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]
| York | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 26, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–11 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:00 | |||
| Label | Sire/Warner Bros New World Color | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Blu chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.1/10[3] |
| Popmatters | 9/10[4] |
| Rap Reviews | 6/10[5] |
Background edit
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 edit
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 edit
- Standard Edition
| No. | Title | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Doin' Nothin'" (featuring U-God) | Flying Lotus | 2:41 |
| 2. | "Everything's OK" (featuring Jack Davey) | Flying Lotus | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Everybody Nose" (featuring Sa-Ra & Nola Darling) | Samiyam | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Above Crenshaw" (featuring Co$$) | Samiyam | 4:04 |
| 5. | "SLNGBNGrs" | Dibia$e | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Soupa" (featuring Suzi Analogue) | Samiyam | 3:08 |
| 7. | "Hours" | Daedelus | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Annie Hall" (featuring Chop, Brooker T & Tiombe Lockhart) | Daedelus | 4:04 |
| 9. | "Tags" (featuring Exile) | Exile | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Spring Winter Summer Fall" (featuring Jimetta Rose) | Shafiq Husayn | 5:26 |
| 11. | "Down to Earth" (featuring Definite, Donel Smokes & Dubble Oh) | Shafiq Husayn | 3:20 |
| 12. | "My Sunshine" (featuring Nia Andrews) | Shafiq Husayn | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Keep Pushinn" | Knxwledge | 3:09 |
| 14. | "Doin' Something" (featuring El Prez, Pac Div, U-N-I, J*Davey, Tiron & Ayomari) | Flying Lotus | 6:03 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Doin' Nothin'" (featuring U-God) | Flying Lotus | 2:41 |
| 2. | "Everything's OK" (featuring Jack Davey) | Flying Lotus | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Everybody Nose" (featuring Sa-Ra & Nola Darling) | Samiyam | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Above Crenshaw" (featuring Co$$) | Samiyam | 4:04 |
| 5. | "SLNGBNGrs" | Dibia$e | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Soupa" (featuring Suzi Analogue) | Samiyam | 3:08 |
| 7. | "Hours" | Daedelus | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Annie Hall" (featuring Cherry Pop & Tiombe Lockhart) | Daedelus | 4:04 |
| 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 Husayn | 3:20 |
| 12. | "My Sunshine" (featuring Nia Andrews) | Shafiq Husayn | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Jazmine" (featuring Andy Allo) | Samiyam | 1:15 |
| 14. | "Jazzmen" | Madlib | 2:28 |
| 15. | "Ronald Morgan" (featuring Edan) | Madlib | 3:19 |
| 16. | "Keep Pushinn" | Knxwledge | 3:09 |
| 17. | "Doin' Something" (featuring El Prez, Pac Div, U-N-I, J*Davey, Tiron & Ayomari) | Flying Lotus | 6:03 |
References edit
- ^ "NoYork! Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ^ a b Allmusic review
- ^ a b c d Jenkins, Craig. "Blu: NoYork! | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Amidon, David (February 16, 2012). "Blu: NoYork!". Popmatters. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Juon, Steve (April 23, 2013). "Blu: York!". Rap Reviews. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ "Blu Gives NoYork to the People for Free". The Smoking Section. UPROXX. August 23, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ^ "Blu (2) - NoYork! (2011 version)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ^ a b "Blu (2) - NoYork! (2013 CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ^ a b Weiss, Jeff (September 13, 2011). "The jagged Low End rap of Blu's 'NoYork!' mixtape". Pop & Hiss. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - York by Blu". Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Blu (2) - NoYork! (4LP version)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ^ 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