Blu- Good To Be Home ALBUM REVIEW

Today, I am bringing you a review of Blu's new album, Good To Be Home. I am an avid fan of Blu, and I feel he is one of the most talented underground rappers currently in the West Coast. His 2007 album Below the Heavens is a modern day classic, and while he hasn't done much since then, I have never doubted this guy's rapping ability. How will this new double album turn out?

Starting with the production, all of it is handled by Bombay, and it is pretty good throughout the album's 20 tracks. A lot of the beats on this album can be classified as old school West Coast instrumentals. Soul samples, synthesizers, and female vocal cuts make up the production here. These beats mesh pretty well with Blu's rapping, and I think Bombay and Blu have good chemistry in the booth. My favorite instrumentals on this album are the ones that take a single vocal sample, and repeat it throughout the track. This style works best on the tracks Home, The LA, Well Fare, He Man, and Can't Stop Won't Stop. While I love those the most, some other beats on the album really impressed me too. The Return has an awesome beat, with some terrific high-pitched synths flowing all over the song. The instrumental for the track Summer Time was very relaxing, peaceful, and happy. it was just a beat that gave off a very positive vibe. I can't really complain about any of the beats themselves, but there is one thing I don't like on Good To Be Home. Sometimes, the low-fi sound of the album gets a bit annoying. There are times when I just wish the quality was a bit better. This is a small complaint, though, and I loved this album from a production standpoint. It is a nice, nostalgic, West Coast sounding album.

Now, its time to talk about Blu. I expected a lot from Blu coming into this album, and I got a lot. I really don't think anyone is arguing this guy's rapping ability, as he is just a pure spitter. Great flow, effortless delivery, and solid lyricism are all things that Blu has to offer as an MC. Blu does not have one bad verse on this entire album. He pretty much sounds comfortable on every beat, and he changes up his flow constantly. There are a good handful of great solo songs on this album. First and foremost, The Return. This was a fantastic track. Blu rips the beat with some great introspective verses, the hook is catchy, and when the soulful bridge is sung, the track becomes insane. This was one of my favorite songs of the year and easily the best on the album. He Man is a good love song that definitely has a distinct vibe to it. I also enjoyed West, The 50z, Dre Day, and Child Support. To be honest, I wish I had a few more solo songs like this from Blu. This album has too many features on it. I felt some of these songs would've been better off with just Blu  instead of random West Coast underground rappers. Songs like Summer Time, Red and Gold, The LA, and Brown Sugar probably would have sounded better to me if it was just Blu. There are some feature tracks, though, that I absolutely loved. Well Fare, which had Thurz and Casey Veggies on it, was solid, and I have never heard Casey Veggies rap that well on a song. The song Bobby Brown was fantastic, as I have listened to it a good amount of times and I still can't decide who has the best verse. It just sounds like a classic cypher style song where everyone killed it. The song Can't Stop Won't Stop was a monster, with eight verses in total. The song is worth listening to as a whole, and there wasn't one bad verse on it. The standouts to me were Evidence, Tristate, and Chace Infinite. Overall, Blu was extremely consistent and came through with some great solo tracks, but I wish the features were cut down a little bit, because there were just too many, and I got a little bored, especially on such a long album.

GOOD TO BE HOME WRAP UP
+Blu is a ridiculously talented MC, didn't have one bad verse on the whole album
+Some very good solo tracks
+Nice old school production from Bombay
+A few very good feature verses from West Coast MCs
-Low-fi sound ruins some songs
-Very long album with not much variety
-I wish some tracks had just Blu instead of features

Best: The Return, Bobby Brown, Can't Stop Won't Stop

Worst: Whip Creme

Blu- Good to be Home
7.8/10