The whole Hip Hop world is waiting for No York, the first Major-Label-LP by Johnson Barnes, known by his stagename Blu. It is announced for this year but instead the 26-year old MC/producer gives his fans another unofficial release called Jesus after Her Favourite Colo(u)r in April. Unofficial because you can’t really call this project a completed LP – the same with the LP four months ago. Blu who might just be one of the hottest rappers to come up in the next time (and having that same status since 2007) is so unbelievably laidback that you don’t even buy he is creating art here. Although he brought some nice guest producers with Madlib and Alchemist the songs on Jesus seem to be unfinished and disordered in some way. You get the impression you are not listening to an album but to some relaxed recording session. But to be honest: that is not even bad. Blu’s calm and easygoing flow over the smooth jazz-, blues- and female vocal-samples is still a blessing. Of course Jesus does not reach the musical quality of Blu’s collabo-debut Below The Heavens with Exile but it is actually not supposed to do so. No York is coming soon.
Jesus
