In 2007, HipHopDX.com deemed Los Angeles' Blu the "Rookie of the Year" [click to here to read...]. Through a perceived debut, the Sound In Color Records artist used non-fiction raps, tangible themes and a wealth of a personality to match partner Exile's menagerie of samples. With a C.R.A.C. project in tow, and a standout performance at this past weekend's A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, we saw it fitting to revisit one of the hardest working artists in Hip Hop.

Below the Heavens took a hold of my emotions (the experience) and ear (the lyrics) in a fashion that’s hasn’t been done since…since…well, ever. It would be cliché to say it’s the next coming of Illmatic. In reality, it’s nothing more then the unfiltered tale of John “Blu” Barnes, an emcee who will be deeply intertwined with the future of Hip Hop. If you haven’t already, take a moment to get to know Blu.

“Son of a blood with blue gators on”

DX: You briefly talk about your mother and father on Below the Heavens. What kind of people were they?
Blu: Right before they had me, they were happy and young. My mom was 16 when she had me and my dad was like 21. Then I came around and they had to deal with life. They separated and my dad went on his way. My mom went on her's and married a reverend [pauses]. Neither of them were really that into music. My dad liked gangster rap. My mom liked Gospel music.

“Exposing what you holding, like your soul don’t matter”

DX: There’s a real spiritual, church-like undertone to Below the Heavens. Is that a product of listening to Gospel while growing up or being raised with a reverend in the house or both?
Blu: Definitely, all of those combined and just being in the church. The vibe church gives me is just crazy. I have like an infatuation with the church. I’m not really religious. And it’s not like I go there and get saved or anything like that but it’s just what it does for people is pretty dope to me. I like to see people come in one way and leave another way. There are so many different aspects you can cover on church. But that definitely influenced me amongst other things. One of the things that influenced the journey on Below the Heavens was…God. I talk about everything that’s important to me in my life and God gets the most reference.

“But I got 11 siblings so it’s like I got kids…”

DX: You grew up with 12 siblings. What was that like coming up?
Blu: I ain’t grow up with all 12 of them. My mom has nine kids in total, including me. My dad has three. For a while, on my mom’s side, I was raising all the babies. That…changed my life. That was real vital to me growing up because I was pretty young at the time. This was elementary, junior high and a little bit of high school when I was raising them. I would be changing diapers while my parents were working late. So it gave me this love for children. I really love kids and just watching life progress and shit.

“I was trying to be a pro baller…”

DX: On the Below the Heavens, you talk about hooping when you were in high school. What made you make transition from hoop dreams to a full time rapper?
Blu: Each year some shit kept getting fucked up. In 9th grade I was straight so I played on junior varsity. Then I moved to San Pedro in 10th grade so I couldn’t make the team because I was new to the school. Next year I made varsity and then it was my grades. Next year, I made varsity. I was the star and all that shit. Then I broke my ankle dunking at practice. [Laughs] So I was pretty much like, "Fuck basketball." I was a much better rapper anyway. And I was more respected as a rapper by then. So after that I left it alone totally. I even stopped watching basketball on TV. Penny Hardaway was my shit…when he started falling off I started spitting. [Laughs]

DX: Who were some of the emcees that influenced you to get into rap?
Blu: As I was coming up, the rapper that made me want to rap was DMX. I got DMX’s first album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot and I was like, "Oh shit I gotta be a rapper." I thought Mase was dope too. That’s what actually got me into DMX. From there, I went from DMX to Redman to Canibus. “4, 3, 2, 1” was my shit. Then I got into Common. I actually heard “I Used to Love H.E.R.” after missing the first album. When I heard it, it really changed my life. I felt like I had heard Hip Hop for the first time. It made me change my content and my whole approach. It made me serious about writing and wanting to say something.

DX: Who inspires you now?
Blu: A lot of my influences now come from older music. I got into stuff while growing up like Curtis Mayfield, Al Green and Marvin Gaye. I listened to a lot of Jazz that my grandparents were listening to like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Dorothy Ashby. My musical approach even more so right now is influenced by the scene in L.A. like Sa-Ra, Flying Lotus, J. Davey, Ta’Raach, Madlib. The L.A. scene is kind of smashing cats. It’s not street or Hip Hop but it’s all rooted from both. It’s kind of like people say Hip Hop is dead but it’s not. It’s true but only in the sense of that original feeling or sound not being replicated well. But if you open up your ears you can see where Hip Hop is going. It’s just branched off. A lot of new artists are merging many different genres of music. Everybody in L.A. pretty much does like 3 genres of music when they put out a record. It’s not just Hip Hop. It’s not just R&B or Jazz or Funk. It’s all that meshed together. Continued on page 2 »