So Blu

So Blu is the debut album by American recording artist Blu Cantrell. It was released by Arista Records on July 31, 2001 in the United States. The album was primarily produced by Chris "Tricky" Stewart, with additional production from Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jason Rome, Don Vito, and Olliewood & Scrilla. It debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart and spawned the number-two hit "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)".

So Blu
Studio album by Blu Cantrell
Released	July 31, 2001 (2001-07-31)
Recorded	2000–2001
Genre	R&B soul
Length	54:57
Label	Arista
Producer	Dallas Austin Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Olliewood & Scrilla Jason Rome Tricky Stewart Don Vito Big Jim Wright
Blu Cantrell chronology
So Blu (2001) Bittersweet (2003)
Singles from So Blu
"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" Released: April 17, 2001 "I'll Find a Way" Released: August 7, 2001 "Till I'm Gone" Released: January 1, 2002

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[2]
Robert Christgau	[3]

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated called the album "a wonderfully fresh recasting of contemporary soul and R&B mores." He found that that the material was "conventional, but it still sounds vibrant, thanks not just to Cantrell's impassioned vocals, but how the songs and productions are wrapped in contemporary mores but delivered as if they were classic. This is a record that maintains its momentum from beginning to end."^[1] Entertainment Weekly's Cheo Tyehimba wrote: "Bluesy but modern, Cantrell belts it out with the immediacy and energy of a hard-bop trumpet player. Although at times her flashy vocal stylings obscure the songs' emotional depth, this woman has a story to tell."^[2]

People found that "most of the best songs on So Blu are torchy, gut-wrenching ballads [...] On these tracks the Providence-born chanteuse, whose mother was a jazz singer, really shines." The magazine found that Cantrell lacked "the vision of Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige or Erykah Badu, [but] the 25-year-old newcomer is clearly still searching for her musical identity on routine R&B numbers ]...] But at least the jazzy, introspective title tune seems to be so Cantrell."^[4] Robert Christgau described the album as "higher-res than Res, more songful than Mary" and cited "Swingin'" and "The One" as highlights.^[3]

Commercial performance

So Blu debuted and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200 in the week ending August 18, 2001,^[5] with first week sales of 89,000 units.^[6] On August 31, 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album gold for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.^[7] By January 2003, So Blu had sold 603,000 copies.^[8] The album was also certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in 2001,^[9] having sold more than 50,000 copies in Canada.^[10]

Track listing

So Blu track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Waste My Time" (featuring L.O.)	Tiffany Cobb Christopher Stewart Thabiso "Tab" Nkhereanye Michael Franks Rodney Richard	Tricky Stewart	3:45
2.	"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"	Dallas Austin	Austin	4:10
3.	"Till I'm Gone"	Cobb Stewart Tab	Stewart	4:21
4.	"U Must B Crazy"	DiAndre Davis Orenthal Harper Tab	Stewart	4:07
5.	"The One"	Cobb Traci Hale Jason Rome	Stewart Rome	3:31
6.	"I'll Find a Way"	Cobb James Wright James Harris III Terry Lewis	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Big Jim[A]	5:15
7.	"Swingin'"	Austin Wright Harris Lewis	Austin Jam Lewis	3:58
8.	"10,000 Times"	Ciara Princess Harris Phillip Lane Stewart Shamora Crawford	Olliewood & Scrilla	4:25
9.	"When I Needed You"	Cobb Davis	Stewart	3:49
10.	"All You Had to Say"	Cobb Davis Harper Tab	Stewart	4:22
11.	"I Can't Believe"	Stewart Harper Tab	Stewart	3:37
12.	"So Blu"	Richard Hale Stewart Tab	Stewart Don Vito	4:14
13.	"Blu Is a Mood"	Wright Harris Lewis	Jam Lewis Big Jim[A]	5:23
Total length:				54:57

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (Jazze Remix)	Austin	Austin Pha[A]	4:37

Notes

• ^{^[A]} denotes co-producer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for So Blu Chart (2001) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 87 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[12] 13 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[13] 15 US Billboard 200[5] 8 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 5

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for So Blu Chart (2001) Peak position Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[15] 126 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[16] 31 US Billboard 200[17] 175 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[18] 95

Certifications

Certifications and sales for So Blu

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[7]	Gold	603,000[8]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

So Blu release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	July 31, 2001	Digital download CD	Arista
Japan	October 3, 2001
United Kingdom	November 26, 2001

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Tyehimba, Cheo (August 10, 2001). "Blu Cantrell, So Blu". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
3. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Blu Cantrell". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
4. "Picks and Pans Review: So Blu". People. August 13, 2001. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
5. "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
6. "THE CHARTS". Entertainment Weekly. August 17, 2001. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
7. "American album certifications – Blu Cantrell – So Blu". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
8. "Blu Cantrell Is Back With 'Breathe'". Billboard. January 17, 2003. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
9. "Gold & Platinum Certification – September 2001". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
10. Collins, Hattie (2003-09-27). "Breathless confessions". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
11. "ARIA Top 100 Albums - Week Commencing 8th October 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (606). October 8, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "ARIA Urban Chart - Week Commencing 5th November 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (610). November 5, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. August 31, 2001. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
14. "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
15. "Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on November 6, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
16. "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
17. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
18. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
19. "Canadian album certifications – Blu Cantrell – So Blu". Music Canada. Retrieved August 11, 2018.