Blu – “Her Favorite Colo(u)r”: 15 Years of a Classic
Today marks a decade and a half since the official release of one of the most distinct projects in modern West Coast hip hop history. While Blu (Johnson Barnes III) was already a “hot commodity” following his legendary debut Below the Heavens, Her Favorite Colo(u)r was the moment the audience realized this L.A. MC wasn’t here to play by the industry’s rules.
Officially released on April 19, 2011, via Nature Sounds, the album’s history actually runs a bit deeper. For those who were “crate digging” through blogs like 2DopeBoyz or NahRight back then, the project is known since 2009, when it first surfaced as a lo-fi MP3 leak on MySpace. It was a transitional era when physical releases were losing ground to digital, and Blu was one of the pioneers who turned that chaos into high art.
What sets this album apart is the fact that Blu took full creative control. Instead of the polished, soul-drenched beats of DJ Exile, we were given dusty, hazy, and incredibly atmospheric production under his producer alias, GODlee Barnes. The sound was raw, filled with hiss and the “crackle” of old records—a risky move at the time, but one that effectively laid the groundwork for what we now recognize as the lo-fi jazz-rap aesthetic.
The album functions as a sonic collage. Blu weaves in dialogue samples from cult films like Punch-Drunk Love, Closer, and Buffalo ’66 to tell a story of heartbreak and his own complicated relationship with the hip hop business. Tracks like “Love” and “Amnesia” draw the listener into a deep melancholy, while the only track he didn’t produce himself, “Untitled(LovedU)2” (produced by Exile), utilizes a brilliant Radiohead sample to close the narrative loop.
Now, 15 years later, Her Favorite Colo(u)r stands as proof that raw honesty and experimentation have a longer shelf life than radio singles. With this project, Blu proved he was more than just a rapper—he was an auteur using sound to paint emotion. Whether you’re spinning it on the original CD or the 2022 Aqua vinyl reissue, this album still hits with the same intensity, reminding us of an era when the blogosphere was the beating heart of the culture.
