Blu released an independent classic with Exile on Below The Heavens a few years back, and since then has struggled to match the acclaim of that release. Or, perhaps he is indifferent to it, as many of his consecutive releases have been solid, but not quite as game-changing. Jesus is his latest, another self-released LP, this time under the moniker “B”.

Similar in vein to Her Favorite Colo(u)r, yet without the collages of cinematic dialogue samples, Jesus is another lo-fi release, that clocks just under 30 minutes. Mostly produced in-house, B and company loop vintage soul and jazz samples, with basement-like sound quality on tracks like “What If I Was”, “Lucky”, and “74U”. Hezekiah turns the album on it’s ear with the more abrasive “Burgandy”, while Alchemist (“Doowhop”) and Madlib (“Jesus”) adjust their styles accordingly to match Blu’s flavor.

But With many of these tracks clocking under two minutes, some without hooks, it’s hard to grab hold of the groove intended by Blu. This, coupled with the fact that the album is a hodgepodge of different producers simply makes it not as focused as his other LP’s. Still, while Blu’s style is an acquired taste, despite it’s faults, this EP is another passing grade for the rap Jesus.