- Bought DMX’s first album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot and was inspired to be a rapper. Was also heavily influenced by rapper, Common.
- Was rapping in his early high school years but had a love and talent for basketball too
- Star basketball player in the 11th grade until he broke his ankle. It was then he said “Fuck basketball” and started to focus on rapping.
- Didn’t graduate from high school, had no job, so he decided to take a career in hip hop seriously
- Slanged weed to get by. Quit after a short while because he was no good at it.
- Spent 3 months homeless, crashing for weeks at a time at friend’s houses.
- Began woking as a host for local clubs who would sometimes let him perform at the end of the night. “That went well and that’s where I met fans and got a nice foundation.” says Blu.
- Started working as a hype man for several underground rap artists including Slum Village.
- Was introduced to producer Exile, who was then unknown on the underground hip hop scene, by singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc
- His relationship with Exile led him to signing a deal with Los Angeles, Independent label, Sound in Color in 2004
- Blu began cutting a few records with Exile and assisted him with his solo LP, “Dirty Science” in 2006
- It wasn’t until this duo released Blu’s debut, “Below the Heavens” in 2007, that his buzz really took off
- Village Voice called it “one of the most thoughtful indie-rap releases in some time”.
- After that, Blu would continue to release collaborative works and singles often, using the internet and social networks to spread his music
- After 5 years with indie label, Sound of Color, Blu announced in February, 2009 that he’d signed a deal with Sire/Warner Bros
- His full length album, “NoYork!” is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2011
“The industry is so open now you can just do whatever you want…There’s so many ways to get exposure nowadays that you don’t really need labels. They help out but you can do a lot on your own.” – Blu
