From Madlib to 9th Wonder, Mainframe to DJ Exile, Edan to Flying Lotus, Blu has made his travels musically, teaming with a litany of producers. This time, the Los Angeles, California native links with New Jersey’s K-Def. Not exactly a household name producer, the onetime DJ Marley Marl protege has 25 years of heavy work, ranging from Lords Of The Underground’s seminal work, to Ghostface Killah’s “It’s Over,” to work with Puff Daddy, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and UGK.

“The Boys” finds Johnson Barnes hopping on a track that has reportedly been in the Real Live co-founder’s vaults for many years. It sounds it, and that’s a great thing. Blu hits the kicks and snares with a fast flow, with a quirky multi-tracked sound. K-Def brings in the horns to enhance Blu’s fast chorus, between his image-driven verses about tension, violence, and the modern day rumble.

This will appear on K-Def’s The Way It Was album, coming soon on Redefinition Records.

Related: Blu Epitomizes the Term “Real Hip-Hop” on The Return (Video)