Bleep

Perhaps best-known for his bars on Madlib’s 2015 LP Bad Neighbour, the Los Angeles MC has also been the voice of projects by Exile and Nottz. Now he teams up with Sa-Ra Creative Partners producer and fellow LA native Shafiq Husayn to drop a record steeped in the streets of their hometown. Calling your LP The Blueprint may raise a few eyebrows in hip-hop circles, but on this form Blu would give turn-of-the-century Jay-Z a run for his money. Over Husayn’s grainy, sloping beats Blu delivers hood wisdom in a voice simultaneously laid-back and alert.