GingerSlim speaks to indy rap icon Blu about his excellent new album with Oh No, A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night.
You’ve teamed up with Oh No for this latest project. How did the collaboration come about initially?
When I first got signed to Sound In Color records back in 2005, I initially reached out to Oh No after seeing him battle Exile at the Rootdown, but I eventually decided to have Exile produce my first album which would become Below The Heavens. So me and Oh No have been contemplating putting out music together for a long time and this we felt was a perfect time to hit the people with a full length release from the both of us.
Is there much of a different dynamic working with someone of his calibre?
Oh No is fast bro, he has a very extensive arsenal of heat and he stays on top of his craft. So working with him is very easy for me because I tend to work fast as well.
As with a lot of your music, it’s a very LA-centric album. Is there any sort of concept beyond the obvious LA theme?
No, not really, it’s more so just writing from reality or experience. So growing up in L.A. and living daily in L.A. are obvious reasons why we create music from an L.A. point of view. “L.A. IS RED HOT”.
When we spoke last year you told me you were sitting on a crazy amount of albums and working on more new material. I was wondering if you always feel an internal desire to be creative? Do you always feel the need to be writing?
Not lately, now that I am sitting on so much material. I can kick back for once and not feel any pressures to write or create. I can for once just enjoy the music I have created.
Once again you’ve got a great selection of guests on the album, with a good mix of lesser known and more established artists. Do the names come to you as you’re writing the songs, or do you have an idea of who you want involved beforehand?
I know so many great artists, it’s really just overtime I meet an open artist who is ready and willing to create, we link up and actually create. As oppose to acting like you are willing to create and never really do. But when it comes to albums, I do try to carefully select my features, and that is a blessing.
You’ve already worked with some of the best names in hip-hop, including projects with both Oh No and Madlib. What’s next for you? Is there anyone else left on your wishlist?
Premier, and Pete Rock. Prince Paul. Fred Wreck. RZA. All kinds of people I would love to work with. On top of that list would have been J Dilla without a doubt.
Now religion isn’t something you ever really talk about in detail in your writing, but I always get the sense of some sort of spirituality in your mindset. Is there anything in particular you subscribe to in that respect?
My grandfather, who is very religious, always told me to write positive thoughts and not to project any negativity, and I try to do that in my music.
Do you spend much time listening to all the new hip-hop surfacing at the moment? If so do you have any particular favorites out there?
No, I listen to older 80s and 90s hip-hop. I tend to think it carries a lot more substance and it shares an experience long silenced and finally voiced by a people finally given a chance to express themselves, when before there weren’t any opportunities for so many people, all over the world.
I remember in an old interview you said you were getting more into reading and studying. Is that something that you’re still focused on and is there any area of study that you’re specifically drawn to?
I love history. I have actually just finished reading the Bible. The most intriguing book I have read in my life so far !
What’s next for Blu?
Releasing all these albums I am sitting on and hopefully getting into film somehow.
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A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night is out now on Nature Sounds. Get it here. Follow Blu on Twitter and Instagram.
Gingerslim has been a hip-hop fan since 1994 and has written for various blogs and websites since around 2006. During that time he has contributed to style43, Think Zebra, Headsknow and Front Magazine. His main interests in rap are UK hip-hop and the underground movement in America, with a focus on Rhymesayers Entertainment and the once mighty Def Jux label. He lives in Bristol and has a beard. All other details are sketchy at best. Follow him here.