With his charismatic SoCal everyman demeanor, Blu was championed at the outset of his recording career when he collaborated with Exile for Below the Heavens (2007). While the album became so well-regarded that the duo performed it in its entirety a decade later, Blu has never relied on its reputation, typically releasing multiple projects each year. He hit Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with another Exile collaboration, Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them (2012), and did it again with Good to Be Home (2014). Since then, his discography has grown at an even faster rate, highlighted by LPs recorded with MED and Madlib (2015's Bad Neighbor) and Oh No (2019's A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night). He also reunited with Exile for the 2020 LP Miles.