Relaxed beats, atmospheric rhythms and gritty production – mixed with elements of jazz – are key characteristics of the lofi hip-hop movement. As the artform reached new heights in the late 1990s, producers began taking a DIY approach to create a new sub-genre of laid-back beats, often culled from dope funk, disco, soul and jazz records, laced with thoughtful, hard-hitting rhymes. All this was propelled by the arrival of the SP-303 and SP-404 samplers, which opened a new portal of creativity in hip-hop.
Pioneers such as J Dilla, the late Detroit producer, earned the attention of the hip-hop world with innovative sampling styles and techniques. Dilla’s signature non-standard quantization experimentation gave his beats a loose and truly unique sound. These disorienting rhythms laid a foundation for generations of producers and MCs to come, following Dilla’s landmark albums ‘Welcome 2 Detroit,’ ‘Donuts,’ and his ‘Champion Sound’ collaboration with fellow lofi icon Madlib. Madvillain, the project consisting of Madlib and MF Doom, unveiled their sole album ‘Madvillainy,’ a groundbreaking drop in 2004 that changed the game for the alternative movement while earning its place among the most important records in hip-hop history.
Across the globe in Tokyo, the late innovator Nujabes was cultivating his own aesthetic, sampling trip-hop, breakbeat, downtempo and ambient music, earning the title of lofi’s “Godfather.” The spark was lit, and the digital era has fanned the flames, with producers, remixers and curators reaching massive audiences on SoundCloud and across the internet at large, ushering in a new era of DIY tracks from newcomers and mainstays alike.
We’ve compiled a collection of recent lofi beats, featuring a wide array of styles that embrace the gritty, cassette-tape sounds that have reinvented jazz, downtempo, funk and soul. From the modern classic collab between Madlib and Black Thought on “REEKYOD” and NYC-based experimental beat producer SwuM’s “High” featuring Jinsang to Atlanta-based producer to rapper Chester Watson’s intoxicating “Opal Arrowheads,” we’ve got your alternative right here.
LISTEN TO THE LOFI HIP-HOP PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD NOW
madlib - REEKYOD
Ahead of a promised collaborative album, the legend Madlib just dropped this “high art” single with Black Thought and Your Old Droog
Chester Watson - opal arrowheads [prod. toonorth]
Atlanta-based producer and rapper drops trip-hop flavor with a dizzying beat over intoxicating rhymes
ELCAMINO - No Fighting (feat. Boldy James)
Sparse, eerie production flavors this vibe-y track from Buffalo’s Demetrius Jackson
Glimlip x Slug - Sleeping With The Fishes
Chill, jazzy vibe to this ominously titled cut from the Rotterdam producer Glimlip
Rav - The Short Term Plan
Soviet-Born London-based rapper drops an emo-leaning verse over an ethereal lofi beat
SadBoyProlific - Olympus (prod. Poppy ozu)
Houston rapper lays down introspective rhymes as Poppy Ozu delivers a melancholy beat to bring it all together
jA’REL, but in lowercase - Myrtle Feat. Lota
jA’REL laid-back, jazz-tinged soulful approach shines on “Myrtle”
Evil Needle -Blossom
Chill instrumental from the French-German DJ, set to Dilla time
Kupla - It's Like You Never Left
Born in Finland, this piano-playing DJ-producer earned a master’s degree in Sound Arts in London
けｍ SURF - Merhaba
From Norway, this lofi composer says he lives in a cabin in the woods, and this relaxing track sounds like it
[ bsd.u ] - 0
His label describes his music as “the feeling when the party is winding down, but the groove won’t let up”
SwuM - High (ft. Jinsang)
Two lofi beatmakers combine their talents on this easy-breezy track
Flee Lord - Play Amongst The Stars (feat. Inspectah Deck)
Once an associate of Mobb Deep, the Far Rockaway rapper enlists some help from a Wu-Tang legend
Jae Skeese - Cantonese Characters (feat. Rome Streetz & Ty Farris)
“Both catchy and gritty,” the reviews say about this collab between the Buffalo rapper and the German producer Superior
Jinsang and Kudasaibeats - boardwalk
Jinsang's subtle approach pulls from his soul and jazz crate digging which the beatmaker has culled into his own lofi tracks.
MadeinTYO - Give Up
The Honolulu-born, Tokyo-raised and Atlanta-dwelling rapper brings together a jazz-laced murky beat with fiery verses on “Give Up”
KOTA The Friend - GOOD NUMBERS
Brooklyn-born rapper, singer and producer pontificates about brighter days ahead with a smooth flow over a warped lofi beat
Ben Beal - Berkshires
The versatile New York mc takes a observational trip through Berkshires powered by a dizzying chill beat that ultimately unwinds
LISTEN TO THE LOFI HIP-HOP PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD NOW
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