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Below The Heavens
''Below the Heavens'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Blu & Exile. It was released by Sound in Color on July 17, 2007. It serves as Blu's debut album, while Exile had previously released his solo album ''Dirty Science'' and two albums as a member of the duo Emanon. ''PopMatters'' placed it at number 56 on its list of the "Best Albums of 2007". In 2015, it was listed by ''HipHopDX'' as one of the "30 Best Underground Hip Hop Albums Since 2000". Music Blu provides rap vocals on all of the album's songs, while Exile produces all of the songs and raps just on the bonus track "I Am..". In addition, the album features guest performers Ta'Raach, Aloe Blacc, and Miguel. Release ''Below the Heavens'' has been reissued twice since going out of print in 2009. In 2011, the album was reissued on Vinyl Call Records. On January 21, 2014, the album was reissued on Fat Beats Records on compact disc with three bonus tracks, limited edition cassette with one bonus track, and vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blu & Exile
Blu & Exile are an American hip hop duo, formed in 2007, composed of rapper Blu and hip hop producer Exile. History Blu and Exile first met in the mid-2000s while Blu was serving as a hype man for various hip hop groups including Slum Village, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Exile's own group, Emanon. He was personally introduced to Exile through Emanon's other member, Aloe Blacc. In 2007, Blu & Exile released their debut album, ''Below the Heavens'', which was described by '' XXL'' as "one of 2007's most celebrated hip-hop releases". In 2012, the duo released their second album, ''Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them''. In 2017, the duo released ''In the Beginning: Before the Heavens'', deleted tracks from ''Below the Heavens''. Their next release, the True & Livin' EP was released May 24, 2019. On July 17, 2020, Blu & Exile released their third album, '' Miles: From An Interlude Called Life'' (or ''Miles'' for short), coinciding with the 13th anniversary of ''Below the He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exile (producer)
Aleksander Thomas Manfredi, better known by his stage name Exile, is an American record producer, disc jockey and occasional rapper. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the musical groups Emanon alongside Aloe Blacc, as well as Blu & Exile. Career Exile's first record appearances were as a member of the hip hop duo Emanon with the rapper Aloe Blacc. They released various mixtapes beginning in 1995 with "Stretch Marx" before releasing their first album, ''Anon & On''. After 2002, Exile went on to release one more Emanon album, ''The Waiting Room'' (2005), a solo album, ''Dirty Science'' (2006), and another collaborative effort with the rapper Blu, ''Below the Heavens'' (2007). Exile released two more solo albums, ''Radio'' in 2009 and ''4TRK Mind'' in 2011. 2013 saw the release of his instrumental album, ''Zip Disks & Floppies''. Exile released his second collaborative album with Blu, ''Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them'' in 2012. Exile and Blu released t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them
''Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Blu & Exile. Leaked online in 2011, it was released by Dirty Science and Fat Beats on September 4, 2012. Music The album features guest contributions from Fashawn, Homeboy Sandman, Johaz of Dag Savage, Black Spade of Hawthorne Headhunters, and ADAD. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76% based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". David Amidon of ''PopMatters'' gave the album 8 stars out of 10, saying, "Blu may have spent most of his post-''Below the Heavens'' career burning one bridge after another, but ''Give Me My Flowers'' is not only a better album, it's an atonement for all the swerves he's thrown audiences' way since breaking out." Meanwhile, Phillip Mlynar of ''HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllHipHop
AllHipHop is a hip hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998. History The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artists on Oblique Recordings, a small record label he operated. The website provided music downloads to promote the label's artists. After reaching 30,000 downloads a month, Watkins struck deals with eMusic and other retailers to sell downloads. Creekmur, a freelance journalist, had launched a website, tantrum-online.com, in New York City. After merging the companies, they adapted Trantrum's exclamation point logo for AllHipHop. By 2004, the business generated enough revenue for Watkins and Creekmur to work on the website full-time. In 2007, the revenue exceeded US$4 million.Pattison, Kermit (February 2008).Allhiphop.com's Founders Thought a Weeklong Event Would Raise the Company's Profile and Boost Growth". ''Inc.'' magazine. Accessed June 15, 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. In September 2020, the website was acquired by Warner Music Group. ''HipHopDX'' was nominated for "Best Hip Hop Online Site" at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On September 3, 2013, ''The Source'' named ''HipHopDX'', number three on their 2013 Digital Power 30 list, which ranks websites that are the most popular in the hip hop industry. Year-end awards SourceThe following sources are to reference each of each year's awards: MC/Rapper of the Year *2006: Lupe Fiasco *2007: André 3000 of OutKast *2008: Nas *2009: Raekwon *2010: Eminem *2011: Tech N9ne *2012: Kendrick Lamar *2013: Kendrick Lamar *2014: Big K.R.I.T. *2015: Kendrick Lamar *2016: Chance the Rapper *2017: Kendrick Lamar *2018: J. Cole Album of the Year *2006: ''Lupe Fiasco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitchfork (website)
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working at a record store in suburban Minneapolis, and the website earned a reputation for its extensive coverage of indie rock music. It has since expanded and covers all kinds of music, including pop. Pitchfork was sold to Condé Nast in 2015, although Schreiber remained its editor-in-chief until he left the website in 2019. Initially based in Minneapolis, Pitchfork later moved to Chicago, and then Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Its offices are currently located in One World Trade Center alongside other Condé Nast publications. The site is best known for its daily output of music reviews but also regularly reviews reissues and box sets. Since 2016, it has published retrospective reviews of classics, and other albums that it had not previously review ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blu (rapper)
Johnson Barnes III (born April 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Blu, is an American rapper and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his group Blu & Exile and their debut album ''Below the Heavens'' (2007). He is a forefront member of the California-based collective, Dirty Science. Blu is also co-CEO of New World Color, a label through which he has released many of his projects. He is recognized for his collaboration albums between him and various producers such as Exile, Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Bombay, Damu the Fudgemunk, Madlib, Nottz, and Union Analogtronics. Musical career By age 19, Blu was selling out local shows at the Knitting Factory, House Of Blues, and headlining once a month at the Rumba Room on Universal City Walk. Back then, he recorded with various rap groups such as the Ill Flava Crew, Infinite Legacy crew, The Untouchable Mob, Glory For The People, The LA Metro Crew and the Bridgetown Steel Crew. He was also a contestant on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emanon
Emanon is an American musical duo formed in 1995, in Los Angeles, California, composed of rapper and singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc and record producer Exile. Allmusic history/ref> History Emanon released the extended play (EP) ''Anon and On'', on Ill Boogie Records in 2002 and ''The Waiting Room'' on Shaman Works Recordings in 2005. Exile's first album ''Dirty Science'', released in 2006, includes contributions from Slum Village, Kardinal Offishall and Oh No. On February 3, 2015, Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles " I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in t ... answered a question on his official facebook page from a user asking about the status of Emanon's upcoming album, ''Bird's Eye View'', saying it was "finished" and he was "meeting with Exile to decide how" they should release the long-a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater, visual arts, travel, and the Internet. History ''PopMatters'' was founded by Sarah Zupko, who had previously established the cultural studies academic resource site PopCultures. ''PopMatters'' launched in late 1999 as a sister site providing original essays, reviews and criticism of various media products. Over time, the site went from a weekly publication schedule to a five-day-a-week magazine format, expanding into regular reviews, features, and columns. In the fall of 2005, monthly readership exceeded one million. From 2006 onward, ''PopMatters'' produced several syndicated newspaper columns for McClatchy-Tribune News Service. By 2009 there were four different pop culture related col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aloe Blacc
Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and for writing and performing vocals on Avicii's " Wake Me Up", which topped the charts in 22 countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom. Aside from his solo career, Blacc is also a member of hip hop duo Emanon, alongside American record producer Exile. Early life Blacc was born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III to Panamanian parents in Southern California's Orange County. Growing up in Laguna Hills, he began playing a rented trumpet in third grade. When it made more sense to buy the instrument, Blacc had what he later described as a "very specific moment" in his evolution as a musician. "It forced me to be serious about it. I couldn't just do it to get out of the class room," he said in a 2010 interview. His ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miguel (singer)
Miguel Jontel Pimentel (born October 23, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Raised in San Pedro, California, he began pursuing a music career at age thirteen. After signing to Jive Records in 2007, Miguel released his debut studio album, '' All I Want Is You'', in November 2010. Although it was underpromoted upon its release, the album became a sleeper hit and helped Miguel garner commercial standing. After Jive's dissolution in 2011, he moved to RCA Records and released his second studio album, ''Kaleidoscope Dream'', in 2012 to critical acclaim. In June 2015, Miguel released his third album, ''Wildheart'', which also received critical acclaim. His fourth studio album ''War & Leisure'' was released in 2017 to further acclaim. Miguel incorporates R&B, funk, hip hop, pop, rock and electronic styles into his music, and has been compared to vocalists Babyface and Prince. Early life Miguel Jontel Pimentel was born on October 23, 1985, and raised in San Pedr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
