Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete airing on Fuji Network System. It was licensed for North American broadcast on Adult Swim, and for commercial release first by Geneon Entertainment and later by Crunchyroll. It was also licensed for English releases in the United Kingdom by MVM Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. A manga adaptation was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace during 2004, later released in North America by Tokyopop the following year.
Corey Brent Penn Sr., known by his stage name CL Smooth, is an American rapper. He is best known as the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
Five Deez is an American hip hop group from Cincinnati, Ohio and a part of the Wanna Battle collective, which also includes DJ Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli, Rubix, and Lone Catalysts. The group consists of members: Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician, Pase Rock, Kyle David, and Sonic. Fat Jon currently resides in Frankfurt, Germany; while Pase Rock lives in New York, with Kyle and Sonic remaining in Cincinnati.
Jun Seba, better known by his stage name Nujabes, was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating elements of trip hop, breakbeat, downtempo, and ambient music.
Metaphorical Music is Nujabes' first solo album released in 2003. It offers a combination of hip hop and instrumental jazz, and features artists like Shing02, Substantial, Five Deez and Cise Starr. Despite the fact that the album has contributing vocals from several artists, it is roughly classified as a breakbeat album.
Modal Soul is the second full-length album by Japanese hip-hop artist Nujabes, released on November 11, 2005, on Nujabes' own record label Hydeout Productions. Like its predecessor, Metaphorical Music, Modal Soul fuses jazzy, smooth rhythms and hip hop. The album features artists Cise Starr and Akin, Terry Callier, Shing02, Substantial, Pase Rock, Apani B and Uyama Hiroto. It was the final studio album released during Nujabes' lifetime.
Hydeout Productions 1st Collection is a compilation album, the first of two released by Nujabes' Hydeout Productions label. It showcases Nujabes' style of combining the music genres of hip hop and jazz, and features artists Funky DL, Apani B, Substantial, Shing02, L-Universe, Pase Rock, Five Deez, and Cise Starr.
Cyne, often stylized as CYNE, is an American alternative hip hop group originating from Gainesville, Florida. The group consists of MCs Akin Yai and Clyde "Cise Starr" Graham, and producers David "Enoch" Newell and Michael "Speck" Gersten, and are currently signed to Hometapes.
Modal Soul Classics is a compilation album from Japanese hip hop producer Nujabes. Though the music on this album is commonly attributed to Nujabes, none of it is composed by him; the songs on this album were only compiled and mastered by him. All of it is by other artists who have inspired Nujabes.
Shingo Annen, better known by his stage name Shing02, is a Japanese hip hop recording artist, record producer, activist and investor. He was described by Patrick Neate as one of the Japanese emcees who "has addressed important issues from Japanese ethnicity to sexual exploitation to the education system."
Modal Soul Classics II is a tribute compilation album dedicated to the Japanese music producer Nujabes. It is produced by various artists including Uyama Hiroto, Five Deez, Pase Rock, Calm, Zack Austin, Specifics, and clammbon. It's the first album released by Hydeout Productions since Nujabes' death. It's a tribute album mainly from artists who worked with Nujabes on the previous albums. The album contains for the most part cover versions and remixes of Nujabes songs. The photograph on the cover is from Japanese photographer Ota Yoshiharu.
A Son of the Sun is the debut album by Uyama Hiroto, released on Hydeout Productions on July 16, 2008. Although the album is considered as hip-hop, it incorporates jazzy sounds of multi-layered piano, guitar, saxophone, and keyboards, with little vocals involved. The album combines live instrumentation with samples.
Douglas Appling, better known by his stage name, Emancipator, is an American producer and DJ based in Portland, Oregon, United States. He launched his music career by self-releasing his debut album, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough, in 2006 while he was a college student. He has released eight studio albums, two live albums, five EPs and three remix collections. He also founded his own record label, Loci Records, in 2012 and formed a live band called the Emancipator Ensemble in 2013.
[Ricky Lascaze] is an American Hip-Hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn, New York who records under the name DJ Ezasscul. For a brief period of time he was a member of the rap group Supreme & Eaze with, Missouri rapper, Supreme Sol. DJ Ezasscul is also founder of the independent label Jazzy Peace Records.
"Counting Stars" is a 2013 song by OneRepublic from their album Native.
Stanley Robinson, known as Substantial, is a hip hop recording artist from Prince George's County, Maryland. He now operates out of Virginia.
Force of Nature is a hip-hop DJ and production duo from Tokyo, Japan. The group is composed of members Kitazawa Ikuzumi, known by his stage name KZA, and Kento Sasaki, known by his stage name DJ Kent or The Backwoods. Known internationally for their DJ work as well as their production, the duo is also credited as part of the production team that scored the music for the anime series Samurai Champloo.
Lofi hip hop is a form of downtempo music that combines elements of hip hop and chill-out music. It was popularized in the 2010s on YouTube.
Luv(Sic) Hexalogy is an album collaboration created and finalized posthumously by the Japanese producer Nujabes, who died before the completion of the album, and Japanese American hip hop artist Shing02. It is a jazz hip hop album (hexalogy), that incorporates latin jazz/soul samples and drum beats to create the instrumentals. The scratching was performed by various DJs and the vocals/lyrics were created by Shing02.
The music of the 2004 anime series Samurai Champloo, created by the studio Manglobe, was produced by a team of four composers drawn from the hip hop musical scene. They were Shinji "Tsutchie" Tsuchida of Shakkazombie, Fat Jon, Nujabes and Force of Nature. The musical direction was chosen by series creator and director Shinichirō Watanabe as part of his planned blending of hip hop culture with the anime's setting in the Edo period, additionally incorporating contributions from guest artists. The opening theme "Battlecry" was performed and co-written by Shing02, while the various ending themes were performed by Minmi, Kazami, and Azuma Riki. The final episode's ending theme was "San Francisco", licensed from the rapper band Midicronica.
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