Blu

Blu, the low-key legend of LA's underground hip-hop scene, has been crafting soulful, introspective rhymes since the mid-2000s. Best known for his game-changing collab with producer Exile on *Below the Heavens*, this MC (real name Johnson Barnes) keeps things fresh with recent drops like the jazzy *Planète* and bass-heavy *Bass for Ü*. His flow's like your coolest friend spitting wisdom over dusty vinyl samples – whether he's painting street scenes in *City* or cruising metaphors in *Cadillac*. While he's stayed indie to the core, Blu's connected dots with heavyweights like Madlib and Alchemist, always keeping that raw, boom-bap spirit alive in projects that feel like secret handshakes for true school hip-hop heads.