In the most recent episode of Atlanta, the Donald Glover-produced FX series debuted its fourth and final season last night. During the season premiere, the characters Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) and Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) were mourning the death of Blue Blood, a rapper whose music was playing through the speakers at the time. Pitchfork confirmed after the episode aired that the music from ‘Blue Blood’ was an unreleased track by Earl Sweatshirt.
It is revealed in the episode “The Most Atlanta” that Blue Blood passed away three months earlier, echoing the late MF Doom, whose passing on October 31, 2020, was also made public on December 31, 2020. After remembering “secret shows he’d only post clues about on Tumblr,” Paper Boi, who is listening to Blue Blood at a gas station, discovers a clue of his own in the song’s lyrics. This leads him on a bizarre scavenger hunt through Atlanta’s laundromats, movie theatres, and even comic book stores, in yet another apparent homage to Doom.
When Paper Boi discovers the last key, he realizes the hints point to Blue Blood’s actual funeral, which is being hosted by his widow, Keisha. She explains that once Blue Blood realized he was going to die, he wanted to surpass himself, so he planned a guessing game, a new album, and a variety of merchandise, such as T-shirts, comics, and a barbecue sponsorship. In addition, each devoted supporter who arrived and deciphered the code gets to take home one of the marijuana plants that are growing in the corner under a grow light.
