Blu has been a prolific fixture in hip hop's underground for over two decades now, with landmark records such as 2007's Below The Heavens alongside Exile making waves with fans across the globe. Though he may not have millions of monthly Spotify streamers, the 40-year-old spitter has a dedicated and loyal fan base excited to see where his career takes him next. Conversely, producer Roy Royal is an emerging newcomer to the boom-bap hip-hop scene, also hailing from the heart of Los Angeles.
Blu and Roy Royal have teamed up for a brief but exciting LP, aptly titled Royal Blu, which showcases the "Knock Knock" vocalist's lyrical versatility over Royal's old-school instrumentation, complete with several well-placed sample scratches and pitched vocal passages. Royal Blu marks the third consecutive release from Blu which showcases the rapper locking in with a single producer to craft a full-length project, following efforts such as Bad News with Real Bad Man and Afrika with Nottz. The latest project is one of the most exciting collaborative efforts in years. Here's a brief look at Royal Blu, and a review of the material within.
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Blu & Roy Royal Are In Rare Form On This Brief But Effective Release
Despite the album containing only 8 tracks spread across 19 minutes of material, Royal Blu features some of the best work from either of the musical duo thus far. Blu glides over the boom-bap production provided by Roy Royal with the control and experience reserved for veterans, while still showcasing his hunger to take his career to the next level. Though the project is quintessentially Californian, the razor-sharp drum and piano-heavy beats, accompanied by powerful scratches and interspersed vocal samples have a clear Wu-Tang influence.
Blu confirms this East Coast influence on the track "The Royal" when he raps "My favorite album is Nas' Illmatic/ It's almost been 30 years since it dropped and the God is still at it." This lyric serves as something of a thesis statement for the record, as Blu explores the future and past of his career, and pontificates about the possibility of becoming a revered legacy artist like Nas has with his King's Disease and Magic album trilogies. It should also be noted that Nas found major success with these 6 recent albums in large part due to the close collaborative relationship he formed with producer Hit-Boy.
The Album's Influences Showcase Some Of Hip Hop's Finest Artists
The following tracks on the Blu and Roy Royal collaboration show clear Kanye West influences as well. Songs like "The Same OG" and "The Priceless" each provide a backdrop composed of pitched-up soul samples, chopped in the style of College Dropout-era Kanye. This is especially clear in the latter track, as Blu takes a specific lyrical focus on praising God for the professional heights and personally blessings he's seen in his life. The album's lone feature, Cashus King, joins in on "The Priceless" to echo these sentiments, rapping, "Hood wars set up kids for early graves and pearly gates/ Hell on earth is heavenless, yet I win/ God or Satan, I'm a travel agent/ These rhymes took me to some places that I never been."
The best track on Royal Blu is the penultimate song, "Before I Go." The track offers sparse production with plucky piano tones and stabbing vocal samples, as Blu raps about accomplishing his goals and passing the torch to his children before his eventual death. The track also highlights the highs and lows of his life, from dropping out of high school to mastering the rap game. Lyrics such as "I gotta put my children on before I'm gone" prove that the rapper has a deep desire to continue pushing his sound to the next level for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
While the album's very brief run time offers listeners little time to ruminate on the themes and topics provided in the body of work, Royal Blu serves as a showcase of some of Blu and Roy Royal's finest work. While comparing the duo to the likes of MF DOOM and Madlib would certainly be overselling it, future collaborations between the rapper and producer could certainly yield a bonafide classic. This project is probably the best rapper and producer duo project since Joell Ortiz and L'Orange locked in for Signature last Summer. Blu has made it a habit to collaborate with several producers in the last year or so, but fans would certainly welcome a second joint venture with Roy Royal in the future.