About Nujabes
Hometown
Tokyo, Japan
Born
February 19, 1974
Genre
Hip-Hop/Rap
Japanese DJ and producer Nujabes created chilled-out songs from vintage jazz and soul samples and became a pioneering figure in the lo-fi hip-hop movement.
• Born February 7, 1974—the same day as famed American producer J Dilla—Nujabes arrived at his stage name by spelling his birth name backwards.
• Nujabes began taking beatmaking seriously in 1998, the same year he founded his Hydeout Productions label.
• In 1999, Nujabes released his debut single, “Ain’t No Mystery,” featuring Japanese rapper L Universe.
• Rising NYC rapper Substantial traveled to Tokyo in 2000 to work with Nujabes on the collaborative album To This Union a Son Was Born, released the following year.
• Nujabes dropped his solo debut, Metaphorical Music, in 2003, followed by Modal Soul two years later.
• In 2000, Nubajes teamed up with Japanese American rapper Shing02 on “Luv(sic),” which wound up being the first song in a six-part series.
• Nujabes created music for the popular anime series Samurai Champloo, which ran from 2004 to 2005. The show mixed hip-hop culture with a feudal Japanese setting.
• Nujabes was killed in a traffic accident on February 26, 2010, at the age of 36.
• Shing02 released the final three “Luv(sic)” installments after Nujabes’ death. The “Grand Finale” was built from a finished beat discovered on the late producer’s phone.
• Since Nujabes’ death, rappers like SahBabii and Joey Bada$$ have name-checked him in songs.
Influenced by NujabesNujabes has influenced the music of Rayana Jay, tomppabeats, GentleBeatz and more.
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