History Music / Nujabes

Nujabes[[note]]pronounced "NOO-juh-BESS"[[/note]] (real name: Jun Seba, or 瀬葉 淳, February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010) was a Japanese [[HipHop hip-hop]] producer, DJ, composer and engineer. Although relatively niche during his lifetime, [[PosthumousPopularityPotential he achieved great acclaim after his death]], and he has a legacy to this day as one of the most highly celebrated artists of his field.

He is known as one of the forerunners of the jazz-based slant of the instrumental hip hop genre, with a distinctly mellow, soulful, and atmospheric approach to sample-based beatmaking that has reflected onto modern production techniques, namely through the [=2010s=] subgenres of "chillhop" and "lo-fi hip-hop", of which he is commonly credited as a UrExample.

One of his main claims to fame was his extensive work on the soundtrack of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', creating its opening theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC7-opq4Gik "Battlecry"]] and its ending theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNplZrRSjeI "Shiki no Uta,"]] as well as many more songs on the two official soundtracks of the show (''Departure'' and ''Impression'').

He was working on his fifth studio work, ''Spiritual State'', at the time of his passing. Understandably, those close to him didn't want to let the album fail to see the light of day, so the album was eventually finished and released posthumously at the end of 2011. Furthermore, at the time of Nujabes' passing, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGfguhnvECc "Luv(sic)" hexalogy]], a series of songs made in collaboration with rapper [=Shing02=], was half-finished, and it was eventually completed.

Nujabes[[note]]pronounced "NOO-juh-BESS"[[/note]] (real name: Jun Seba, or 瀬葉 淳, February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010) was a Japanese [[HipHop hip-hop]] producer, DJ, composer and engineer. Although relatively niche during his lifetime, [[PosthumousPopularityPotential he achieved great posthumous acclaim]], with his legacy to this day cementing him stands to this day as one of the most highly celebrated artists of his field.

He was working on his fifth studio work, ''Spiritual State'', at the time of his passing. Understandably, those close to him didn't want to let the album fail to see the light of day, so the album was eventually finished and released posthumously at the end of 2011. Furthermore, at the time of Nujabes' passing, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGfguhnvECc "Luv(sic)" hexalogy]] of songs made with rapper [=Shing02=] was half-finished, and it was eventually completed.

Nujabes[[note]]pronounced "NOO-juh-BESS"[[/note]] (real name: Jun Seba, or 瀬葉 淳, February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010) was a Japanese [[HipHop hip-hop]] producer and DJ who still stands to this day as one of the most highly celebrated artists of his field.

Being [[ReclusiveArtist a very private person]], not much is known about his personal life.

His career was cut short on February 26, 2010 when he was involved in a late-night traffic accident exiting the Shuto Expressway. He was pronounced dead at a Shibuya Ward hospital after several failed revival attempts.

Nujabes (real name: Jun Seba, or 瀬葉 淳, February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010) was a Japanese [[HipHop hip-hop]] producer and DJ who still stands to this day as one of the most highly celebrated artists of his time.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly [=/=] GenreBusting: While his music is usually categorized as hip hop/instrumental hip hop, his style is actually pretty unique, combining the genre with others like jazz, ambient, and downtempo.

* JazzRap: Hailed as one of the best jazz rap producers of all time, and influenced countless other producers who followed in his steps; most notably Uyama Hiroto.

* ShoutOut: "Feather" mentions ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'', ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon'', Creator/ChinuaAchebe's ''Arrow of God'', and ''Film/{{Rambo}}'', and also quotes "Music/AmericanPie" in its final lines.

One of his main claims to fame was his extensive work on the soundtrack of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', creating its opening theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC7-opq4Gik "Battlecry"]] and its ending theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlThHFYclgw "Shiki no Uta,"]] as well as many more songs on the two official soundtracks of the show (''Departure'' and ''Impression'').

One of his main claims to fame was his extensive work on the soundtrack of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', creating its opening theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OobUV9q0aDA "Battlecry"]] and its ending theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlThHFYclgw "Shiki no Uta,"]] as well as many more songs on the two official soundtracks of the show (''Departure'' and ''Impression'').

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Averted; he was already acclaimed as an artist long before the accident, and his death didn't really gain him more publicity.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Nujabes collaborated with numerous performers on his albums: Substantial, Pase Rock, [=Shing02=], Cise Starr, Fat Jon and many, many others.

Being [[ReclusiveArtist a very private person]], not much is known about his personal life. His career was cut short on February 26, 2010 when he was involved in a late-night traffic accident exiting the Shuto Expressway. He was pronounced dead at a Shibuya Ward hospital after several failed revival attempts.