[HOST] Lo-fi hip-hop is a huge genre and the late Japanese producer Nujabes is one of its
forefathers, thanks to his jazzy production...
[HOST] And his unique use of samples.
[HOST] His two albums, ‘Metaphorical Music’ and 'Modal Soul’ are touch tones in lo-fi
and those who knew Nujabes say he was influenced by tons of jazz and golden era hip-hop.
SUBSTANTIAL: Like Native Tongues, Tribe, folks like that, Pete Rock, CL Smooth
[HOST] That’s Maryland rapper Substantial.
He was one of Nujabes’ first signees to his record label, Hydeout Productions.
[HOST] Substantial spoke with Genius News about what it was like to work with the reclusive
producer.
SUBSTANTIAL: He wanted the music to speak for itself and build his reputation off of
what he was making.
[HOST] The two worked together on Hyde Out Productions first release in 2001, ‘To This
Union A Sun Was Born.’
SUBSTANTIAL: My favorite that we worked on together was the final track on the album,
‘Ain’t No Happy Endings.’
SUBSTANTIAL: I’ll never forget the day he played that beat for me at his studio
[HOST] A noted crate digger who owned a couple of record shops, Nujabes was a sampling master,
like his take on Terry Callier’s “Ordinary Joe,” Substantial’s favorite.
SHING: I think his production overall was deceptively simple // whether in terms of
like drum structure or how he flipped the sample, it was very simple and I mean that
in a good way.
[HOST] That’s Japanese rapper Shing02, one of Nujabes’ earliest collaborators.
[HOST] He tours around the world keeping Nujabes’ memory alive.
[HOST]The two are behind the 6 part song series, “Luv (sic),” where Shing writes a love
letter to hip-hop.
According to him, part 2 happened in the wake of 9/11.
SHING: The buildings were still smoldering, you know, Nujabes just sends me a beat.
// Cut to // while watching the world collapse literally, I’m like once again now where
do I start dear love.
[HOST]That same introspection is what made the duo's most famous collaboration, "Battlecry,"
the theme song for Samurai Champloo, so popular.
SHING: I had no idea that it would be big or even received in the United States literally.
[HOST]Created by Shinichiro Watanabe, “Samurai Champloo” is one of the most iconic anime
of all time.
In an interview Watanabe once said quote.
[HOST] When I came up with the character of Mugen I heard hip-hop at the same time, and
I thought he was going to be a rapper samurai.
[HOST] This hip-hop influence was clear throughout the show - note the scratching DJ.
[HOST] As to Nujabes inclusion, Watanabe added elsewhere quote.
[HOST] The composer Nujabes was the first name that came to mind when I thought of creating
music for Samurai Champloo, so I think we were able to perform a great, spectacular
collaboration together.
SHING: ...talking about my own heritage and the inspiration I had with the Samurai sword.
JONNY: I think the whole anime side of the lo-fi hip hop nowadays is way more of a direct
flow from Nujabes.
[HOST] That’s Jonny Laxton from College Music, a live YouTube lo-fi streaming channel
with over 1 million subscribers.
JONNY:...and on to the lo-fi streams now across YouTube.
Our stream and other streams they have this study girl based on Ghibli and other kind
of Anime [HOST] This is why rapper SahBabii shouts
out Nujabes on his 2018 track, “Anime World.”
SahbabiI: I’d love to make one with Nujabes.
He went crazy.
It’s just so calm and relaxing.
Rip to him.
[HOST] Jonny believes that Nujabes is integral to what lo-fi hip-hop is known today.
Jonny: The likes of Evie, Tomppabeats, Jinsang …. these guys were also influenced by Nujabes
and we can’t forget, J Dilla as well.
[HOST] Nujabes is often mentioned in the same breath as the late legendary producer J Dilla.
In fact, the two share a birthday.
[HOST] In rap lyrics, the two go hand in hand, like Joey BadA$$ on 2013’s “20 Miles Freestyle”
[HOST] Jaden Smith did the same thing on 2018’s remix of his song “Icon.”
[HOST] While Nujabes was highly influential, Substantial believes that people shouldn’t
try to clone him, something he addressed on his song, “No Turning Back 2.0.”
[HOST] But he believes that he has to keep pushing Nujabes’ legacy forward.
SUBSTANTIAL: I owe it to him to make sure people don’t forget what he contributed
musically to the world. What he contributed to my career, and a lot of the other brothers who had the
pleasure of working with him.
[HOST] I’m Jacques Morel with Genius News,
bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music. Peace!