Below The Heavens (In Hell Happy With Your New Imaginary Friend...)
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Album Summary
Blu & Exile — the soulful, spiritually grounded Los Angeles duo of lyricist Blu and beatsmith Exile — returned to the independent hip-hop landscape in 2020 with 'Below The Heavens (In Hell Happy With Your New Imaginary Friend...),' a release understood to be a deluxe or expanded reissue variant connected to their landmark 2007 debut 'Below The Heavens,' originally dropped on Sound In Color Records. Exile, one of the West Coast's most respected sample-based producers, layered the project with the warm, dusty soul and jazz textures that made the original a touchstone of underground hip-hop, while Blu brought his signature stream-of-consciousness poetry — introspective, raw, and rooted in the spiritual and material tensions of Black life in Los Angeles. Released during a period when independent hip-hop was quietly thriving beneath the mainstream radar, this project stands as a testament to the duo's refusal to compromise their craft, presenting a deep and cohesive body of work across its five sides that rewards patient, devoted listening.
Reception
- Documented chart performance data for this specific 2020 release is not available in confirmed records, though Blu & Exile's releases during this era were consistently embraced by underground and boom-bap communities who remained deeply loyal to the duo's output.
- Hip-hop critics who followed the independent scene closely praised the project for maintaining the authenticity and collaborative chemistry that defined Blu and Exile's partnership, treating it with the reverence typically reserved for essential catalog releases.
- The expanded format of the release, stretching across multiple sides including instrumental versions of select tracks, was received as a generous offering to dedicated fans who had long celebrated the duo's sonic world-building.
Significance
- Blu & Exile occupy a sacred space in the Los Angeles underground hip-hop tradition, and this 2020 release reinforced their standing as keepers of a lyrically dense, spiritually engaged boom-bap sound at a moment when the mainstream had long since moved toward trap and Auto-Tuned melodics — their very existence on wax was an act of cultural resistance.
- The project's thematic arc — moving through tracks like 'My World Is..,' 'No Greater Love,' and closing with 'I Am Blu...' — reflects a deeply intentional artistic vision, one concerned with identity, faith, community, and survival in ways that elevated the release beyond mere nostalgia and into something timeless.
- Exile's production across this album stands as a masterclass in sample-based craftsmanship rooted in vintage soul and jazz, cementing the duo's catalog as enduring artifacts of West Coast independent hip-hop at its most human and most honest.
Tracklist
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A1 My World Is.. —
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A2 The Narrow Path —
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A3 So(ul) Amazin' (Steel Blazin') —
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A4 Juicen' Dranks —
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B5 In Remembrance Of Me —
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B6 Blu Colla Workers —
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B7 Dancing In The Rain —
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B8 First Things First —
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C9 No Greater Love —
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C10 Show Me The Good Life —
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C11 Simply Amazin' —
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C12 Cold Hearted —
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D13 The World Is (Below The Heavens...) —
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D14 You Are Now In The Clouds With (The Koochie Monstas) —
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D15 I Am Blu... —
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E Dancing In The Rain (Instrumental) —
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F I Am Blu... (Instrumental) —
Artist Details
Blu & Exile are a smooth and soulful hip-hop duo born out of the sun-drenched streets of Los Angeles, California, coming together in the mid-2000s — emcee Blu and producer Exile crafting a sound so warm and organic it felt like it had been pulled straight from the golden era of boom-bap and wrapped in West Coast sunshine. Their 2007 debut album *Below the Heavens* landed like a quiet thunderclap in the underground hip-hop world, drawing deep from the well of classic soul samples and introspective lyricism that reminded folks there was still heart and humanity in this music. They stand as a testament to the enduring power of real hip-hop craftsmanship, holding down a legacy that continues to inspire a generation of artists who believe that music ought to make you *feel* something deep down in your bones.
