Jesus (LP)

As hip-hop's online footprint began rapidly expanding in the early 2010s, acclaimed Los Angeles emcee Blu was a rising star who commanded attention. Just a few years removed from the breakthrough success of Below The Heavens and an appearance on the XXL Freshmen list, the talented wordsmith was navigating the major label system, dropping self-produced mixtapes, and working with artists like The Roots, Miguel, Flying Lotus, 9th Wonder, and more. In 2011, the mysterious album Jesus turned up on Bandcamp, uploaded by an artist calling himself "b". Soon discovered to be the latest project from Blu, the unpolished but deeply soulful collection quickly made waves on blogs and social media. Just weeks later, Jesus improbably became one of Blu's first official solo releases, and it remains a lo-fi masterpiece, with mesmerizing production by Alchemist, Madlib, Knxwledge, Hezekiah, and Blu himself. Now, this classic is receiving a long-overdue vinyl reissue, complete with the Jesus-era bonus track "Arrow & The Sparrow" featuring Jimetta Rose. Tracklist: 1. New Shit 2. What If I Was 3. On The Porch 4. Lucky 5. DMZ 6. Burgundy 7. 4 U 8. Doo Whop (feat. Planet Asia and Killer Ben) 9. Birdz N Beez 10. Jesus 11. Do The Knxwledge 12. Arrow & The Sparrow (feat. Jimetta Rose)