborators, L’s and Bombay. It featured Bridgetown crew members; Donel Smokes (Black Spade) and Miguel as well as then RRAG Records label mate, RBX.
Blu pressed up the “Lifted” EP and mixtape premiering various productions with Exile and songs with J Dilla and KRS-One in 2016. While an opening act on a tour with Seattle-based LifeSavas and Dallas-based Strange Fruit Project, Blu discovered all three of his unreleased but fully completed full-length albums had leaked. The leak grew and crowds already knew his songs as he debuted them at each show for the rest of the tour.
The three albums began to build on the online market and caught the attention of Okayplayer, as well as other sites like HipHopDX and Nah Right, He was named the Rookie Of The Year once his album “Below the Heavens” was officially released in 2007. Sound In Color officially released the album but since they were almost bankrupt, only 7,000 copies of “Below The Heavens” was pressed on CD, with no vinyl other than the single for the album, “Narrow Path”, which was also released in 2006. The label went bankrupt a few months following the release.
Blu and Rapper Ta’Raach released the album titled “The Piece Talks” under a C.R.A.C. moniker. It was completely produced by Ta’Raach and featured Shawn Jackson, Noni Lomar, and Jazmin Mitchell. Originally sold on tour in 2005, the album included their hit single, “League Leaders” (The Friar cover) and the 6 inch single, “The King”.
Blu’s album with Mainframe was released under the group name, Johnson & Jonson. It was produced by Mainframe with production by Blu, as well as features from Gonja Sufi and Miguel. It was produced with an instrumental beat tape called “Powders & Oils”, which consisted of exclusive songs. All of Johnson & Jonson music consisted of only loops and raps.
Blu (Rapper) Age
Blu was born in Inglewood, California, United States on April 15, 1983. He is currently 36 years old as of 2019.
Blu (Rapper) Family
Details about his family members is not known it will be updated when there is information.
Blu (Rapper) Relationship
Blu likes to keep his personal life private hence information about his dating life is not available. It is therefore not known whether he is married or has any children. However, this information will be updated as soon as it is available.
Blu (Rapper) Body Measuremets
- Height: 6ft 3 inches
- Weight: NOT AVAILABLE
- Shoe Size: NOT AVAIALBLE
- Body Shape: NOT AVAILABLE
- Hair Colour: Black
Blu (Rapper) Salary
Working as a rapper his exact salary has not been revealed it will be updated when there is information.
Blu (Rapper) Worth
His Net Worth is estimated at $2.5 Million USD.
Blu (Rapper) Songs
- Rap Dope
- Don’t Be Jelly
- I Am…
- True & Livin’
- O Heaven
- Cold Hearted
- The Narrow Path
- The Lost Angels Anthem
- Gotta Wake Up
- Simply Amazin’
- More Out Of Life
- Good Life
- Amnesia
- I Am Jean
- First Thing First
- Below The Heavens pt. I
- LA Counting
- Boogie to flex
- Belly Full
- Soul Provider
- Greater Love
- Just Bounce
- My Worls Is
- Yesterday
- Maybe One Day
- Greetings
- Pop Shots
- Get Money
- The 50z
Albums
- The Turn Up
- Bad Neighbor
- York
- Good to be Home
- Gods in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh
- Johnson&Jonson
- The Blueprint
- Open Your Optics to Optimism
- The Orchid Days
- Time? Astonishing!
- A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night
- Jesus
- Nickel& Dimed
- The piece Talks
- The Ordinary Man
- Amnesia EP
- NO Was, No How
- The Exhibit
- Supreme 7
- Standing With Giants
- Open
- Plane’te
- The Clean Hand
- Lucky Blu
- The Return
Blu (Rapper) Exile
The rapper and exile composed of rapper Blu and hip hop producer Exile. They both met first met in the mid-2000s while Blu was serving as a hype man for various hip hop groups including Slum Village, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Exile’s own group, Emanon.
Blu was personally introduced to Exile through Emanon’s other member, Aloe Blacc. Blu released their debut album, Below the Heavens, which was described by XXL as “one of 2007’s most celebrated hip-hop releases”.In 2012, they released their second album, Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them. In 2017, the duo released In the Beginning: Before the Heavens. The latest release from the duo, the True & Livin’ (EP) was released May 24, 2019
Blu (Rapper) Style and influences
Blu’s style is centered around lyricism and a smooth flow. His content evolves around a self-righteous philosophy, hunger, the love to create, religion, life and death, and a lot of braggadocio. He says each album is a different day in the life of Blu. His style and approach to music were influenced by KRS One, Ice Cube, Common, 2Pac, Saul Williams, Miles Davis, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Curtis Mayfield, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Noble Drew Ali, Malcolm X, Abraham Lincoln, Langston Hughes, Eric Dolphy and Jay-Z. His favorite animals are Dogs, Fish, and Goats.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blu (Rapper)
Who is Blu?
He is an American west cast rapper.
How old is Blu?
He is 36 years old of age.
How tall is Blu?
He stands at a height of 6ft 3 inches.
Is Blu married?
Details about his relashionship status is not known.
How much is Blu worth?
Is Blu dead or alive?
He is still alive and in good health.
Where is Blu now?
He is still a rapper in the music industry.