Perfect for telework and staying at home! Recommended popular Lo-Fi hip hop tracks
Are you familiar with “Lo-fi Hip Hop,” a genre that quietly gained popularity among music fans online from the mid to late 2010s and now feels firmly established as its own category?
If you were intrigued by the thumbnail image from the representative YouTube music channel for lo-fi hip hop, “ChilledCow,” known for looping a scene from Studio Ghibli’s film Whisper of the Heart, you certainly weren’t alone—there were quite a few people who noticed it even back then.
Sampling old jazz and soul, the beats brimming with a chilled vibe are widely loved not only by hip-hop listeners but also as background music for getting work done.
This time, we’ve researched classic tracks by key artists and will introduce them in a beginner-friendly way!
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Also great for remote work and relaxing at home! Recommended popular Lo-Fi Hip Hop tracks (11–20)
motionsfujitsu
If you’re Japanese, just seeing the artist’s name will make you grin, won’t it? This is a classic track featured on Chillhop Music—the most important label in the lo-fi hip-hop scene—in their Japan-exclusive 2019 compilation “Chillhop Radio: Beats to Relax to”! The birdsong, ocean waves, weathered noise, and wistful guitar tones evoke a summer sunset, and the endlessly expanding, lo-fi-hip-hop-style nostalgic scenery feels wonderfully soothing.
It’s included on the 2017 EP “Corals,” and if you enjoy lo-fi hip-hop infused with environmental sounds, this is a style you’re sure to love.
On the artist’s SoundCloud page, you can also find tracks with a completely different flavor, leaning toward techno and house, so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out!
ExactlyPandrezz, j’san.
This track, “Exactly,” is also featured on the compilation album Chillhop Radio: Beats to Relax To, which is perfect for newcomers to lo-fi hip hop and chillhop.
Created by a duo of beatmakers from France, it was originally released in 2018.
With its charming keyboard tones, an eye-catching riff that sounds like a live guitar, a bassline that builds the overall groove, and that quintessentially lo-fi, gritty texture, it’s an ideal piece of lounge music.
Put it on repeat as background music on a plan-free weekend morning while you sip a coffee, and you’ll probably feel set for a happy day.
RainNINJOI.
If the artist name Ninjoi gives you a vaguely Japanese vibe, you’re right—it’s a coined word that combines the Japanese “ninja” with the English “enjoy.” Ninjoi, a beatmaker from Queens, New York, creates with heavy inspiration from Japanese culture as mentioned above, and of course draws from a wide range of influences—from foundational figures like J Dilla and Nujabes to everything from vintage jazz to contemporary beat music—making him a highly promising young artist.
This track, titled “Rain,” already evokes the quintessential lo-fi hip-hop aesthetic; its flowing piano and nostalgic beat result in an elegant, beautiful piece reminiscent of classic jazzy instrumental hip-hop.
Although it’s a song included on the 2019 album MASAYUME, the cover artwork is said to be done by the artist himself.
The illustration is lovely, so I hope you’ll not only enjoy it on streaming but also pick up the CD!
sunrisemt. fujitive
What’s interesting is that the video published on YouTube has a Japanese title.
The track was released in 2017 by Mount Fujitive, an Icelandic beatmaker with a distinctly Japanese-sounding artist name, and it’s one of the earlier works in his discography.
The album it appears on is even titled “honshu island,” which really conveys Fujitive’s unwavering aesthetic.
While the track itself has the feel of classic lo-fi hip-hop, the gentle warmth born from the guitar’s tone carries a faint bossa nova scent that is truly pleasant.
It makes you want to live more mindfully—waking up at dawn to light spilling in through the window, with this BGM playing in the background.
falling down (ft. shiloh)nohidea
Many tracks categorized as lo-fi hip-hop are very short, and that’s exactly why it feels important to see how much individuality can be expressed in just one or two minutes.
The track discussed here, “falling down,” packs a memorable melody into roughly a minute and a half, giving it a charm that makes you want to replay it.
Released in 2017 by nohidea, a mysterious beatmaker from Canada now based in Los Angeles, the piece features a beautifully crafted melody with vocalist Shiloh rather than samples from old records, and what is likely the sound of a live guitar used to great effect.
Even without lo-fi hip-hop style production, it seems like it could hold up as a conventional acoustic singer-songwriter track!