York (album)

Last updated
York
Blu-noyork.jpg
Studio album by
Blu
ReleasedMarch 26, 2013
Recorded2010–11
Genre
Length59:00
Label Sire/Warner Bros
New World Color
Producer
Blu chronology
j e s u s
(2011)		York
(2013)		 Gods In the Spirit
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Pitchfork Media 8.1/10 [3]
Popmatters 9/10 [4]
Rap Reviews6/10 [5]

York (originally titled NoYork!) is the second studio album by American rapper Blu. The album was initially leaked during the Rock The Bells tour in August 2011, [6] [7] and officially released in 2013. [8]

Contents

Background

Blu was still under contract with Sire/Warner Bros in 2011, but as the LA Times noted "the slashing collection of songs was nowhere near commercial enough to ever see major label release". [9] A few weeks later, Barnes was released from his Sire/Warner Bros. contract, although demo copies were pressed. [3] Later officially released through New World Color on March 26, 2013. [8] [10] The album was also released as a vinyl 4-LP set with three additional songs, "Jazmine", "Jazzmen" and "Ronald Morgan". [11]

While Blu is the featured artist he was found to be "tapping a cadre of California instrumental hip-hop luminaries (...) of the Los Angeles beat scene". [3] Many of them featured at the Low End Theory music club. [4] These included the performers U-God, Jack Davey, Sa-Ra, Nola Darling, Cashus King, Suziana Lounge, Chop, Cherry Pop, Tiombe Lockhart, Exile, Jimetta Rose, Donel Smokes, Definite Mass, Dubble Oh, Niaa Andrews, Andy Allo, Edan, El Prez, Pac Div, Uni, J Davey, Tiron, & Ayomari. [11]

The artwork uses a photomontage by the Japanese artist Tsunehisa Kimura titled The City Welcomes a Fresh Morning, which depicts New York City being engulfed in a waterfall. [12]

Critical reception

Jeff Weiss of the LA Times described the leaked version as touching "upon soul, jazz and straight up boom-bap rap, with Blu alternately nostalgic and forward-minded. It's an album more sincerely strange than any of the more straightforwardly weird records that are all the rage". [9] David Amidon described this first release as "a sound that can’t currently be compared to any other vocal hip-hop album of measurable consequence, a decidedly original experience". [4] Craig Jenkins described the official release as "the physical document of that time a gifted rapper blew off a promising record deal to geek out in the studio with friends and then came out with one of the defining documents of his scene". [3]

Jason Lymangrover at allmusic.com was less enthusiastic and found that if the album "could be considered a success based solely on ambition, this would be a masterpiece, but as it stands, there are so many frills and guests clouding up the scenery that it’s hard to place Blu's voice among all the mess". [2] While Steve Juon of Rap Reviews warns that "Caution is advised - Blu's brand of hip-hop on this one's not for everybody". [5]

Track listing

Standard Edition
No.TitleProducerLength
1."Doin' Nothin'" (featuring U-God) Flying Lotus 2:41
2."Everything's OK" (featuring Jack Davey)Flying Lotus2:58
3."Everybody Nose" (featuring Sa-Ra & Nola Darling) Samiyam 3:43
4."Above Crenshaw" (featuring Co$$)Samiyam4:04
5."SLNGBNGrs"Dibia$e2:59
6."Soupa" (featuring Suzi Analogue)Samiyam3:08
7."Hours" Daedelus 3:58
8."Annie Hall" (featuring Chop, Brooker T & Tiombe Lockhart)Daedelus4:04
9."Tags" (featuring Exile) Exile 3:21
10."Spring Winter Summer Fall" (featuring Jimetta Rose) Shafiq Husayn 5:26
11."Down to Earth" (featuring Definite, Donel Smokes & Dubble Oh)Shafiq Husayn3:20
12."My Sunshine" (featuring Nia Andrews)Shafiq Husayn3:27
13."Keep Pushinn" Knxwledge 3:09
14."Doin' Something" (featuring El Prez, Pac Div, U-N-I, J*Davey, Tiron & Ayomari)Flying Lotus6:03
Vinyl Edition
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Doin' Nothin'" (featuring U-God) Flying Lotus 2:41
2."Everything's OK" (featuring Jack Davey)Flying Lotus2:58
3."Everybody Nose" (featuring Sa-Ra & Nola Darling) Samiyam 3:43
4."Above Crenshaw" (featuring Co$$)Samiyam4:04
5."SLNGBNGrs"Dibia$e2:59
6."Soupa" (featuring Suzi Analogue)Samiyam3:08
7."Hours" Daedelus 3:58
8."Annie Hall" (featuring Cherry Pop & Tiombe Lockhart)Daedelus4:04
9."Tags" (featuring Exile) Exile 3:21
10."Spring Winter Summer Fall" (featuring Jimetta Rose) Shafiq Husayn 5:26
11."Down to Earth" (featuring Definite, Donel Smokes & Dubble Oh)Shafiq Husayn3:20
12."My Sunshine" (featuring Nia Andrews)Shafiq Husayn3:27
13."Jazmine" (featuring Andy Allo)Samiyam1:15
14."Jazzmen" Madlib 2:28
15."Ronald Morgan" (featuring Edan)Madlib3:19
16."Keep Pushinn"Knxwledge3:09
17."Doin' Something" (featuring El Prez, Pac Div, U-N-I, J*Davey, Tiron & Ayomari)Flying Lotus6:03

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References

  1. ↑ "NoYork! Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  2. 1 2 Allmusic review
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jenkins, Craig. "Blu: NoYork! | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Amidon, David (February 16, 2012). "Blu: NoYork!". Popmatters . Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Juon, Steve (April 23, 2013). "Blu: York!". Rap Reviews. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Blu Gives NoYork to the People for Free". The Smoking Section. UPROXX. August 23, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Blu (2) - NoYork! (2011 version)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  8. 1 2 "Blu (2) - NoYork! (2013 CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  9. 1 2 Weiss, Jeff (September 13, 2011). "The jagged Low End rap of Blu's 'NoYork!' mixtape". Pop & Hiss. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  10. ↑ "iTunes - Music - York by Blu" . Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Blu (2) - NoYork! (4LP version)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  12. ↑ Coulthart, John (November 4, 2010). "Design as virus 13: Tsunehisa Kimura". { feuilleton }. Retrieved 2015-11-18. The composition has been used for a number of albums, including Zonoscope and Site Anubis
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