EXCLUSIVE: Blu Dubs Myka 9 “King Of The L.A. Underground” Amid New Album Rollout

Los Angeles underground hip-hop staple Myka 9, who built a name for himself as a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku d’Etat and Project Blowed, is back with a new collaborative album called God Takes Care of Babies & Fools. 

Created in tandem with Blu and Mono En Stereo, the 14-track project boasts features by several of Myka’s crew members/collaborators, including Abstract Rude, Self Jupiter, Medusa and Ellay Khule. Additional contributions come from The Pharcyde’s Imani, Slimkid3 and Fatlip, A-F-R-O, Exile and Planet Asia, among others.

Blu, who’s long admired Myka’s jazz-influenced, melodic rapping, jumped at the opportunity to work with him.

“This is another very special album that I am proud to present to the world,” Blu tells AllHipHop. “Myka 9 being one of my highest inspirations ever, and the leading king of the Los Angeles underground, I am more than honored for the experience we created. I try to make every one of my albums different from one another and this album was no different.

“It is driven by straight raw lyricism and spiritual rap acrobatics. The organic production providing our museum of sound came from producer Mono En Stereo. The title of the album, God Takes Care Of Babies & Fools, means God looks out for us all, especially those who need him the most, being the babies and fools. And to quote Socrates, ‘To know is to know you know nothing,’ so we are all fools in comparison to the creator.”

Songs like “B-Boys” and “Growing Up In L.A.” transport the listener to Hip-Hop’s golden era and stir up memories of Cali’s Good Life Café scene, where artists like Freestyle Fellowship, Jurassic 5, 2Mex and Aceyalone honed their skills throughout the 1990s.

Myka felt equally as blessed to have the chance to work with Blu and Mono En Stereo. As he tells AllHipHop, “It was truly an honor to work with Blu and Mono En Stereo. The concepts, as well as the production and videos, have been coming together organically. I believe conceptually there’s a dynamic range in material.

“I appreciate the time and patience that we took along with our phenomenal guest features to bring this healing devotional together. It’s also meaningful to note that there’s been a lot going on in life, so it was a tonic to emotionally release some ideas.”

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With Myka 9 sticking to his rap ethos, the project is just another demonstration of his otherworldly lyrical skills delivered with a flawless execution. Coupled with Blu and Mono En Stereo’s additions, it bumps from start to finish.

“At times I’ve felt like a baby in this music art world with so many profound predecessors and also foolish in the mistakes I continue to learn from,” he says. “I’d say during the interim that indeed God takes care of babies and fools. It’s all love.”

Myka 9 and Blu are hitting the road in support of the album on October 10. Find the dates below.

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