Blu & Exile – 7th St Entry – Minneapolis MN – July 29th 2026

Blu & Exile live at the 7th St Entry in Minneapolis MN with special guests Dwynell Roland and DJ Sirplus

Review and photos by Aiden Cooper

Walking to 7th Street there was one thing clear, this was going to be a great show. Inside the dimly lit venue there was a small gathering of people from all different age groups ready for an intimate night with the iconic underground duo Blu & Exile. To set the tone of the night the overhead speakers were playing a playlist that consisted of some of the most well known hip-hop tracks spanning from the 90s to current tracks. As the clock ticked closer to set start time the venue filled more and more.

Before the opener Dwynell Roland took the stage a DJ who goes by Sirplus got the crowd loose. He mixed together well known samples and traditional hip-hop beats that made the crowd visibly start to move around and bop their heads. After the short DJ set from Sirplus ended. Dwynell Roland came out. Dwynell Roland is a Minneapolis based rapper who recently has released a couple of collaboration albums with P.O.S. and has a new single out titled “Word Around” which came out July 16th. Dwynell Roland was the perfect opener. He was clearly very comfortable on the stage and made sure to get the crowd engaged in the set numerous times. His ability to switch the energy up seemingly out of nowhere remains the biggest reason why I think he warmed the crowd up perfectly for the headliners of the night.

Before Blu & Exile started their set Sirplus did a similar DJ set to get the crowd’s minds back into the music, but it wasn’t long before Exile came out onto the stage and took over the room. Exile is many things: he’s a DJ, producer, rapper, and even owns a record label. Tonight focused mainly on his DJ work. Cutting up beats comes naturally to Exile. He mixes samples in a way that almost makes his work look easy, but when you hear the beats that come out of this process you know that cannot be true. After a short few minutes Blu walked onto the stage and the venue erupted. This tour was to celebrate their new album “Time Heals Everything” which released April 20th, so it was no surprise that their set featured a large selection of tracks off that record. Early into their set they played the standout track “Crumbs”. Every once in a while, Blu would stop for a second and interact with the crowd. One of the times, he asked a couple fans what their favorite color is and when someone said blue the light shifted from a deep red into a royal blue which was fitting for the show tonight. A few times throughout the night Exile would break out into what I can only describe as a DJ scratch solo where essentially he would chop up and solo on a mix. These moments were what stood out as the most unique. Immediately the energy filled 7th street and you could tell the audience were on their toes throughout the whole solo. Especially when Exile tied it into a “F*ck Trump” chant. This was also done with anti-ice chants as well.

After working their way through many other tracks off their new album and a handful of their classics they had to wrap up their set for the night. Last up on their set they played “Dancing in the Rain” which is considered their most popular song in their discography together. Blu thanked the crowd and expressed sadness that the night was ending so soon, but Blu & Exile showed their love for their fans by staying after to meet and sign merch at their booth. This little extra time with fans showed their true character and made it clear why they have such a loyal fanbase that’s been built over the past couple decades. Blu & Exile rocked 7th Street Entry for an energetic Saturday night performance that was worth every minute of the night.