Blu & Exile have taken fans back to 2007 with their new album, In The Beginning: Before The Heavens. The project acts as a companion piece to their critically acclaimed debut, Below The Heavens.
All 14 tracks come from the original recording sessions for Below The Heavens. Production is handled by Exile, while Aloe Blacc, Trek Life, Co$$, Blame One, Lyric Jones, Donell Smokes and Dr. Oop make guest appearances on the LP.
Check out the stream, cover art and tracklist for Blu & Exile’s In The Beginning: Before The Heavens below.
(The original version of this article was published on September 13, 2017 and can found below.)
One of the best underground Hip Hop albums of the last 20 years is getting a prequel.
Blu & Exile have announced a new project titled In The Beginning: Before The Heavens, which is being billed as a prequel. The LP serves as a companion piece to their critically acclaimed debut, 2007’s Below The Heavens.
The album is comprised of previously heard and unreleased songs recorded during the Below The Heavens sessions. The duo dropped the first single, “Constellations,” to give fans a preview of what to expect.
https://soundcloud.com/fatbeats/blu-exile-constellations/
“We planted the seeds of creativity and grew about 40 plants,” Exile said in a press release. “We picked the ones that we thought were the best for an album, but that didn’t mean that the other flowers weren’t beautiful. I’m super happy to re-release [In The Beginning] to people and have it actually get some attention that it definitely deserves. It’s amazing.”
In The Beginning: Before The Heavens is due out on October 20. Pre-orders are available now via Bandcamp and Fat Beats.
View the cover and tracklist for Blu & Exile’s upcoming release below. Also, check out the dates for their 10th-anniversary tour here.
1. Soul Provider
2. Another Day
3. Constellations f. Lyric Jones
4. All These Ladies f. Dr. Oop
5. Party Of Two
6. Back To Basics
7. On The Radio
8. You’re Gonna Die Someday
9. Life Is A Gamble f. Donell Smokes, Trek Life and Co$$
10. Things We Say f. Aloe Blacc
11. Hot For Yall f. Donell Smokes
12. Hard Workers f. Blame One
13. Sold The Soul
14. Stress Off The Chest
Love it
I know I will be in the minority on this, but everything besides the Below the Heavens album by Blu has been terrible. I tried listening to Her Favorite Colo(u)r, York, Give me My Flowers While I can Still Smell Them, the two EPs he did with Nottz, Bad Neighbor, and Good 2 Be Home, and I haven’t liked any of them. He has a few dope songs here and there, but overall Blu sucks.
You’re not the minority. Exile has another classic LP in Boy Meets World with Fashawn, but Blu was never able to create anything worthwhile again.
Let’s not forget some of his terrible live performances
Cheetah In The City is a great album
I feel the same way bro… Below The Heavens was so dope to me that i had Blu in my Top 5 immediately but i could never get into anything else of his after that
Yeah we all agree but this single is dope. I have high expectations
If u cant let give me my flowers ride then idk what to do with your ears!!!
Yall weren’t into No York? That shit was wild and weird and it really grew on me. I tend to get tired of “nostalgia” rap. Seen it done it SO many times. Hearing Blu rap over distorted weirdo beats is dope.
Her Favorite Colour and Johnson & Jonson was severely slept on too.
Dope, about to see them then I Seattle 2night for the 10 year anniversary
Johnson & Johnson!
Sorry: Johnson&Johnson was dope!
Good To Be Home Was Dope And So Was Her Favorite Colo(u)r
Put “her favorite colo(u)r” on a rainy day when you are in chill mode, you might come to a new appreciation of it.
Give me My Flowers While I can Still Smell Them is way underrated. The whole vibe on that album is phenomenal
shout’s out to Lyric Jones on this hook thoooo!
aint nobody checking for this album. everyone knows real hip hop dropping tomorrow is that future & young thug
I initially figured I probably wouldn’t check for it since I hate everything Blu has done since BTH (even when he has Madlib production, that is saying something), but if it is made up of stuff from that era and they don’t intentionally fuck up the mixing and mastering for whatever reason Blu albums always do, then maybe I will give it a listen.
RE: latest fire
October 19, 2017 | 8:21 PM
aint nobody checking for this album. everyone knows real hip hop dropping tomorrow is that future & young thug
EXCUSE ME??? YOU NEED TO GET FUCKING YOUR PEANUT ASS HEAD CHECKED KID!
1st Never shit on the next man’s ART!
2nd HOW DARE you EVEN call FUTURE…YOung Thug….Hip-Hop!
More like POP-TARTS!