Blu & Exile have revealed they never received any royalty money for their groundbreaking first album Below the Heavens — but that’s apparently now about to change.
On Monday (July 17), Exile, who serves as producer for the West Coast duo, took to Instagram to share that their debut project is back in their possession from a financial perspective.
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“Happy 16 year anniversary to our first album Below The Heavens!,” he wrote “This anniversary is different, because for the past 16 years, the album was taken from us, and we haven’t been seeing a dime from it since our first small advance. But the 16th year is different, because we finally figured out how to get our baby back!”
He continued: “The album is now officially owned by Blu and Exile ladies and gentlemen! So please run these numbers up in good faith that the money will finally be going to us! Run these numbers up ! Special thanks to @thedirtyscience @soulspazm & @fatbeats [two prayer hands emojis] come support our second Album anniversary in SF July 29th and LA July 30th!!! Our vinyl repress for BTH will come next year [red heart].”
Blu had a considerable buzz in the music industry before linking with Exile, who was a part of a rap group in the mid 1990s called Emanon with singer Aloe Blacc.
Blu & Exile’s debut project Below the Heavens was released in 2007 during the heart of the blog era. The album became a huge critical success for both creatives.
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In 2017, they released an album titled Beginning: Before the Heavens which is a compilation of leftover material from Below the Heavens. At that time, the group spoke to Billboardabout how they felt about the success of their first album and how support from loyal fans have keep them going.
“It’s pretty cool the majority of our fan base has come from that first album together,” Blu said.
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Exile added: “I’m very grateful to be able to accomplish making a ‘classic’ Hip Hop album. It’s always been a dream of mine. I’m grateful fans fuck with all the music we put out with each other, from Blu and Exile, Blu, Med and Madlib, to our crew DS, Dirty Science: Choosey, Dag Savage, Fashawn, Cashus King f.k.a. CO$$, Blame One, etc.”
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