Bavu Blakes had a big idea at the close of 2007. “I was inspired by [Crooked I],” Blakes says, forking his way through a salad Wednesday afternoon. “Once I started to look forward to what he was doing every week, I just thought, ‘Why can’t I do that?’”
He’s talking about Crooked I’s Hip-Hop Weekly, a weekly lyrical offering from the Los Angeles rapper that led him to start 08 Is So Great.
Every Monday, Bavu updates the site with a new track from his arsenal.
“It’s my radio station,” he laughs. “Everybody wants to listen to something new every week.” So Bavu switches it up, throwing different looks and styles on the site. Three minutes of Element7D over the Roots’ “Star” on April 7. A radio pull of the self-penned “Drop It Girl” on May 17. A cut-up collabo with buddy Erykah Badu on the inaugural “Honey.” “Sometimes you get a soulful, spiritual thing,” he offers, “and sometimes it sounds Eastern. It depends on which way the wind’s blowing.”
He says it’s a means of keeping fans in tune with what he’s been up to, but the project’s also been converting. “Last time I checked there were 400 unique visitors a week,” he says. “And that was like week 15 or 16. It’s something fun to do, to let people know I have projects coming out, and something to do between writing songs to relieve the pressure.”
What’s coming out (soon, hopefully) is a follow-up to his 2003 debut, Create & Hustle. Too Selfish is expected sometime around the end of the year, and he’s got a lot on his plate, so expect a different direction when the July weeklies hit the ‘net.
“All of July will be freestyles,” he says, declaring a divergence from the typically scripted path. “I need to buy some time [to work on the album], so I’ll just do four straight freestyles.” Rest assured Bavu will continue bringing the heat, making sure that ’08 finishes up so great.
This article appears in June 27 • 2008.