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Blu and Evidence, "Los Angeles" Album Review

Writer's picture: Jordon BriggsJordon Briggs

Updated: Jan 23

At one point, when Blu and Evidence breakdown their song, “The Land”, from their new album Los Angeles, in an interview with Genius, Blu says, “I was born and raised in LA. I lived here for 40 years. If you wake up everyday in LA you’re gonna have stories.” 



Wild Wild West Video
Screenshot of video for 'Wild Wild West' dir. by Evidence

Los Angeles, is Blu’s eighth album where his songs are specifically or conceptually about life in LA and its variety of cultures, lifestyles, and happenings, including those Blu represents or experienced. His LA centered albums consist of Below the Heaves, No York, Good To Be Home, Cheetah in the City, The Blueprint, Red Hot Summer in Los Angeles, including two releases this year with Out of the Blue and Royal Blue.  


Produced entirely by fellow emcee and LA native, Evidence, from first play, the album is engaging. "On Live from 54th", Blu comes out busting over a light boom bap and a synthesizer melody recalling the “Worm” melody of the Ohio Players, made a staple of LA gangster sound by Dr. Dre. Ev grounds the listener in LA music history and then in LA atmosphere with chimes accenting the drums creating a blend of beauty with the possibility of aggression. Blu's raps sets up the topics heard for the remainder of the album: “Shout out to the hardest in the section/Slauson and Western/Been on the corner on Figueroa/where soldiers from Killafornia kill for ya”. Further on the track he mentions how the lack of empathy in LA citizens, the certainty of car jackings, the infamous gang territories, gun violence, police brutality, and Blu’s pride in his city. These are topics on the LA experience that he’s rapped about numerous times. On the song, he moves from one experience to the next while not offering up new understanding which prompts the question, does Blu’s stories about LA have anything to offer?



Rapper Blu where he grew up
Photography by Evidence

Los Angeles is interesting. Blu’s ability to pen songs about anything, as well as his touchstone themes: existence, identity, morality, romance, and now, Los Angeles, with nuance, various points of view, and compelling storytelling, is what makes his music after nearly two decades, sound engaging. It’s that skill in being able to hold someone's interest, that Evidence says allowed him follow Blu’s idea to make a whole album about Los Angeles. While Evidence is at his best musically, listening to Blu’s lyrics is like witnessing Blu’s genius and his limits at the same time. The limitations start with the subject matter: Los Angeles.


Returning to “The Land”, where part of the chorus he proclaims, “L.A. is the land/pistol in my hand, I could kill a man,” the album hints at repetitiveness. What saves this song, is Blu’s skill in making recycled themes and topics feel new by adopting a menacing energy. With Blu’s weaving of an intense delivery over Evidence’s hard knocking drums,  haunting organ riff, and short blaring hits paying homage to DJ Muggs' production for Cypress Hill, the two easily make a banger that sounds like nothing else out. But it’s lines like, “Where the police put the OG’s in the can” or “Living here isn’t bad, but shit could get bad fast”, or “Fuck the damn flag, we fly rags, killing each other over colors”, that sucks a bit of life out of the song because Blu has rapped these things before and in almost the same way.



South Central Los Angeles
Photography by Evidence

There are glimpses of nuance on this track and on others that make the album interesting. When Blu further raps, “I seen a civil war in front of my dad’s pad/MJ, LL, 87, it was that bad /crack had hit the city like Bombs over Baghdad,” this bit of autobiography are what makes these globally known happenings feel as if this particular world in LA is being opened up more. But this is at least the 3rd time I have heard Blu mention the story that he had both albums by Michael Jackson and LL Cool J in a rhyme. On the song, “Above Crenshaw” from No York, Blu shows the weirdness and excitement in this coincidence by saying in an ironic tone, “BAD on cassette tape/BAD on cassette tape”. The line leads the listener from the mundane into nuanced childhood, unlike the line on “The Land”.


This leads to the second limitation: point of view. Blu is less interested in autobiographical songs or letting LA music cultures like the Low End Theory Movement or G-Funk (Out of the Blue) influence his lyrics about LA and focuses on painting lasting portraits of life in the city. This position works and doesn’t on the album. 


On a song like “Los Angeles”, another irresistible banger, which features rapper Nana, Blu hones in on the theme of perception versus reality. This theme constantly comes up on the album but here, Blu widens the world. With a line like, “Los Angeles got game, but they not playing/You think you fly/till you meet a guy that buys planes”, he simultaneously depicts the reality of levels of wealth which challenges myths of lives lived by people in Los Angeles. It’s also the swag in how Blu says this and other lines, like, “Got laid by a hot babe/so hot that I got shade/make sure that you got shades/people get blinded by fame,” that show Blu’s capability making interesting music. Nana brings a flawless verse, bouncing around on the track in double time, bringing in his personal experience to expand Blu’s reporting. The capability of expansion is there. What further helps Blu’s ability to make intriguing songs while still bringing up recycled imagery is Evidence’s production.



Los Angeles
Photography by Evidence

On “Three Wheel Motion”, with its very slowed down drum pattern, strange but soulful vocal sample that sounds like Ronald Isley traveling through the Twilight Zone, and 1950’s horror movie strings hits, Ev creates a dark, syrupy, groovy experience where Blu hones in the topic of unequal distribution of wealth in LA and how this turns people into instruments for capitalism.The balance of social commentary and flyness is easily created by Evidence’s unique production choices, Blu’s willingness to follow Ev into complexity and add depth, and guest Kokane’s George Clinton-esc vocal performance.



Bird's Eye View of Los Angeles
Photography by Evidence

The production on “LA Tourists”, is one of the albums best pieces of music. Evidence continues to create a mixture of aggression and beauty with a slow bopping groove, driven by ever-present creepy strings. The beat feels like G’d up noir. It’s here where you see the genius of Blu making tired themes interesting, again, when he raps, “I took his gat and I slapped him with it/gave it back to him after I put a cap through him/One shot, back on the block/Pat Ewing shit.” When the beat switches and goes into a dread-filled synth mixed with busy G funk bass lines and jazz-esc guitar plucks, it creates an aura of menace and chill effortlessly, that is distinctive of the grooves in 90’s gangster rap. The minimalism provides the perfect amount of space for Blu’s regular collaborator, MED, to flex his smooth stream of consciousness style, while providing a story of being set up and robbed by a tourist and a valet employee. Though the song is an enthralling experience, by the end, it feels as if you’re hearing about the same LA experiences and without reflection.



Freeway in Los Angeles
Photography by Evidence


On “the Cold”  and “Hell”, Blu gives memorable performances, while Evidence creates cinematic visuals with slow drum patterns and simple melancholic melodies, but both songs give the same exact opinion on the topics of betrayal, greed, and desensitization: they happen and if you’re not careful, you might get got by them.


The later tracks, not including, “Wishing You Were Here”, a heartfelt piece about deceased loved ones, feel like filler to round out the album. “Lights At Night” featuring Evidence’s regular collaborators, Domo Genesis and Navy Blue feels uninspired and more of a chance for Evidence to build community. This brings up the third limitation of this album: when collaboration is not challenging enough.


In an instagram post, Evidence shared that Blu allowed him, “to do what he wanted”, from the production, direction of the album, to the guests. He even directed the music video for the album’s single and provided a booklet of photography for the vinyl release. Los Angeles was also released on Evidence’s label Bigger Picture Recordings. Evidence has claimed that Blu is one of his favorite rappers. So when listening to Los Angeles, I wonder if that fandom may have gotten in the way of getting Blu to dive deeper into his way of understanding living in Los Angeles.


In the end it is Blu and most guests spitting with conviction and swagger over fantastic production, that makes these 13 songs feel visceral, but lacking in direction and by way of this, new understanding. Ultimately it’s a decent release, something to ride around to for the rest of the year. This too, is something representative of Blu.



Blu and Evidence Los Angeles album cover
Photography by Evidence via Instagram




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