Every year on the week of his death I dedicate my Track Of The Week to Japanese Hip-Hop producer Nujabes.

A decade after His death, his production still feels fresh, blending jazz samples with hip hop groves, which a collection of collaborators to rap over. Its a blend of genre that has been prevalent throughout the history of Hip-Hop, but Nujabes still stands out as one of the true masters of the form.

Feather is the opening track to his second album “modal soul,” and follows his winning formula of musical looping sections; filtered to allow space for Cise Starr & Akin to rap over.

Its a great place to start with its catchy piano hook and thoughtful lyrics, but it should’t be the place to stop. His work (especially on his first two albums) is a pure joy and has never left me since I first heard it nearly fifteen years ago.

It is a shame that we will never hear more from Jun Seba but I will cherish the music he did release for the rest of my life. Although there is a fairly limited amount of music, the quality of the tracks throughout his career mean that I will be able to continue this section for years to come:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist: