Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds

Welcome to this week’s issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds!

I hope you had a nice week. Just a reminder that there is now a Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds Threads!

Also, you may have noticed, but the numbering changed up a little bit this week. There was accidentally two Issue #17s, but I caught it and fixed it!

This week’s episode of The Sushi Platter is about a musician you probably know. A short yet impressive discography, it’s Nujabes!

📖 History and Influence 📖 

Nujabes, whose real name is Jun Seba, was a Hip-Hop producer whose unique sample choices have propelled him into legendary status. He took sounds from Smooth Jazz, Soul, while also being influenced by Downtempo and Ambient music as well. As time has went on, he’s become known as the “Godfather of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop”. If you think about that YouTube video of the anime girl studying, the first thing that comes to mind is Nujabes right? Only me?

I think it’s safe to say that Nujabes’ influence has only grown over time. When he came out there was no one else who sounded like him, but now nearly the entire genre of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop is a Nujabes copycat in some form. I can guess that out of all the artists I’ve talked about so far, this might be the one that the most of you know.

Nujabes was extremely ambitious and had a burning passion for music. He ran a record store AND a label, while also making music on top of it, now that’s what you call BADASS.

Which brings me to his passing. Jun Seba passed away in 2010 due to a traffic accident. While I wish he could have been here longer so we would have more music and the potential to see him live, he also left an amazing legacy of 3 albums that are all top-tier mostly instrumental Hip-Hop albums.

I actually found out about his music by seeing the news that he passed on a music forum. I didn’t know who he was, but I remember seeing many online music nerds sad about his passing, so I decided to check out his discography (2 albums at that time). Both of them were crucial into getting me into Hip-Hop, a genre I don’t talk about on this newsletter much, but one that I love a lot.

📈 Rankings 📈 

*BONUS: Samurai Champloo Soundtracks + Compilations

Although Nujabes technically only has 3 studio albums, he has ALOT of music out there. I just included a few popular ones above, but I’ll be honest I haven’t listened to Hydeout Productions 2nd Collections yet. Samurai Champloo is an anime that was made by the same creator as Cowboy Bebop (a personal favorite), but I only remember glimpses of Samurai Champloo at 2 AM when I would wake up in a daze to go to the bathroom. Arguably the perfect way to hear some of Nujabes’ music imo.

Luv(sic) Hexalogy is a powerful compilation of all the Luv(sic) tracks, collaborations between Nujabes and rapper Shing02. Tracks 1 through 3 were completed during Nujabes lifetime, but 4 through 6 are beats Nujabes made but Shing02 made the lyrics after his death. The lyrics for these tracks are extremely powerful and personal, easily making you cry so be prepared for that 😭

3. Spiritual State

Apple Music | Spotify

So everyone calls Nujabes a Hip-Hop producer and that is accurate, but this album shows that he’s just as much Jazz or Downtempo as he is Hip-Hop. A lot of the boom bap inspired beats are mostly gone, and in their place are more subdued vinyl cracking drum samples.

It could be due to the occasional emptiness that the album has. While there are amazing tracks here, this is a post-humous release and apparently his friends collaborated to help complete it. This album feels a little… incomplete to me, especially the mixing and layering. It feels flat, but I mean the fact that we got any more music of his after his passing is amazing, so don’t take it for granted.

As for the tracks that are great, they are Tony The Tiger level GREAT (Is Tony The Tiger a thing outside the US and Canada?). I love the first track “Spiritual State”, representing the title, feeling like your transferring to a Spiritual State of sorts. The high pitched vocal sample of “Color of Autumn” sounds pretty ahead of it’s time, and has an amazing piano sample. Speaking of, I think “Sky Tumbling (feat. Cise Star)” has one of my favorite piano samples ever, and while the rapping on Nujabes albums are very hit and miss, I think Cise Star’s lyrics here are entertaining and thought provoking.

Maybe not the best place to start with Nujabes but if you’ve heard the other two albums here, definitely worth a listen.

2. Metaphorical Music

Apple Music | Spotify

The one that started it all and my first introduction to Seba’s music. First, let’s take a moment to appreciate this album cover. It’s both so 2003, yet also unique. For me, just looking at it helps transport me to Nujabes’ own musical world.

I do think this album has the best few opening tracks out of the entire Nujabes discography. “Blessing It” going right into “Horn in the middle” is perfect set up for the rest of the album, and while “Lady Brown (feat. Cise Starr)” has cheesy lyrics, the beat and samples are 10/10 legendary.

Speaking of the rapping, I think out of all of his discography, this album has the most dated sounded rapping and lyrics. It’s aged like slightly stinky cheese, but even stinky cheese smells kinda good sometimes am I right? (work with me here)

Even with the slightly goofy rapping, this album is still top-tier. I would say this and the number 1 album on this list are must listens if you’re into Japanese music, and maybe even must listens for Hip-Hop fans as well.

1. Modal Soul

Apple Music | Spotify

If you talked to 2013 me, I probably would have said that Metaphorical Music was the better album. But as time goes on, I think it’s pretty safe to say that most people would agree that Modal Soul is Nujabes essential album. It’s the most consistent, and has some of the best songs of his entire discography.

This version of “ordinary joe”, as well as “World’s End Rhapsody” are both 11/10 songs.

The amount of quality on this album is impressive. Every track brings a different mood and you can tell Seba was really experimenting with the beats and samples here. This album also happens to have the least mediocre rapping, and even some good flows like Apani B’s verse on “Thank You (feat. Apani B)”. Also that short beat switch up at 2:20 is 🤌

Also, this record feels so Jazzy, I don’t think it really belongs in the “Lo-Fi Hip-Hop” category. Take for example “Modal Soul (feat. uyama hiroto), which features very little resemblance to Hip-Hop. I really think this blend, while of course it has been done before many times, it feels distinctly Nujabes on this album.

It's not a perfect album and some tracks like “flowers” and “Horizon” can drag on a bit, but this is a solid 9/10 record, maybe even 10/10 for me on some days. Definitely check this one out.

📊 Tier List 📊 

❤️‍🔥 Thank you! ❤️‍🔥 

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Also!
I’m a freelance Japanese to English Translator with about a year and a half of experience scattered around various projects. If the ChatGPT version looks sketchy and you’re interested in having a human translate any interviews or articles let me know. I’ll give any follower a hefty discount 😉

See ya next time! Breakfast is ready.