Why Are Lo-Fi Hip Hop Beats So Popular?

It’s always amazing to see how many people listen to lo-fi hip hop beats on Spotify. It’s not rare that I fall in love with a track by a seemingly unknown producer, only to discover he has millions of monthly listeners on the streaming platform.

I'm a long time fan of the lo-fi hip hop genre, which I’ve always seen as mix of J Dilla’s dislocated swing and Jon Brion’s heartbreaking Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack. It used to be a fairly small niche, but it really grew in popularity in recent years.

I have a few theories to explain the success of this genre. Please step into my classroom and let me blogsplain this to you...

To understand the popularity of chillhop-related genres, I consider why people listen to music in the first place. Different activities call for different styles of music. When do those people listen to music, in what environment, in what space? A lot of my non-musician friends (not to call them civilians) listen at work, or at home, while doing other things. It totally make sense that they would connect with lo-fi beats.

Lo-fi beats are laid-back, mostly instrumental. Perfect for focusing, without having to listen to classical and jazz genres, which a lot of people don’t connect with. They also have this retro quality, this organic texture which is both futuristic and rooted in significant memories. Lo-fi is the type of music the characters in a futuristic movie would listen to. Think of Spike Jonze’s Her, you get the idea.

Whether they’re melancolic or happy, lo-fi beats are positive as well as understated. At a time where a lot of pop and trap is right there in your face, over the top and larger than life, instrumental hip hop offers a calming alternative.

I see it as a form of interior design, something that fills the room you, almost shaping it, giving everything around you a fuzzy texture.

I’ve curated a playlist of some of my favorite lo-fi hip hop beats. If you’re a lo-fi beatmaker and you’re reading this, send me your music!

Cover photo : Mdnsgn