What Would Be Your Dream Music Album? Part: II: Nas and Blu & Exile Presents: “Sound in Colo(u)r”
To check out “What Would be Your Dream Album” Part I, click here: What Would Be Your Dream Music Album?
Image I (Left): Blu & Exile
“The angel, the heir, the fire, the fighter. The higher the mind goes, my mind goes higher. The messiah that will never expire. Build a flyer, B-L the flyest of all. Plus I was carved in the likeness of God, I got soul.” - Blu & Exile
Image II (Right): Nas
"I carry the cross, if Virgin Mary had an abortion. I'd still be carried in the chariot by stampedin' horses. Had to bring it back to New York. I'm happy that the streets is back in New York. For you rappers, I carry the cross. I carry the cross." - Nas
Nas is my favorite Hip-Hop solo artist and Blu & Exile is my favorite Hip-Hop duo artist (Blu is the MC and Exile is the DJ and producer, but what makes this duo a little bit different is that both Blu & Exile rap and produce music), and it would be great to see them collaborate on an 11 song album entitled, “Sound in Colo(u)r.”
I wanted to take things a bit further by explaining the heart, soul, and vibe of the album. According to Google, Nas and Blu & Exile Presents: “Sound in Colo(u)r” would be a masterclass musical wonder that connects the Hip-Hop styles from the regions of New York (i.e., Nas, DJ Premier and A Tribe Called Quest), Detroit (i.e., J Dilla) and California (i.e., Blu & Exile) that would be a soulful and boom-bap musical experience. The album would bridge the gap between Nas’ “90s Golden Age Hip-Hop lyricism” with Blu & Exile’s “West Coast Soul Vibe” that the duo created during the mid-2000s.
A collab album with Nas and Blu & Exile with the lineup of producers like Exile, J Dilla, and DJ Premier, and executive produced by A Tribe Called Quest would be a masterclass in cinematic, dusty, and deeply spiritual boom-bap, bridging the golden era of New York storytelling with the soulful, avant-garde underground of Los Angeles and Detroit.
Here is how the sound, themes, and production of Sound in Colo(u)r would come together:
The Sonic Landscape (The Production)
Image I (Top): A Tribe Called Quest
Image II (Bottom Left): J Dilla
Image III (Bottom Right): DJ Premier
A Tribe Called Quest: With A Tribe Called Quest as executive producers, the entire project would have a cohesive, jazz-infused, and warm texture. They would ensure the transitions are seamless, likely using spoken-word interludes, double-bass grooves, and pristine engineering to make three distinct production styles feel like a single tapestry.
Exile: Exile would provide vivid, chopping-on-the-fly MPC energy. His beats would bring bright, shifting colors—utilizing chopped vocal harmonies, space-age synth pads, and hard-hitting but swing-heavy drums that give Blu and Nas room to fly.
J Dilla: J Dilla’s contributions would be the emotional, unquantized heartbeat of the album. Expect neck-snapping, off-kilter drum loops, deeply soulful vocal loops (think Donuts or Shining-era warmth), and thick, muddy basslines that ground the album in pure rhythm.
DJ Premier: DJ Premier would anchor the album’s most competitive, street-level moments. His tracks would feature his signature boom-bap formula: aggressive, sharp-cutting snares, heavy boom kicks, and scratch-choruses stitching together classic vocal fragments from Nas and Blu’s past catalogs.
The Vocal Dynamic (Nas & Blu)
The chemistry between Nas and Blu would feel like the passing of the torch and a mutual validation.
Nas: Nas would bring his seasoned, street-philosopher persona. His delivery would be smooth, regal, and multi-syllabic, painting vivid pictures of nostalgia, Black excellence, and the evolution of a rap deity.
Blu: Blu would counter with his raw, stream-of-consciousness, and every day-man vulnerability. He would bring the hungry, abstract, and spiritual L.A. underground energy, matching Nas’ complex rhyme schemes while pushing the concepts into more surreal territories.
The Overall Vibe of Nas and Blu & Exile Presents: Sound in Colo(u)r
Image I (Left): Nas
“Y'all can keep y'all weak beats from your corny producers. There's a new king of the streets, you're gonna get used to. I was the old king of the streets, that y'all once hated. But now I reinvented myself, and y'all all waited. NAS – N.A.S. mean N*ggas Against Society.” – Nas, The Cross, God’s Son
Image II (Right): Blu & Exile
“Black man versus the Ku Klux Klan. With no gat, just two hands, but we ain’t going back to that again.” – Blu & Exile, Troubled Water feat. Gappy Ranks, Miles: From an Interlude Called Life
“Sound in Colo(u)r” would literally sound like its title: Chromatic Hip-Hop. It would not be a dark, gritty noir album, nor a commercial radio project. Instead, it would sound like a sun-drenched, vinyl-cracking masterpiece meant to be listened to in headphones. The album would be a lyrical, spiritual, socially conscious, political, soulful and boom-bap musical experience. The album would also balance the soulful optimism of Blu & Exile’s classic debut “Below the Heavens: In Hell Happy with Your new Imaginary Friend…” with the cinematic weight of Nas’ classic debut “Illmatic,” all filtered through the bohemian, jazz-centric lens of the Native Tongues.
Sources:
bluherfavcolor. First Thing First, Porto was Simply Amazin’. Musicbox Lisboa, is The Narrow Path for tonight. Hope you’re ready. You Are Now in the Clouds With Blu & Exile and Fashawn. Últimos bilhetes disponíveis em dice.fm ou na porta. Versus. History in the making. @simaocsta. @bluherfavcolor (Blu). Instagram. Dec. 14, 2024. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.instagram.com/p/DDklChOMFgh/?img_index=6&igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D
Caramanica, J. New Nas Welcomes the Nas of Old. New York Times. July 18, 2012. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/arts/music/new-nas-welcomes-the-nas-of-old.html
Genius. Blu & Exile. Soul Unusual. Time Heals Everything. Genius. Feb. 27, 2026. Sept. 21, 2026. https://genius.com/Blu-and-exile-soul-unusual-lyrics
Genius. Blu & Exile. Troubled Water. Miles: From an Interlude Called Life. Genius. July 17, 2020. Sept. 21, 2026. https://genius.com/Blu-and-exile-troubled-water-lyrics
Genius. Nas. The Cross. God’s Son. Genius. Dec. 13, 2002. Sept. 21, 2026. https://genius.com/Nas-the-cross-lyrics
HIPHOPRAPR&B. Street Poetry Is My Everyday image. HIPHOPRAPR&B, Via: cantstopthefunkyjams. Tumblr. 2015. Sept. 22, 2026. https://90shiphopraprnb.tumblr.com/post/122848473089
Kazeem S. Nas image. Kazeem. Pinterest. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/690739661630472650/
Life is Good. Women's Raised on 90s Hip Hop Crusher-LITE Shrunken Tee. Life is Good. Sept. 22, 2026. https://lifeisgood.com/products/womens-raised-on-90s-hip-hop-crusher-lite-shrunken-tee?variant=53025473331516&irclickid=1BoQ9RTG4xyZRa4w9jS2lSIjUkrzroQsKR-XSc0&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Skimbit+Ltd.&irgwc=1&afsrc=1
Lynskey, D. A Tribe Called Quest return: ‘You fight for what you love – and you go through hell to get it. The Guardian. Nov. 17, 2016. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/17/still-kicking-it-a-tribe-called-quest
Neville, M. DJ Premier Interview. WordPlay Magazine. Dec. 2. 2019. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.wordplaymagazine.com/blog-1/2019/12/2/dj-premier-interview
Olinger, S. Remembering J Dilla: Top Five Songs Produced by J Dilla. Grimy Goods. Feb. 12, 2014. Sept. 21, 2026. https://www.grimygoods.com/2014/02/12/remembering-j-dilla-top-five-songs-produced-by-j-dilla/
SYPHERSIGHTS. Concert Review: Blu & Exile at Lee’s Palace in Toronto (2025.03.19). SYPHERSIGHTS. March 22, 2025. Sept. 21, 2026. https://syphersights.com/2025/03/22/concert-review-blu-exile-at-lees-palace-in-toronto-2025-03-19/
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