J Dilla & Nujabes: The Dads of Lofi? (Documentary)

#jdilla #nujabes #lofi
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The hardest I've worked in anything ever. In this video essay I will go in depth on the legacy of 2 legendary music producers - J Dilla and Nujabes - and reveal if they are in fact the Godfathers of the LoFi Hip Hop music genre.
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CREDITS:
Thumbnail: / ju.moana
Writing/Editing/Recording: 100% Me
Music:
NEVUSSIDE: / nevusside sptfy.com/Q6Lj
& Unreleased Dilla Beats
Images & Videos:
PopKillerTV - Amp Fiddler - interview: on teaching J Dilla how to use MPC
The New York Times - The Legacy of J Dilla
Netflix - HipHop Evolution
Jeff Kim - The Immortal Legacy of Seba "Nujabes" Jun
Nujabes「Eternal Soul」
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Subscribe / Support
PATREON: / narokx
BeatStars: www.beatstars.com/narokx
Twitter: / narokx
SoundCloud: / narokx-8
IG: / narokx
TikTok: / prod.narokx
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00:00 - Introducing J Dilla & Nujabes
01:18 - What is lo-fi?
01:40 - My Story & KZbin Music
04:04 - Type Beats, Boom Bap & Remixes
06:16 - Madlib & Low Fidelity
08:20 - Early J Dilla (Amp Fiddler & MPC)
10:49 - Slum Village
12:55 - Q-Tip
14:19 - The Ummah & Soulquarians
16:00 - Dilla Genius & Hardwork
16:50 - Early Nujabes (Music & Business)
19:26 - Sweet Sticky Thing & Collaborations
23:12 - Metaphorical Music
25:38 - Samurai Champloo OST & lofi
28:00 - Modal Soul
30:17 - Hydeout Production 2nd Collection
31:32 - J Dilla, Nujabes & Lofi Hip Hop
37:01 - Dilla & Nujabes Supernatural Connection
38:20 - Conclusion & Future

[@Dewane1511]

Trust dilla wouldn’t like being called “dad of lofi” houseshoes addressed this a few years back.

[@DaveDEF82]

Dilla wouldn't like 99% of those copycat beats either.

[@Dewane1511]

@@DaveDEF82very true he spoke on in it in an interview.

[@Narokx]

32:20 I literally agreed with you. I go against the claim they are the "godfathers" of lofi, the connection is simply their fanbase. Sorry about the clickbait lol, gotta do what you what to do. But not really sorry, since I do think Dilla is the "dad" of a lot of producers and sub genres.

[@Dewane1511]

@@Narokx I apologize I haven’t gotten that far in the video yet ✊🏾

[@Narokx]

@@Dewane1511 no biggie, appreciate your passion for the subject 🙌🏼

[@n1ira]

I live in Tokyo, and can still feel the love for him to this day. Many of my Japanese friends say he's darely missed here. He is the late legend we never deserved.

[@makalism]

You would assume two artists who share oddly similar styles would know of each other The haunting essence of the beats they create perfectly capture nostalgia, memories and emotional distress in a way which cannot be described They are able to take a sample and bring out so much of the deeper notes and rhythms May their legacies carry on

[@Narokx]

:)

[@taosophymusic]

8 minutes in and I already know I'm adding this to my archive. Kudos to you on putting this together👍🏽.

[@Narokx]

:)

[@lutzfreudenberg697]

I cannot thank you enough for making this video and the hard work you put in research for it ❤ Am a big fan of both of them but especially grew up with the music of Nujabes from the early 2000s on and still am listening to it daily. It‘s my heart beat. ❤ Thank you :)

[@morreddie717]

10/10 video! dilla and nujabes would've been making some wild music with the technology we have today

[@sowososmooth]

This is the quality content that I subscribe for man. You're the best at this kind of stuff. So close to 20k subs!

[@Narokx]

Was only able to grow this far because of my day ones :)

[@-ASTROMAGIC]

Can't wait to listen to this once I'm done with work today. We appreciate your hard work man, both Nujabes and Dilla are two artists I wish I could've seen live before they passed, but they live forever in their art.

[@Narokx]

:)

[@ojoao.bernardes]

NUJABES AND DILLA THE GOATS

[@lynxproductions]

Incredible, and can't wait to hear your own music!

[@Narokx]

:)

[@ghost_endy]

this was a great documentary, thank you for this!!

[@mcDontSpeak]

Another great video brother. Thanks for all your sample breakdowns. I really wish i was as capable of doing this type of analysis to apply it to my music making. Cant wait to hear whats next from you.

[@Narokx]

Thanks!

[@wm1573]

Good doc! Thank you for this

[@nodoze123]

Thank you again for all you do! 🫡🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@hoptoad5367]

This is sick man. Great work

[@Narokx]

Appreciate it! Took some sweat!

[@Outlanders02]

Meu Deus! Eu sabiaaa, tinha um feeling que você era brasileiro. Brigadão pelo conteúdo, é absurdamente muito bem produzido. Amo seus vídeos, apesar de me considerar apenas apreciador e nada técnico em musicalidade. Aquele seu vídeo sobre aruarian dance tá enraizado no meu coração

[@Narokx]

que mensagem :) !

[@diogobalboaflores6878]

:0@@Narokx

[@starksvensk]

I don’t have much time to watch this right now, but I’m saving it. Looks like a very good video. Thanks for posting this sir.

[@basketguitar9768]

Dude your stuff is criminally underrated. One of the best youtube documentaries ive seen in a while👍

[@Narokx]

:)

[@filipkasprzyk9564]

Man youre doing insane work!

[@Narokx]

I try 😅

[@met6261]

Imma be waiting to hear one of your music I hope u post a demo in here much love for ur work mate

[@Narokx]

:)

[@mujan5627]

Que buena manera de despedir febrero. Gran video.🎉

[@ands0]

que isso mano acompanho seus breakdown ja tem uns tempo, foda demais saber que tu é br! trampo foda demais. sucesso !!!

[@Narokx]

Valeu man :)

[@17-.]

Hell yes this is what I've been waiting for

[@Narokx]

:)

[@17-.]

@@NarokxDon't get bogged down by the youtube hustle brother. your videos have such high quality that I'm sure you're gonna make it. Keep up the grind. Looking forward to hearing what you can do!

[@nevusside]

Love the way you’ve integrated your sample breakdowns into these legendary stories 👌🏻 editing and visuals are class too! Incredible amount of hard-work all building up to this point with the hour-long Dilla breakdown video and this. Insane man 👏🏼 Honoured to have a few unreleased beats feature in this! Particularly enjoyed the ending as well! 👀 Excited to see where this next chapter leads you! 🙌🏼

[@Narokx]

My guy came in clutch!

[@farewellbeats]

As someone who makes lofi as their job and major hobby, I love the video so far. Love to see stuff like this being created. Did a cool thing here man. Since you like beats and basketball, I'd highly recommend listening to Mutombo records tracks. Their whole label is basketball themed.

[@Narokx]

That is awesome to hear mate! Also thanks for the recommendation!!

[@DaveDEF82]

Amp Fiddler R.I.P. ... all these legends are dying way too early.

[@Narokx]

It hit me hella hard because I was finishing this when the news dropped, I wasn't aware of him prior to my research, so it felt like I lost something I just got... R.I.P. to a legend

[@17-.]

I also found these two through youtube. It's crazy how this platform allows true talent to rise to the surface, even posthumously. Forever will be vibing to these legends!

[@halfpint5877]

no, it pushes trending things to the top, it doesn't give a fuck about talent

[@17-.]

@@halfpint5877 can't argue that the opportunity is there. Compared to the work the underground artists had to put in to market themselves, KZbin is way easier to get into

[@Narokx]

It is a double edge sword, yeah you gotta do some stuff that isn't relate to just creating to find success i.e. my channel, but still opportunity is there to build something from nothing and connect with the whole world

[@Narokx]

KZbin is going to be forever my favorite music app :)

[@leoniceparente7783]

Maravilhosooooo!!! ❤🥰👏👏👏

[@fr8traaain]

I did a presentation in my public speaking class on this exact same premise. Excellent video

[@Narokx]

:)

[@guilhermeaugusto5989]

NOSSA EU NÃO ACREDITO QUE VOCÊ É BRASILEIRO! parabéns pelo trabalho irmão

[@Narokx]

:))))

[@TheInternetLove]

🙏🏾

[@artisans8521]

To me I took a detour via Bristol and Belgium, with bands like Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, Red Snapper and the Sneaker Pimps (with Kelli Ali/Dayton) and Hooverphonic. And DJs like DJ Shadow and Howie B. Then to Erykah and via her to JD. But that last step took 10 years and involved a virus lockdown, a post from Grimes on Instagram, a few samplers new and old, two funerals, and a rehash of my studio, now in the box and then out of it via a Polish sampler and rehash of an old friend. So now I own a ticket to an upcoming SlumVillage concert in my home town in backwater The Netherlands.

[@DaveDEF82]

35:16 only a handful of LoFi people actually understand J Dilla's groove and swing. Most just program boring ass quintuplet style drums.

[@Narokx]

Not surprising, when you are so good at something that even real drummer try to emulate your finger drumming.

[@DaveDEF82]

@@Narokx Dayum... KZbin deleted a comment for talking about other videos in it. I was trying to highlight old beatmaking videos of 20syl and Kev Brown to showcase two examples from back then who definitely also captured that feel back then.

[@Narokx]

@@DaveDEF82 KZbin doesn't allows links in comments anymore. I think they do it to fight boots :(

[@DaveDEF82]

@@Narokx understandable... I tried to reference to them only by the title which also lead to the comment being deleted. vicious. 😅

[@FairchlldMusic1]

Great vid, thanks!

[@no.sarembo]

And we cant talk about J Dilla without talking about Neo-Soul

[@Skyymrister]

Nujabes do inspired many people practice sampling skill. I am the one for example...

[@MrJeancow]

Years ago this stuff was simply called “hip hop”. This “lo fi” umbrella term is nosense when we talk about j dilla and other boom bap producers. There’s nothing lo fi about this world. They made hard knocking hip hop sample based beats.

[@Narokx]

I like this perspective!

[@artisans8521]

I think so too, but truth be told, lofi girl, was the entry drug to most who discovered Nujabes and Dilla in the late 10th band and early 20th. And when people like MF Doom, DiBiase and the like site him as an influence, I guess there us some truth in it. Sometime you can father a child against your knowing so.

[@apexone5502]

True. Hip Hop beats of the past had that lofi aesthetic due to the fact that the samplers of the era couldn’t sample at a high bit rate to make the samples cleaner. It was just good ol’ Hip Hop back then and that’s it.

[@ghosthnw9772]

37:47 I want to specify that Dilla did sample one particular Japanese song for a beat AFAIK. It is Yutaka Yokokura's 1978 song, Evening Star, being flipped to a beat in his '99 beat tape, The New Slaves colloquially known as "I'm So Glad You're Dorothy" or Jay Dee 45 officially. So... He probably had tapped into Japan music much earlier than Jay Loves Japan. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Towa Tei, the musician that Dilla sampled for Find My Way, Japanese? So... Maybe he know Nujabes through him? But then the timeline wouldn't match up if that's the case.

[@Narokx]

I was also reaching trying to find a way to at least assume that Dilla knew about Nujabes, but unless someone who was close to him says something, I think all we can do is speculate

[@CaldoHits]

Lo-fi is a descriptive word. It literally means Low Fidelity. Dilla requested that Dave Cooley who used to mix for Madlib at the time to give his music that "cassette" feel. Added to that, Dilla had a range of styles not limited to lo-fi. He also had beats with a hi-fi commercial sound. Examples of lo-fi projects by Dilla include and are not limited to Ruff Drafts and Donuts.

[@Narokx]

!!! Great observation! The examples I used at the end are exactly from Ruff Draft and Donuts (aside from Secrets of the Sand)

[@Jeweldroppin]

I feel like Madlib influenced the genre more than nujabes

[@Narokx]

You can argue more than Dilla, but 1000% not more than Nujabes. Samurai Champloo was huuuuge for lofi

[@apexone5502]

I was looking for a Madlib mention and I wholeheartedly agree. He was doing his thing professionally before Nujabes and he had that heavy lofi sound way before it became its own genre. He was the influence for Dilla switching to the raw style that was used for "Donuts" (this isn't to say Jay didn't have a lofi style before that album). Not to take away from Nujabes contributions but someone like Madlib has a heavier influence on the genre. "The Unseen" is a great example of the sound that helped to bring about lofi hip hop as a subgenre.

[@boogiemir]

Fun fact nujabes dad was supposedly a pianist & well put together video.👍🏾

[@Narokx]

Appreciate you sharing, and the recognition!

[@boogiemir]

@@NarokxYou’re welcome sir.

[@eviltuqueque8800]

Nuja and my borther got me into beatmaking also, u are brazilian ?

[@Narokx]

Born and raised

[@6fates0]

Agradeço mesmo por falar mais sobre eles. Mas mano também a música de hip hop de bondade do brasil. Na parada do boom bap como o pumapjl e SonoTWS. música lave a alma mano, é isso onde eu quero econtrar. Nunca para de criar

[@Narokx]

Boooa :)

[@guilhermeaugusto5989]

Faz um video mostrando como o Dibia$e sampleia

[@ShinobiKush]

What about Ras G? Totally underrated

[@kincamell2]

Peace to The Aquarius

[@JohnCulpry]

How come Fat Jon never gets mentioned along with Nujabes when he produced half of Samurai Champloo as well?

[@Narokx]

I wish I could mention him more often, but he personally told me not to, soooo I feel kind of weird diving deeper into his stuff... I had a lot more to say about him, similar to what I did with Funky DL, and Sub, but again gotta respect the man's wishes

[@khoikidd]

@@Narokx Thats so interesting, Fat Jon is my guy, that always makes me mad when people overlook his part in samurai champloo, interesting that the man himself didnt want to be mentioned. Shoutout to Fat Jon though, he's a legend

[@JohnCulpry]

That’s no slight to you, I mean in general by all the lofi enthusiasts that pray to Nujabes only. It just reminds me of the “Dilla changed my life! Who is Slum Village?” meme @@Narokx

[@marsyasamplecollection]

Yey, no longer the older Nujabes pronunciation!!! 😂

[@Narokx]

Character development

[@marsyasamplecollection]

@@Narokx😎

[@spiketrakton329]

What’s that track at 15:50???? I need to know

[@Narokx]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2eXZ5JsjbKcfpY 12:45

[@sumedhkulkarni8416]

Did you watch the new Nujabes documentary??

[@Narokx]

which one?

[@sumedhkulkarni8416]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5fMk3Ztjsenaqssi=iohktJuGxjZvJYSA

[@sumedhkulkarni8416]

It's a pretty good documentary on how he got into music making and how he operated.

[@sumedhkulkarni8416]

Search music is mine music is yours

[@sumedhkulkarni8416]

Yt deleted the link I sent

[@dajhedi]

Any mention of MF DOOM?

[@Narokx]

06:32 - Madvillain mentioned 06:41 - Metal Fingers beat

[@marialeonetepparente4720]

Bjs amor ❤ Deus te abençoe 🙏

[@vdb492]

Carai n sabia q tu era br

[@tonystarkcoins2014]

This KZbinr is smart. He used j dilla to click bait us to new jabes

[@Narokx]

;)

[@oldmenwithnewguns5997]

I thought you are from france, not brazil. :D

[@Narokx]

I got a lot of Germain when I was in the US lol Brazil is really diverse so it makes sense we look like a bunch of different people

[@inigo9000]

Artists like 9thwonder & Flying Lotus definitely didden’t came later in the youtube world of beats , they were the biggest upcoming names at the moment youtube started, the type beats thing only became a thing years later

[@Narokx]

idk man, my experience was different. I was listening to type beats in 2011, the oldest 9th wonder instrumentals on this website are a bit younger than that. I think at most they came around at the same time.

[@inigo9000]

i'm really sure since i was listening them and bought records they did when i was stil in school, even went to my first festival in the summer to see flying lotus at 15/16 and i finished school in 2008. I guess it's just different depending on musical interests & what you were looking for at the time but they were definitely big names in this genre of hip hop & beatmakers@@Narokx

[@Narokx]

@@inigo9000 appreciate your perspective!

[@MBeats27]

I prefer nujabes over dilla sorry you can hate me

[@Narokx]

how dare you have an opinion ;)

[@persona8991]

I hate you for this title man

[@Narokx]

🥰

[@1LoDeezydotcom]

As a producer & a child of music, I can’t play to those “Lofi” playlist while having to do a task. I get to dissecting the music 😅

[@Narokx]

🔥

[@artisans8521]

Same problem here. Having access to 4 different samplers doesn't help 😂.