Jun Seba, known as Nujabes to the Hip Hop community, died in a car crash on February 26 on the Shuto Expressway outside of Tokyo, Japan. He led a private live and his death was only recently announced to the public at large via his label, Hydeout Productions. He was 36 years old.
I first heard Nujabes’ signature laid back sound while falling in love with Samurai Champloo, the landmark anime series from the mind of Shinichiro Watanabe. It’s a special show in my opinion, one that brilliantly fused striking animation, lasting characters, historical Japanese settings and Hip Hop music to great effect from the gripping opening scenes to the touching finale. It’s still my favorite anime to date by far, and the endlessly replayable soundtrack has a lot to do with that.
The soundtrack itself is a collaboration of four talented Japanese producers and a few vocalists, all contributing worthy tracks and moments to be sure. But for me Nujabes stood tallest amongst his peers – his name was the one behind the most inspired and lasting music of the series, classic beats like Aruarian Dance, The Space Between Two Worlds and Tsurugi No Mai. Aruarian Dance in particular is a desert island track for me, and it was the very first song I posted on the very first Benzi Box streaming playlist when I started this thing some 4 years ago or so. It’s a deceptively simple beat that wraps you up in a warm blanket, equally perfect for blistering snowstorms and lazy Sundays in the summer. For that track alone Nujabes is a god tier producer in my eyes, but thankfully after digging into his other material for Hydeout it was revealed that this guy was a serious talent with plenty to offer Hip Hop aside from a handful of tracks from an anime series.
His best beats tended to be tinted with melancholy – case in point is Lady Brown from the Metaphorical Music LP, where Cise Starr’s funky wordplay is backed by somber, swirling guitars and head nodding drums. Nujabes also made numerous contributions to Hydeout’s First and Second Collections that I’ve posted below. Check the dark and dreamy Steadfast, Still Talking To You which features some impressive chopped up samples and the more upbeat Sky Is Falling featuring the lyrical stylings of Hip Hop legend CL Smooth. He also played the producer role on a number of tracks for Hydeout artists, and the two below showcase both his laid back fun and melancholic tendencies quite nicely.
Hydeout is saying that Jun left behind tracks that will see release at some point in the future, and I’ll do my best to post them once they arrive. As it stands the Hip Hop scene, specifically on a global scale, has lost a great and somewhat mysterious talent whose sparse output and low visibility belies the timeless quality found within his music.
Nujabes – Battlecry (feat. Shing02)
Nujabes – The Space Between Two Worlds
Nujabes – Aruarian Dance
Nujabes – Tsuragi No Mai
Nujabes – Lady Brown (feat. Cise Starr from CYNE)
Nujabes – Still Talking To You
Nujabes – Steadfast
Nujabes – Sky is Falling (feat. CL Smooth)
Funky DL – Don’t Even Try It (feat. Nujabes)
Clammbon – Imaginary Folklore (feat. Nujabes)
