For the past four years I’ve posted a Nujabes track on the week of the artists untimely death. Partly to remember his work but also because it still resonates with me to this day. Jazz Infused Hip hop wasn’t unique when he was making this music over a decade ago and its a style that has continued to be popular and yet for me his work still reigns supreme.

His particular ability to mix samples that create strong emotions in the listener has enabled the work to remain relevant and still continue to grow a fan base of both listeners and musicians alike. Many have been influenced by his work and some have tried to imitate it to varying levels of success and yet none have been able to match the original work for feeling and repeatability.

Its a mark to the mans talent that his work is so hard to replicate when its sample based. Clearly Jun Seba had a unique ear for finding and working these elements together. Although we were only blessed with a small collection of albums and EP from his shot but productive career they continue to be some of the most listed to records in my collection many years after I first heard them. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

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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:

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Each year, on the week of his death, I commemorate hip hop producer Nujabes because he still holds a strong place in my heart and record collection.

When I first heard his music on the show Samurai Champloo, I loved his Jazzy style of hip-hop and wanted to know more. So, I scoured the internet for the limited and poor quality rips of his music at the time. Finally I came across his first album “metaphorical music” in full.

Even in the poor quality MP3 state I managed to fall in love with it to the extent that I had to own the record. At this point, his second album “modal soul” had come out, so I imported them at an astronomically high price (at the time each record cost me nearly 2 days wages of my poor student job).

With a large cost, and nearly a month’s worth of waiting for shipping, my anticipation of the records had peaked dangerously high. Although I’d heard a poor quality version of “metaphorical music”, “modal soul” was completely new to me, and I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the first record, or the price I’d paid to import it.

Thankfully I wasn’t dissapointed, Both records were above and beyond my expectations. They were played in rotation throughout my entire summer and became for months the soundtrack to my life. I couldn’t believe music this good was so unknown. Part of me cherished the fact that I had something so special all to myself. I was listening to music that nobody else was. The other part of me wanted to change that. I became a spokesman for the records, playing them to anyone who would listen.

Over time it became clear that I wasn’t the only one. At the beginning, the internet was baron of Nujabes info from non Japanese sites. But this started to change as more people heard his music. A fanbase grew in a natural way, and the more it grew, the more proud I was of this fantastic artist.

It hit me hard in 2010 to hear of his sudden death. There was still so much potential that had been snuffed out before it had time to develop. I felt like the world was robbed, not only of new and beautiful music, but also the chance for that music to influence more musicians and artists to continue his brilliant legacy.

Fans of his music have continued to carry the banner for Nujabes. There’s something about their fanaticism that makes it so special. He has always felt like a bit of an outcast. In the early days we used to argue with HipHop fans who wouldn’t give him the time of day because he was Japanese and not American. His particular style of HipHop and Jazz has fallen in and out of fashion, but one thing that has always stood the test of time is truly great music.

And that seems to be the case with Nujabes. Now that his catalog is available on streaming and has been added to playlists, more and more people are becoming aware of an artist who managed to blend his own style out of jazz samples to create music that is timeless. Although dead, he lives on through the many old and new fans that continue to listen to his music over a decade later.

With little to no promotion his fanbase continues to grow because of his raw brilliant talent. The music speaks for itself, and it’s time to let it do the talking. Rest In Peace Jun Seba, you’re sorely missed:

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Nujabes has been a act that I continue to come back to year in, year out. Its nice that he is finally available on spotify as his work has always been hard to get outside of Japan.

The album Spiritual State came out after his tragic death, with many tracks being finished by friends and collaborators posthumously. Its title track was a collaboration with Uyama Hiroto and contains sparse elements. A piano, backed up with a shuffling clapping loop, together with a clarinet, provide the only instrumentation, giving the piece space for the cord patterns and busy melodies to be both interesting and relaxing.

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8 Years ago this week we lost one of my favourite artists of all time. Jun Seba died in a traffic accident in Shibuya, Tokyo on the 26th of February 2010 with a burgeoning career ahead of him. A career that has continued to grow after his passing due to the quality of his three full albums and multiple mix-tapes and rarities.

Like many fans, I originally heard his work on the anime series Samurai Champloo. It was a sound that stood out in its own right among a collection of hip hop tracks made by great artists. Nujabes production shone through and resulted in me importing his first two albums at a great expense. These two albums have stood the test of time, blending jazz and hip hop to create a nostalgic atmosphere. Their mix of instrumentals, with collaborations from underground rappers from Japan and the USA, provides music that transcends its time period.

Up until recently his work has been hard to get hold of. He released most of his music on his own label “Hydeout Productions” and his sudden death obviously caused issues with the licensing and distribution of his music, outside of the few CD’s released purely in Japan. This made fans outside of japan either acquire the work illegally or at great cost via import/buying from japan personally.

Fortunately those days seem to be disappearing as most of his catalogue has started to appear on major streaming sites over the past few months. Hopefully this accessibility will allow more people to hear and become as enamoured with his music as much as I am.

I have highlighted his work almost yearly on this blog and will continue to do so on the week of his death and for years to come. His music is still as popular to me now as it was when I first heard it. All of his work is amazing with his first two albums “Metaphorical Music” and “Modal Soul” being the highlights.

The track “Reflection Eternal” comes from the latter and exemplifies his instrumental compositions. The use of small loops from limited instrumentation creates a sound that oozes atmosphere. A laid back world that hooks many people. I hope it hooks you too as you start the bittersweet journey of hearing music that will stick with you for years, yet knowing that there will never be more. Jun Suba may have died but Nujabes lives on through his work and his loyal fanbase, which finds an endless joy to the music he created.

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