I Think I’m The Biggest Hypocrite Since 2Pac: An Interview With Blu

Let’s talk about the people around you during the time you wrote that. Miguel, Exile, Co$$, Aloe Blacc, Mainframe and more. How did that network of talented artists help you then?

I don’t know bro. It’s like everybody had their own path at the time that came together when we were creating the record. It was more so Sound In Color that was bringing us together. Miguel was doing records for the label. Exile was signed to the label. I just got signed. Mainframe created the label, then went on to do his other label. We all had our hands in at some point. I got Ta’Raach signed to the label. We were trying to make Sound In Color like Rawkus but Sound In Color started like Ubiquity. It was just me having a big hit at the time.

Speaking of Ta’Raach, I read an interview with Elzhi an El’ said Ta’Raach reached out to you to join the Breakfast Club (with Elzhi, Dwele, Big Tone & 87). Whatever happened to that?

At first I was like “Bro, Elzhi is going to come straight for my head if I take his spot.” Of course, within another shot of E&J I was like “Fuck it, I’m down.” We were going to start that, we cut almost three songs. Then I ran into El’ and I was like “What’s up El’? I’m Breakfast Club my n***a. Where you at?” Then he was like “What!?” Then I told him everybody’s in California doing Breakfast Club and he should get down. He was like “you know what? I’m kinda down, I just need to talk to Ta’Raach.”

Those two were like the hardest people to get in contact with. Ta’Raach took my title. I didn’t have a phone for like three or four years. When Below The Heavens dropped, I had no phone, no email, and no computer. N***as were like “where is he?”

So you’re doing a full album with your high school friend, Bombay. Can you tell us a little about it?

Bombay. First, I met this dude after high school but the story of him is pretty cool. I met this dude and he was like “Yo, I got these beats”… No, I found this beat CD and I thought those were the illest beats I’ve ever heard. I was in high school and I thought the shit was crazy. I played it for my homie and he was like “These are DJ Quik’s beats bro.” I was like “Are you fucking serious?” “He was like “Nobody has this much funk and soul in their shit, it’s DJ Quik”.

Then I played it for some homies and they were like “Yo, we know whose beats…” No, we did some songs to it and the homie played it for some dudes and they were like it’s their beats. So we go to meet these dudes and I said “Yo, what’s up? Are these your beats?” and they were like “yeah these are my beats, dog,” n***as were sitting there drinking some fucking tea or some shit. I was like okay, so we start cutting a deal. I asked if it was cool if I could give him $50-$100 a beat and he was like “yeah it’s cool.” I worked it out and paid for like five beats for $75 a piece. Next thing you know, the homies called me up saying “Yo! That’s not even the n***a’s beats. This n***a just ran off with your money.” So that n***a went ghost.

Probably a year later, we meet a dude who claims the beats again. We sit down with this dude and he’s like “dude I know all of these beats.” We play it and he’s like “yeah, that’s my beat. That’s my beat too.” I was like “damn! We was paying some n***a, my bad.” I asked if he had the sessions, what’s good with this shit? He said he’d get them to me. So we leave and wait on this dude to call us and all of a sudden we get this call and this dude is like “Hello?” Deep voice and everything. I’m like “What’s up, this is Blu.” He’s like “I’m Bombay.” Okay, who is Bombay? Then he says he’s the one who did the beats. We kind of pieced it together. I told him I was talking to some n***a named ‘Marv’ and [Bombay] said that was his cousin.

I done went through three or four people looking for him for these beats. But at the time, I just hooked up with Exile and I was like “fuck bro, I know the illest n***a on the planet right now.” We brought him around and he got down with the camp. Bombay started working with Aloe [Blacc] and he popped off in the 909 [area code] and was doing beat battles all over L.A. with Dibia$e, J Bizzy and shit. But Bombay stayed in the cut. I ran into him last year and this n***a had thousands of bangers. I thought I just fell in heaven. I had to cut everybody in my life off for these gems. So he gave me about 500 [of those beats], I’m sitting on 500.

Now you got albums.

Definitely pull an album out that one.

Besides the Bombay-produced record, what else could fans expect in the near future?

I have some records with Alchemist coming out soon. The ‘chemist. The MVP of the year actually. That fool has the best records out this year so it’s an honor to get up with that dude.

Another high school friend of yours is Miguel. You’ve done killer cuts with him on Below The Heavens, Johnson&Jonson, Jay Love Japan. Can we expect more Miguel collaborations in the future?

Ahh, Miguel. We’re supposed to work as soon as he gets back in town but I think when he gets back, I’ll be in Europe and I’ll gone for another month in Asia. Hopefully, if we hook up in December, if schedules permit, we’ll get up. My boy just won two Grammys years back to back. He’s been touring crazy and he’s been finishing up his record. It’s just time bro’. If now, we’ll just drop some old shit we got.