Blu & Nottz: A full-fledged 'Afrika' album is officially on deck

West Coast lyricist Blu. Virginia producer Nottz. How about a full-fledged studio effort together? Say less. The hip-hop pair are coming through in a big way with a super fire-looking Afrika album in the works.

Blu and Nottz have a new ‘Afrika’ album coming soon

It’s more than just a fire tune like their new ‘Marcus Garvey’ anthem, hip-hop heads and Attackers alike can start geeking out for the duo’s new studio album coming to life. While a release date remains unknown right now, the pair are expected to drop the audio fire sooner than later.

An independent hip-hop fixture for more than 15 years, famed Los Angeles emcee Blu has mastered the lost art of the album, imbuing each new project with unique themes and often recruiting a single producer to craft a cohesive sonic experience.  This has lead to full-length collaborations with the likes of Exile, Madlib, Shafiq Husayn, Oh No, Damu The Fudgemunk, and more, along with the 2018 classic Gods In The Spirit, Titans In The Flesh, produced by Virginia beatsmith Nottz.  With major credits dating back to the late 1990s, Nottz is a production icon who has worked with Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Pusha T, Scarface, Ghostface Killah, Slaughterhouse, Rapsody, Asher Roth, Little Brother, Talib Kweli, and many more. 

Now, Blu and Nottz are reuniting for the new album Afrika, a celebration of the rich history and culture of their ancestral homeland.  "These are lyrics that I needed to express to those who support my music, so they can hold with them what I hold most important to who I am, African," Blu explains.  "I hope this project inspires many others to speak on the father and home of humanity, Afrika."  With a release date fast approaching, Blu and Nottz are also unveiling the lead single "Marcus Garvey", an exultant Afrocentric anthem featuring Canadian rap legend Shad and acclaimed Detroit emcee Quelle Chris.  Afrika is set for worldwide release on December 8th, and is now available for pre-order on CD and limited-edition colored vinyl.

Real Bad Man: The new Blu-featured 'Aladdin' is all types of lyrical exercise

Love lyricism? How about fire production? Well, it’s only right the new ‘Aladdin’ artwork illustrates the audio power of Real Bad Man and Blu’s newest offering ahead of a highly-anticipated Bad News project slated to arrive in the coming weeks.

Real Bad Man comes through with Blu on ‘Aladdin’

Repeat value? You bet. The freshest tune from Real Bad Man goes extra hard and secures your ear’s attention from start to finish.

After teaming up with Boldy James to release Real Bad Boldy (2021) and Killing Nothing (2022) and linking up with rising star Pink Siifu for Real Bad Flights (2022), and earlier this year, Serpent, with Kool Keith, Real Bad Man returns with his next collaborative endeavor, Bad News, with west coast stalwart Blu. 

In addition to announcing their collaborative project, Blu & Real Bad Man also released the project’s first single “Aladdin,” which is now available. 

While Real Bad Man has proven to thrive in the continuity and structure of creating full projects with his emcee(s) of choice, Blu has also similarly flourished within those bounds over the course of his distinguished career.

“This project is entitled Bad News because I am back with a new release, which is always Bad News for the competition!” Blu confidently asserts. 

Blu & Real Bad Man’s Bad News will be released on 9-1-23.

Logic's Orville is pure hip-hop - oh yeah, Blu's mighty return too?

Maryland rapper Logic can’t say no to the game and when you hear ‘Orville’ you can’t help but exhale and smile at the same time. The hip-hop lyrical monster comes through with a much-needed anthem with some heavy hitters in the form of Like, Exile and Blu.

Logic’s ‘Orville’ is pure hip-hop we all love

Forget all the hype and breakdown of just how dope Logic is, just kick back and hear audio gems coming courtesy of some elite and often-times under the radar rap artists.

And while we’re waiting anxiously for June 17 to arrive, when Vinyl Days arrives, get familiar with just who Logic is from the break down of his contributions to the culture.

Multi-platinum, Grammy Nominated artist Logic (aka Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, aka Bobby Hall) – among the top streaming artists in the world with billions of streams to date – burst onto the music scene through a series of mixtapes that led to a significant, rabid underground fan base. Those tapes – Young, Broke, and Infamous (2010); Young Sinatra(2011); Young Sinatra: Undeniable (2012); and Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever (2013) –earned millions of downloads and streams.

They jumpstarted a worldwide tour that led to his record deal with Def Jam Recordings in 2014, and release of his debut album Under Pressure that year. Logic kept up the pace with his second album, The Incredible True Story (2015, with the RIAA gold “Fade Away”), followed by Everybody (2017), containing the landmark 5x-platinum “1-800-273-8255” (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid. Overlapping Logic’s albums were new mixtapes Bobby Tarantino (2016, with the RIAA gold single “Flexicution”), and Bobby Tarantino II (2018, with the RIAA platinum “44 More” and “Every­day”). YSIV (September 2018), the fourth chapter of his Young Sinatra saga, contained "One Day" which Logic performed with Ryan Tedder and over 200 immigrant children, their siblings and parents at the MTV VMAs.

2019 kicked off with the publication in March of Supermarket (Simon & Schuster), the debut novel written by Bobby Hall, which entered the New York Times Paperback Fiction bestseller list at #1 – first-ever for a hip-hop artist. It was accompanied by the Supermarket “soundtrack” album, which debuted inside the Top 10 on the BillboardAlternative Album chart, an ‘Alt’ chart first for Logic. The prolific artist dropped his fifth studio album in May 2019, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind.

It was preceded by the title tune single and video, “Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind,” and RIAA platinum “Homicide” featuring Eminem. No Pressure was released July 2020, which Logic described as his farewell effort as his retirement was announced.. The 14-track YS Collection Vol. 1 (June 2021) was drawn from the three-part Young Sinatra indie mixtape series that ultimately led to Logic’s signing with Def Jam back in 2014. He surprised every­one with the release of Bobby Tarantino 3 in July 2021, a new album celebrating the fifth anniversary of the BT mixtape series’ launch in 2016. The long-awaited follow-up to Supermarket, This Bright Future was published September 2021, the autobiography of Bobby Hall. It was described as “an explosive memoir by one of the most inspiring voices of our generation, who emerged from the wreckage of a horrifically abusive childhood to become an era-defining artist of our tumultuous age.”