exile ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Ambrosia For Heads’ 15 Best Rap Albums Of 2024

2024 witnessed some great music. There were some excellent albums throughout the year, but these are the 15 Rap albums that AFH considers the best. This crop includes collaborations between revered MCs and producers, surprise mixtapes, and lofty concept albums. In some cases, veteran artists became more personal and vulnerable.... Read more

December 14, 2024 Best Rap Albums Of 2024, Trending Stories

Blu & Exile Provide Hope Through True And Livin’ Hip-Hop (Video Premiere)

Blu & Exile's breakthrough Below The Heavens remains a classic album in many Hip-Hop circles. The MC/producer LP formally introduced two artists who had been making waves for years in the most soulful, reflective, and relatable of ways. Since that 2007 LP, both Blu and Exile have taken journeys with... Read more

June 26, 2019 Exclusive, Video

Blu & Exile Reunite For A Soulful Song About How Hip-Hop Is True & Livin’ (Audio)

After meeting in the early 2000s, Los Angeles, California MC Blu and fellow native producer Exile recorded and released their first studio album in 2007 with the critically acclaimed, Below The Heavens. One album (2012's Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them) and a decade after, Blu... Read more

May 4, 2019 Audio

Exile, Choosey & Aloe Blacc Hit The Switch For A Lowrider Love Letter (Video)

Rap music and car culture have a long and colorful history together, especially as it pertains to lowriders. There are iconic images and videos involving Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, King T, Cypress Hill, MC Eiht, Mack 10, Kid Frost, Coolio, The Game, and others forever etched in... Read more

March 26, 2019 Video

Blu & Exile’s Video Imagines Their Playful Chemistry 20 Years Before “Below The Heavens”

Blu and Exile are back with heartfelt visuals to match the pensive rhymes and nostalgic sounds. "Constellations" weaves a visual tapestry that explores the essence of youth and the knowledge of being star-born. The song is off of their recent album In The Beginning: Before The Heavens. The video takes viewers back... Read more

February 15, 2018 Exclusive, Video

Blu & Exile Take The Meaning Of Soulful Hip-Hop To A New Place (Video)

One of the legends of twentieth-century music relates to the Delta Blues pioneer, Robert Johnson, who died at the age of 27 in 1938. According to the historic tale, the itinerant musician Johnson sold his soul to the devil down at the crossroads of Highway 49 and 61 in Clarksdale, Mississippi to... Read more

December 5, 2017 Ready Or Not, Video

Blu & Exile’s “Below The Heavens” Outtakes Are Better Than Many MCs’ Rap Caviar (Audio)

Ten years ago, Blu & Exile released their expansive slice of California dreaming, Below the Heavens. Now, in a kind of Hip-Hop Star Wars move, the Los Angeles duo is offering up a prequel to the 2007 classic album, called In the Beginning: Before the Heavens. Blu & Exile Share... Read more

October 4, 2017 Audio

Blu & Exile Share The 1st Of 14 Unheard Songs From Below The Heavens Sessions (Audio)

UPDATE: More than a month since announcing that expanded Below The Heavens sessions would be released, fans have their first taste. "Constellations" is one of 14 songs included on October 20's In The Beginning - Before The Heavens LP. Within, Heads get to travel back to the mid-2000s to hear... Read more

July 29, 2017 Audio, News

10 Years Ago, Blu & Exile’s “Below The Heavens” Resurrected Underground Rap

Ten years ago (July 17, 2007), Blu & Exile combined forces for their Below The Heavens album. At a time when so-called "underground Hip-Hop" was sounding like a passé term, if not taken as an unintended diss, these two Southern Californians excited the culture through very straightforwardly channeling their souls... Read more

July 17, 2017 Food for Thought, Throwback

Divine Intervention: Blu & Exile Are Back Together, Recording In The Studio

This July marks 10 years since Blu & Exile released Below The Heavens. The Sound In Color album did not make the charts, but in a year remembered by Kanye West and 50 Cent's famous battle for commercial supremacy, it may be one of the last and most celebrated entries... Read more

March 20, 2017 News

Black Thought, Jay Electronica, & Bun B Added To 2016 J Dilla Weekend Lineup

There have been some major changes surrounding the 2016 J Dilla Weekend. The second annual event in Miami, Florida will take place February 5-7. The event, hosted by J Dilla's mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey, features concert performances, art exhibits, panels, record swap meets, and more. The main venue for... Read more

January 25, 2016 News

Blu & Exile’s Below The Heavens vs. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Which Is Better?

One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as... Read more

January 14, 2016 Finding the GOAT

De La Soul Are Performing Together to Honor J Dilla During His Tribute Weekend

In late December, the second annual J Dilla Weekend was announced. The Miami, Florida event will take place the weekend of February 5-7, and will be hosted by Dilla's mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey. With Slum Village, Royce Da 5'9", Rapsody & 9th Wonder, Blu & Exile, Chuck Strangers, A-F-R-O,... Read more

January 6, 2016 News

Exile Proves Why He Stands Alone as a Producer on ‘Rhythm Roulette’ (Video)

In the latest installment of "Rhythm Roulette" - a musically diabolical segment from Mass Appeal which challenges heavyweight producers with creating a beat live, based on three random finds at a record store - Exile is in the crosshairs. The Los Angeles native has helped create classic material from Open... Read more

September 3, 2015 Video

From Underground MC to Superstar Singer: The Winding Path & Secret Songs of Aloe Blacc

For more than a decade, Aloe Blacc has proven himself as an elite singer-songwriter with a passionate voice and compelling lyrics. Blacc's stunning range as a musician goes from an enriching soulful sound, to a Folk and Pop fusion. He appeared on the big screen as Bobby Byrd in the 2014... Read more

May 17, 2015 News

Fashawn’s Touching Single Is A Strong Vignette About Young, Black Fatherhood (Video)

Within Fashawn's The Ecology, "Higher" is one of the everlasting gems. Fashawn looks at fathers—as a parent himself, with some profound insights. The song is personal, heartfelt, and touching. To core fans of the Fresno, California MC, the DJ Exile-produced "Higher" is a deep extension of his Boy Meets World... Read more

April 23, 2015 Video

Fashawn & Exile Add Busta Rhymes To Their Sound, Getting Trunks To Rattle (Audio)

Between Boy Meets World and The Ecology (February 24), Fashawn experimented with an array of sounds and styles. The Black Bart Simpson came from a place where not just introspective or personal raps were the method. With DJ Exile still right beside him, The Ecology embraces this dichotomy. "Out The... Read more

February 17, 2015 Audio

Follow Fashawn Home To Fresno, California As He Stakes His Claim (Video)

Two Tuesdays away from Fashawn's sophomore studio solo LP, The Ecology (February 24), the Fresno, California MC brings the cameras home. From the streets of the Central Valley, Fash' hops on his skateboard and hits the streets for "Guess Who's Back," showing that he's the same low-profile lyrical visionary from... Read more

February 10, 2015 Video

Fashawn Unleashes A Captivating Ecology Single, With A Release Date Too (Audio)

Over five years removed from Boy Meets World, Fashawn solo product may feel estranged from record store shelves, but the Fresno, California MC has been anything but stagnant. Ranging from charting joint efforts with Murs to two Alchemist-assisted mixtapes, to a host of videos, singles, and Grizzly City projects, Fash'... Read more

January 27, 2015 Audio

Choosey & Fashawn Got Mind Over Matter Over A Likewise Beat (Audio)

Exile's camp produces a potent collaboration from Choosey and Fashawn. The two MCs look at some inconsistencies and head scratchers in their lives with a smooth shrug in "Matters." Like (a/k/a Likewise) of Pac Div supplies the quirky beat. This song is one of the many moments from Choosey that... Read more

October 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Love Blu? You’ll Like Choosey & Exile A Lot, Especially Fly Me To The Moon (Video)

As AFH pointed out in discussing Dag Savage, Exile is exceptional at developing introspective artists into fan favorites. With successes with Blu, Fashawn, Aloe Blacc, and now Johaz, the Echo Park-based DJ/producer turns his focus to Choosey, who appeared on E&J. "Fly Me To The Moon" takes the vocal Jazz... Read more

September 12, 2014 Fresh, Video

Fashawn & Exile Bring Out The Boom Bap For C.O.B’s Niqle Nut (Video)

Fresno breakout Fashawn has been getting a little retro lately. The MC links with his longtime producer battery brother Exile for "Niqle Niqle Nine." Not Royce Da 5'9's "nick-name," Niqle is one of several artists in the Circle Of Bosses collective that's closely associated with another Slaughterhouse MC: Crooked I.... Read more

September 4, 2014 Fresh, Video

Dag Savage Shows You How To Get Over Losing Her In Darlin’ (Video)

Johaz & Exile's Dag Savage outfit has made some of the most celebrated independent Hip-Hop of the last 12 months. E&J, the full-length, features the song "Darlin'." Like the other artists Exile regularly works with (Aloe Blacc, Blu, and Fashawn), Johaz is deeply introspective on this cut, about missing the... Read more

July 22, 2014 Fresh, Video

7 Years Ago Today, Blu & Exile Released Below The Heavens & Changed The Game. AFH Celebrates The Back-story & Impact With Exile (Food For Thought Interview)

Seven years ago today, the Hip-Hop faithful was formally introduced to an obscure assemblage of 15 tracks, constructed by an equally arcane Los Angeles rooted duo, Blu & Exile, that over the subsequent years from its unveiling, would prove to be one of the most compelling and dynamic collections of... Read more

July 18, 2014 Featured-homepage, Food for Thought, Fresh

Fashawn & Exile Make Some Fight Music, For The Bradley Vs. Pacquiao Fight (Audio)

On 2009's Boy Meets World, Fashawn rhymed quite a bit about gettin' picked on in his younger days, over DJ Exile production. As the Fresno, California MC got older and was taken under the wings of older Heads, he started fighting back, and a few harassers got punched in the... Read more

April 4, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Check Dag Savage’s E&J Album, Which Features Fashawn, Blu, Aloe Blacc & Ras Kass (Album Stream)

Just weeks after their Warning mixtape, Exile & Johaz's Dag Savage unit offers up an early listen to their album, E&J. The duo brought along family including Blu, Fashawn, MED, Aloe Blacc, and Ras Kass for this LP. Which do you prefer between the two? Is Johaz Exile's next great... Read more

February 3, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Dag Savage Unveils Their LP’s First Single With Exile’s Right Hand Man Blu (Audio)

Exile is into his latest concoction: Dag Savage, with Johaz. Part of the appeal of the group comes from Ex's track record for budding talent. In 2007, it was Blu. In 2009, it was Fashawn. Those worlds collide on "Don't Stop," the official first single from the upcoming Dag Savage... Read more

January 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Dag Savage Drops Their Warning Tape Featuring Aloe Blacc, Blu & Co$$ (Mixtape)

Exile and Johaz's Dag Savage outfit chirps up the year a bit. The Warning Tape, a promotional vehicle towards their chaser retail album, E&J, features the pocket of artists they regularly work with, including Aloe Blacc, Co$$, Sene, and of course, Blu. This comes courtesy of Exile's Dirty Science imprint.... Read more

January 13, 2014 Fresh, Mixes

Dag Savage, Blu, Co$$ & Gonja Sufi Are God Body (Audio)

Exile & Johaz's Dag Savage outfit made plenty of noise in 2012 and 2013. The duo invites close affiliates Blu and Co$$ along, as well as fellow Golden Stater Gonja Sufi for "God Body." The O.G. track pulls from the kind of righteous Hip-Hop that influenced the collective. Related: Blu... Read more

January 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Blu & Exile’s Out Of Print Below The Heavens To Have Deluxe Re-Release

In 2007, Blu & Exile released Below The Heavens on Sound In Color Records. The album was heralded as one of the most LPs of its era, including early appearances by Miguel, and as transitioning Aloe Blacc. Within a year of the album's release, stronger-than-anticipated sales and sample issues made... Read more

November 20, 2013 Fresh

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