Lofi hip hop

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Lofi hip hop (also typeset as lo-fi) is a form of downtempo [3] [4] and lo-fi music [5] that combines elements of hip hop and chill-out music. [6] The name refers to the unpolished, low fidelity production techniques common in the style. [5] It was popularized in the 2010s on YouTube.

Contents

Name and Origins

The genre name originates from the low fidelity ("lo-fi") aesthetic of the music, which tends to be deliberately less "polished" and features audio imperfections, distorted sound quality, and less professional audio equipment than high fidelity ("hi-fi") music. [5] Lo-fi hip-hop originated within the underground beatmaking hip-hop scene of the 2000s, particularly after the advent of Roland SP-303 and Roland SP-404 samplers, each of which featured the "lo-fi" effect as a separate button. [7]

The 2004 MF Doom and Madlib album Madvillainy is regarded as a "shared touchstone" for lo-fi hip-hop. [8] The Japanese artist Nujabes, often called the "godfather of lofi hip hop", [9] [10] [11] is also credited with driving lofi's growth with his contributions to the soundtrack for the popular anime Samurai Champloo . [12] Another artist also often associated with the development of lofi is US rapper and producer J Dilla. [13] [14]

Emergence and popularity

In 2013, YouTube began hosting live streams, which resulted in 24-hour "radio stations" dedicated to microgenres such as vaporwave. [15] Compilation videos are also popular, combining the music with visuals that could take the form of recorded pedestrian walks through major cities like Tokyo, looping visuals from cartoons such as The Simpsons or Internet memes. [16] Spotify added to the popular "lo-fi beats" wave by generating "Spotified genres", including "Chill Hits", "Bedroom Pop" playlists, and promoting numerous "chill pop" artists. [3]

In 2015, a form of downtempo music tagged as "chillhop" or "lo-fi hip hop" became popular among YouTube music streamers. Most, if not all, of the content used in YouTube videos was primarily published on SoundCloud. By 2018, several of these channels had millions of followers. One DJ, Ryan Celsius, theorized that they were inspired by a nostalgia for the commercial bumpers used by Toonami and Adult Swim in the 2000s, and that this "created a cross section of people that enjoyed both anime and wavy hip-hop beats". [8] These channels equally functioned as chatrooms, with participants often discussing their personal struggles. [17] By 2018, Spotify's "Chill Hits" playlist had 5.4 million listeners and had been growing rapidly. [3]

Winkie credited YouTube user Lofi Girl (formerly known as "ChilledCow") as "the person who first featured a studious anime girl as his calling card, which set up the aesthetic framework for the rest of the people operating in the genre". [8]

Viewership of lo-fi hip hop streams grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. [17] In April 2020, MTV News noted, "there might be something to be said for lo-fi hip-hop's composition, and the way its creators mix simplistic melodies with a judicious use of words to create intense memories, feelings, and nostalgia" and stated that the quarantine in place in various countries "has led people to log more hours online due to boredom or virtual workplaces and schools, and livestreamed music performances are reaching their full potential". [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

Downtempo is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may be played in relaxation clubs or as "warm-up or cool-down" music during a DJ set. Examples of downtempo subgenres include trip hop, ambient house, chillwave, psybient and lofi hip hop.

Chopped and screwed is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and DJing. It was developed in the Houston, Texas, hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ Screw. The screwed technique involves slowing the tempo of a song down to 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time and affecting portions of the original composition to create a "chopped-up" version of the song.

Chill-out is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally refers to anything that might be identified as a modern type of easy listening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lo-fi music</span> Music aesthetic

Lo-fi is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic choice. The standards of sound quality (fidelity) and music production have evolved over the decades, meaning that some older examples of lo-fi may not have been originally recognized as such. Lo-fi began to be recognized as a style of popular music in the 1990s, when it became alternately referred to as DIY music. Some subsets of lo-fi music have become popular for their perceived nostalgic and/or relaxing qualities, which originate from the imperfections that define the genre.

Lo-fi of Lofi usually refers to lo-fi music

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nujabes</span> Japanese record producer and DJ (1974–2010)

Jun Seba, born Jun Yamada, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland SP-404</span> Discontinued electronic sampler

The Roland SP-404 Sampling Workstation is a discontinued sampler made by Roland Corporation. Released in 2005, it is part of the SP family and successor to where Boss Corporation’s SP-505 sampler left off. The sampler was succeeded by the SP-555 in 2008, but was later given its own upgrade as the Roland SP-404SX Linear Wave Sampler in 2009. Another upgrade, the Roland SP-404A Linear Wave Sampler was released in 2017. A third upgrade, the SP-404MKII was released in 2021. The Roland SP-404 has played a huge role in influencing the sound of popular Hip Hop subgenre known as Lofi HipHop.

Chillwave is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features include a faded or dreamy retro pop sound, escapist lyrics, psychedelic or lo-fi aesthetics, mellow vocals, slow-to-moderate tempos, effects processing, and vintage synthesizers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaporwave</span> Online musical genre and visual aesthetic

Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music and a subgenre of hauntology, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s, and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970s elevator music, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades. Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web design, glitch art, anime, stylized Ancient Greek or Roman sculptures, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes in its cover artwork and music videos.

Hypnagogic pop is pop or psychedelic music that evokes cultural memory and nostalgia for the popular entertainment of the past. It emerged in the mid to late 2000s as American lo-fi and noise musicians began adopting retro aesthetics remembered from their childhood, such as radio rock, new wave pop, synth-pop, video game music, light rock, and R&B. Recordings circulated on cassette or Internet blogs and were typically marked by the use of outmoded analog equipment and DIY experimentation.

Hardvapour is an Internet-based microgenre of music that emerged in late 2015 as a tongue-in-cheek response to vaporwave, departing from the calm, muzak-sampling capitalist utopia concept of the latter in favor of a gabber- and punk-influenced sound. Canadian music producer Wolfenstein OS X album End of World Rave (2015) and the Antifur record label are credited with having first defined the hardvapour sound.

Phonk is a subgenre of hip hop and trap music directly inspired by 1990s Memphis rap. The style is characterized by vocals from old Memphis rap tapes and samples from early 1990s hip hop, especially cowbell samples resembling that of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The genre draws from the dark, distortive techniques of the chopped and screwed sound.

Hyperpop is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early 2010s. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on popular music, and typically integrates pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lofi Girl</span> Music label and YouTube channel

Lofi Girl is a French YouTube channel and music label established in 2017. It provides livestreams of lo-fi hip hop music 24/7, accompanied by a Japanese-style animation of a girl studying or relaxing in her bedroom with a cat on the window.

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.

Ryan Celsius is the pseudonym of a Washington, D.C.–based music curator, disc jockey, video artist, music producer and YouTuber.

References

  1. Zarczynski, Andrea. "How Lofi Hip-Hop Will Inspire New Music In 2021". Forbes.
  2. Jack Curtis Dubowsky (2021). Easy Listening and Film Scoring 1948-78. Routledge. pp. 252–253. ISBN   9780429997679.
  3. 1 2 3 Werner, Ann (2020-01-02). "Organizing music, organizing gender: algorithmic culture and Spotify recommendations". Popular Communication. 18 (1): 78–90. doi: 10.1080/15405702.2020.1715980 . ISSN   1540-5702.
  4. Staff. "Downtempo Music Guide: 5 Popular Downtempo Musical Acts". Masterclass . Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Murray, Connor. "What To Know About Lo-Fi Music: The Viral Hit That's Taken Over YouTube". Forbes. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  6. Maxwell, Dante (September 20, 2019). "Music Microgenres: A Brief History of Retrowave, Acid House, & Chillhop". Zizacious.
  7. "Inside the SP Series". Roland Engineering. 3 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Winkie, Luke (July 13, 2018). "How 'Lofi Hip Hop Radio to Relax/Study to' Became a YouTube Phenomenon". Vice. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  9. ellenbemarc (1 May 2021). "Nujabes: The Godfather of Lofi". The Overlap. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. Rinehart, J. D. (6 October 2022). "What is Lo-fi Hip Hop? Why is it So Popular?". Deep in the Mix. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  11. Chow, Aaron (20 February 2022). "Medicom Toy Celebrates Nujabes with 'FIRST COLLECTION' BE@RBRICK Set". Hypebeast. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  12. Anderson, Javon (25 August 2021). "The jazz roots of Nujabes, a pioneer of 'lofi hip hop'". Jazz.FM 91. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. iCouldBeYu (3 February 2022). "J Dilla: The GodFather of LoFi Hip Hop". Lofi Weekly. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  14. Yoder, Mark (27 March 2019). "J Dilla and Lo-Fi Hip Hop". Afterglow. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  15. Alemoru, Kemi (June 14, 2018). "Inside YouTube's calming 'Lofi Hip Hop Radio to Relax/Study to' community". Dazed Digital .
  16. Coleman, Jonny (May 1, 2015). "Quiz: Is This A Real Genre". Pitchfork .
  17. 1 2 Alexander, Julia (April 20, 2020). "Lo-fi beats to quarantine to are booming on YouTube". The Verge.
  18. Mlnarik, Carson (April 1, 2020). "How Lo-Fi Beats's Nostalgic Comfort Transcended The Memes". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.