{{Short description|Subgenre of hip-hop}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Lofi hip-hop | other_names = * Chillhop | image = | caption = | stylistic_origins = {{hlist| |Downtempo<ref name="Werner" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff |title=Downtempo Music Guide: 5 Popular Downtempo Musical Acts |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/downtempo-music-guide#what-is-downtempo |publisher=MasterClass |access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> |jazz rap |instrumental hip-hop |electronic |lo-fi<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreazarczynski/2020/12/23/how-lofi-hip-hop-will-inspire-new-music-in-2021/?sh=714de6b6663b|title=How Lofi Hip-Hop Will Inspire New Music In 2021|first=Andrea|last=Zarczynski|website=Forbes}}</ref> |chill-out |alternative hip-hop |jazz |soul |easy listening<ref>{{cite book|author=Jack Curtis Dubowsky|title=Easy Listening and Film Scoring 1948-78|pages=252–253|year=2021|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429997679 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fs4uEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA252}}</ref>}} | cultural_origins = Early 2000s – late 2010s | derivatives = | subgenrelist = | subgenres = | fusiongenres = | regional_scenes = | other_topics = {{hlist|Trip hop|Glitch-hop|Illbient|Lofi Girl}} }}
'''Lofi hip-hop''' (also known as '''chillhop''') is a style of lo-fi music that combines hip-hop beats with elements of chill-out.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maxwell |first1=Dante |title=Music Microgenres: A Brief History of Retrowave, Acid House, & Chillhop |url=https://www.zizacious.com/life/entertainment/music-microgenres-a-brief-history-of-retrowave-acid-house-chillhop/ |website=Zizacious |date=September 20, 2019}}</ref> The word lofi (also typeset as '''lo-fi''', short for "low fidelity"), refers to the unpolished production techniques common in the style.<ref name="Forbes">{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Connor |title=What To Know About Lo-Fi Music: The Viral Hit That's Taken Over YouTube |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/04/26/what-to-know-about-lo-fi-music-the-viral-hit-thats-taken-over-youtube/ |website=Forbes |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref> It was popularized in the 2010s on YouTube.
[[File:Roland SP-404 (mastering).jpg|thumb|right|An example of a lo-fi equipment setup, including the genre's popular Roland SP-404 sampler.]]
== Characteristics == Lofi hip-hop, or chillhop, uses "downtempo, fuzzed-out atmospheric beats"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weingarten |first=Christopher R. |date=2021-01-12 |title=MF Doom Influenced Scores of Musicians. Hear 11 of Them. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/arts/music/mf-doom-influences.html |access-date=2025-07-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> along with samples from sources like retro video games, old cartoons, self-help tapes and public access television.<ref name="Vice" />
According to Phillip Sherburne of ''Pitchfork'', the genre is characterized by "poky tempos, cloying piano or guitar melodies, ersatz vinyl hiss, and other signifiers of inoffensive chill." Sherburne also stated that the genre is "the musical equivalent of a white-noise coloring book."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |date=2021-10-07 |title=25 Microgenres That (Briefly) Defined the Last 25 Years |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/microgenres-25th-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Etymology== The genre name originates from the low fidelity ("lo-fi") aesthetic of the music, which tends to be deliberately less "polished" than high fidelity ("hi-fi") music and features audio imperfections, distorted sound quality, and less professional audio equipment.<ref name="Forbes"/> Lo-fi hip-hop originated within the underground beatmaking hip-hop scene of the 2000s, particularly after the advent of Roland SP-303 and Roland SP-404 samplers, each of which featured the "lo-fi" effect as a separate button.<ref name="rolandeng">{{cite web | url=https://articles.roland.com/roland-engineering-inside-the-sp-series | publisher=Roland Engineering |title=Inside the SP Series | date=3 April 2021 }}</ref>
The 2004 MF Doom and Madlib album ''Madvillainy'' is regarded as a "shared touchstone" for lo-fi hip-hop.<ref name = Vice /> The Japanese artist Nujabes, often called the "godfather of lofi hip-hop",<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theovrlp.com/post/nujabes | title=Nujabes: The Godfather of Lofi | author=ellenbemarc | work=The Overlap | date=1 May 2021 | access-date=5 August 2022 | archive-date=29 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129141726/https://www.theovrlp.com/post/nujabes | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.deepinthemix.com/edm-genres/lo-fi-hip-hop/ | title=What is Lo-fi Hip Hop? Why is it So Popular? | work = Deep in the Mix | date=6 October 2022 | first=J. D. | last=Rinehart | access-date=16 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://hypebeast.com/2022/2/nujabes-first-collection-100-400-bearbrick-release-info | title=Medicom Toy Celebrates Nujabes with 'FIRST COLLECTION' BE@RBRICK Set | first=Aaron | last=Chow | work=Hypebeast | date=20 February 2022 | access-date = 16 December 2022 }}</ref> is also credited with driving lofi's growth with his contributions to the soundtrack for the popular anime ''Samurai Champloo''.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Javon |last=Anderson |title=The jazz roots of Nujabes, a pioneer of 'lofi hip hop' |url=https://jazz.fm/nujabes-jazz-samples-lofi-hip-hop/ |website=Jazz.FM 91 |date=25 August 2021 |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref> Another artist also often associated with the development of lofi is US rapper and producer J Dilla.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lofiweekly.com/2022/02/03/j-dilla-the-godfather-of-lofi-hip-hop/ | title=J Dilla: The GodFather of LoFi Hip Hop | author=iCouldBeYu | work=Lofi Weekly | date=3 February 2022 | access-date=16 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afterglowatx.com/blog/2019/3/27/j-dilla-and-lo-fi-hip-hop | title=J Dilla and Lo-Fi Hip Hop | first=Mark | last=Yoder | work=Afterglow | date=27 March 2019 | access-date=16 December 2022}}</ref>
==History==
In 2013, YouTube began hosting live streams, which resulted in 24-hour "radio stations" dedicated to microgenres such as vaporwave.<ref name="DD18">{{cite web |last1=Alemoru |first1=Kemi |title=Inside YouTube's calming 'Lofi Hip Hop Radio to Relax/Study to' community |url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/40366/1/youtube-lo-fi-hip-hop-study-relax-24-7-livestream-scene |website=Dazed Digital |date=June 14, 2018}}</ref> Compilation videos are also popular, combining the music with visuals that could take the form of recorded pedestrian walks through major cities like Tokyo, looping visuals from cartoons such as ''The Simpsons'' or Internet memes.<ref name="realgenre">{{cite web|last1=Coleman|first1=Jonny|date=May 1, 2015|title=Quiz: Is This A Real Genre|url=http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/756-quiz-is-this-a-real-genre/|website=Pitchfork}}</ref> Spotify added to the popular "lo-fi beats" wave by generating "Spotified genres", including "Chill Hits", "Bedroom Pop" playlists, and promoting numerous "chill pop" artists.<ref name="Werner"/>
In 2015, a form of downtempo music tagged as "chillhop" or "lo-fi hip-hop" became popular among YouTube music streamers. Most, if not all, of the content used in YouTube videos was primarily published on SoundCloud. By 2018, several of these channels had millions of followers. One DJ, Ryan Celsius, theorized that they were inspired by a nostalgia for the commercial bumpers used by ''Toonami'' and ''Adult Swim'' in the 2000s, and that this "created a cross section of people that enjoyed both anime and wavy hip-hop beats".<ref name = Vice>{{cite web | url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-lofi-hip-hop-radio-to-relaxstudy-to-became-a-youtube-phenomenon/ | title = How 'Lofi Hip Hop Radio to Relax/Study to' Became a YouTube Phenomenon | last = Winkie | first = Luke | date = July 13, 2018 | website = Vice | access-date = September 13, 2018}}</ref> These channels equally functioned as chatrooms, with participants often discussing their personal struggles.<ref name="alex2020"/> By 2018, Spotify's "Chill Hits" playlist had 5.4 million listeners and had been growing rapidly.<ref name="Werner">{{Cite journal|last=Werner|first=Ann|date=2020-01-02|title=Organizing music, organizing gender: algorithmic culture and Spotify recommendations|journal=Popular Communication|volume=18|issue=1|pages=78–90|doi=10.1080/15405702.2020.1715980|issn=1540-5702|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Winkie credited YouTube user Lofi Girl (formerly known as "ChilledCow") as "the person who first featured a studious anime girl as his calling card, which set up the aesthetic framework for the rest of the people operating in the genre".<ref name = Vice /> Lo-fi as a genre builds upon two subgenres: hip-hop and ambient, both of which create a calm experience, common for studying or relaxation.<ref name="Neal 32–40">{{Cite journal |last=Neal |first=Adam Scott |date=April 2022 |title=Lo-fi Today |journal=Organised Sound |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.1017/S1355771822000188 |issn=1355-7718|doi-access=free }}</ref>
Viewership of lo-fi hip-hop streams grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="alex2020">{{cite web |last1=Alexander |first1=Julia |title=Lo-fi beats to quarantine to are booming on YouTube |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/20/21222294/lofi-chillhop-youtube-productivity-community-views-subscribers |website=The Verge |date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, MTV News noted, "there might be something to be said for lo-fi hip-hop's composition, and the way its creators mix simplistic melodies with a judicious use of words to create intense memories, feelings, and nostalgia" and stated that the quarantine in place in various countries "has led people to log more hours online due to boredom or virtual workplaces and schools, and livestreamed music performances are reaching their full potential".<ref name="meme">{{cite web |last1=Mlnarik|first1=Carson |title=How Lo-Fi Beats's Nostalgic Comfort Transcended The Memes | url = http://www.mtv.com/news/3161785/lofi-hip-hop-beats-anxiety-livestream-meme/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200403214759/http://www.mtv.com/news/3161785/lofi-hip-hop-beats-anxiety-livestream-meme/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 3, 2020 |date=April 1, 2020|website=MTV News |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref> Most listeners of the genre classify as University students due to their "profound interest in relaxation and emotional exploration" as well as the genre's relaxing nature.<ref name="Neal 32–40">{{Cite journal |last=Neal |first=Adam Scott |date=April 2022 |title=Lo-fi Today |journal=Organised Sound |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.1017/S1355771822000188 |issn=1355-7718|doi-access=free }}</ref>
In July 2025, music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds, writing for ''Pitchfork'' reported that musicians within the genre have suffered from lost revenue and "alienation" due to the effects of artificial intelligence on the music industry.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pitchfork Staff |date=2025-07-04 |title=How AI Wreaked Havoc on the Lo-Fi Beat Scene |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-ai-wreaked-havoc-on-the-lo-fi-beat-scene |accessdate=2025-07-18 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{hiphop}} {{electronica}} {{Ambient music}} {{Easy listening}} {{Music production}} Category:21st-century music genres Category:2000s in music Category:2010s in music Category:2020s in music Category:Microgenres Category:Hip-hop genres Category:Lo-fi music