So Blu

Last updated
So Blu
So Blu.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 31, 2001 (2001-07-31)
Recorded2000–2001
Genre
Length54:57
Label Arista
Producer
Blu Cantrell chronology
So Blu
(2001)
Bittersweet
(2003)
Singles from So Blu
  1. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"
    Released: April 17, 2001
  2. "I'll Find a Way"
    Released: August 7, 2001
  3. "Till I'm Gone"
    Released: January 1, 2002

So Blu is the debut album by American recording artist Blu Cantrell. It was released by Arista Records on July 31, 2001 in the United States. The album was primarily produced by Chris "Tricky" Stewart, with additional production from Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jason Rome, Don Vito, and Olliewood & Scrilla. It debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart and spawned the number-two hit "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)".

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Entertainment Weekly B [2]
Robert Christgau Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [3]

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated called the album "a wonderfully fresh recasting of contemporary soul and R&B mores." He found that the material was "conventional, but it still sounds vibrant, thanks not just to Cantrell's impassioned vocals, but how the songs and productions are wrapped in contemporary mores but delivered as if they were classic. This is a record that maintains its momentum from beginning to end." [1] Entertainment Weekly 's Cheo Tyehimba wrote: "Bluesy but modern, Cantrell belts it out with the immediacy and energy of a hard-bop trumpet player. Although at times her flashy vocal stylings obscure the songs' emotional depth, this woman has a story to tell." [2]

People found that "most of the best songs on So Blu are torchy, gut-wrenching ballads [...] On these tracks the Providence-born chanteuse, whose mother was a jazz singer, really shines." The magazine found that Cantrell lacked "the vision of Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige or Erykah Badu, [but] the 25-year-old newcomer is clearly still searching for her musical identity on routine R&B numbers ]...] But at least the jazzy, introspective title tune seems to be so Cantrell." [4] Robert Christgau described the album as "higher-res than Res, more songful than Mary" and cited "Swingin'" and "The One" as highlights. [3]

Commercial performance

So Blu debuted and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200 in the week ending August 18, 2001, [5] with first week sales of 89,000 units. [6] On August 31, 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album gold for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. [7] By January 2003, So Blu had sold 603,000 copies. [8] The album was also certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in 2001, [9] having sold more than 50,000 copies in Canada. [10]

Track listing

So Blu track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Waste My Time" (featuring L.O.)
Tricky Stewart 3:45
2."Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" Dallas Austin Austin4:10
3."Till I'm Gone"
  • Cobb
  • Stewart
  • Tab
Stewart4:21
4."U Must B Crazy"
  • DiAndre Davis
  • Orenthal Harper
  • Tab
Stewart4:07
5."The One"
  • Stewart
  • Rome
3:31
6."I'll Find a Way"5:15
7."Swingin'"
  • Austin
  • Wright
  • Harris
  • Lewis
  • Austin
  • Jam
  • Lewis
3:58
8."10,000 Times"
Olliewood & Scrilla4:25
9."When I Needed You"
  • Cobb
  • Davis
Stewart3:49
10."All You Had to Say"
  • Cobb
  • Davis
  • Harper
  • Tab
Stewart4:22
11."I Can't Believe"
  • Stewart
  • Harper
  • Tab
Stewart3:37
12."So Blu"
  • Richard
  • Hale
  • Stewart
  • Tab
  • Stewart
  • Don Vito
4:14
13."Blu Is a Mood"
  • Wright
  • Harris
  • Lewis
  • Jam
  • Lewis
  • Big Jim [A]
5:23
Total length:54:57
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (Jazze Remix)Austin
4:37

Notes

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for So Blu
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [19] Gold50,000^
United States (RIAA) [7] Gold603,000 [8]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

So Blu release history
RegionDateFormatLabel
United StatesJuly 31, 2001
  • Digital download
  • CD
Arista
JapanOctober 3, 2001
United KingdomNovember 26, 2001

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