Blu (rapper)
| Blu | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Johnson Barnes |
| Born |
April 15, 1983 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Origin | San Pedro, Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Hip hop, Alternative hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, record producer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Nature Sounds, Sire, Sound in Color Records, Warner Bros. Records |
| Associated acts | Exile, Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Sene, Pac Div, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, Fashawn, Lost Dialect, Asher Roth, All City Chess Club, Knxwledge, Madlib, Andy Allo, MF DOOM |
Johnson Barnes (born April 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Blu, is an American West Coast rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. Following the success of his 2007 debut album, Below the Heavens, Blu was named HipHopDX's "Rookie of the Year". Since then, Blu has released six full-length albums. In September 2011, he released the album Open, his 4th solo project. His fifth solo studio album Good to Be Home was released on May 20, 2014 by Nature Sounds.
Johnson Barnes was born on April 15, 1983 in San Pedro, California. Raised by his mother and stepfather who was a pastor, Barnes was highly influenced by gospel and Christian rap when he was growing up. However, Barnes' was also influenced by gangsta rap that he received from his father, contributing to his delivery of conscious yet raw lyrics. In his early days in the music business, Johnson worked as a hype man for underground rap and soul artists such as Slum Village, Steve Spacek, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Emanon. However, taking influence from Common, Barnes began turning from freestyle rhyming to crafting songs. In an interview with HipHopDx, Barnes talks about what it was like to listen to Common's 1994 song "I Used to Love H.E.R.": "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." Blu is also close friends with singer Miguel, who also lived in San Pedro.
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