YMMV / Nujabes

• Archive Panic: He's released three 100% independent albums and two mixtapes, contributed to two soundtrack albums as well as five compilations and some collaboration work with other rappers.
  • Archive Binge: This doesn't stop most, however.
• Awesome Art:
  • All of the covers to his albums. All of them.
  • Ditto as well with the last finished parts of "Luv(sic)," especially the last part,◊ respectfully called "Grand Finale."
• Awesome Music:
  • "Battlecry" wasn't put in Number 2 in Suede's Top Openings for nothing.
  • Pretty much his own style will probably count as this.
• Epic Riff: The guitar riff in "Shiki no Uta."
• Even Better Sequel:
  • Kind of subverted; Modal Soul was seen as up to par with Metaphorical Music, but not necessarily better. The same applies to Spiritual State, another worthy follow-up.
  • Metaphorical Music itself can technically be considered this to Hydeout Productions 1st Collection, a mostly Nujabes-filled compilation album that was critically praised and, most notably, started the "Luv(sic)" hexalogy.
• Friendly Fandoms: With J Dilla's fanbase. Helps that the two are surprisingly similar despite their different production styles.
• Funny Moments: The video for "Luv(sic)," consisting of Japanese people "silly running" towards the camera in slow motion.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Has a sizable online fandom in the U.S., with a few of his fans recording tribute mixes of their own music.
• Heartwarming Moments/Tear Jerker:
  • After his death, fans around the world grieved over him. There is also Shing02's tribute.
  • Five Deez, a Cincinnati-based hip-hop outfit and frequent collaborators with Nujabes, re-recorded the remix Jun did for them on Metaphorical Music with a new tribute that commemorates his life and legacy.
  • Following the release of Spiritual State, Uyama Hiroto, a fellow DJ/composer and close collaborator of Nujabes prior to his death, teamed up with Shing02 to deliver a powerful and moving remix of "Luv(sic) Part 6."
  • On the fifth anniversary of Nujabes' death, tribute shows were held in Tokyo and Osaka to honor him. In an retrospective piece written prior to the concerts, many of the artists who had worked alongside Nujabes in the past gave fond recollections of their time together, with Shing02 in particular expressing surprise and gratitude over how Nujabes' music has resonated with people all over the world, especially those outside of Japan.
  • "Perfect Circle," released as part of the Luv(sic) Hexalogy compilation album in 2015, focuses on life's cyclical nature, ultimately telling listeners not to despair in the face of dark moments, but to enjoy life to the fullest regardless of the hardships along the way. Near the end, Shing02 muses that it won't be long before those on the other side are reunited with their loved ones, hence the title. Thematically, it serves as a fitting and uplifting epilogue of sorts to the aforementioned "Luv(sic)" tracks.
  • The impact of Nujabes and his musical legacy cannot be stressed enough. Videos featuring his songs are filled with messages from fans relating how his music profoundly spoke to their hearts, carried them through tough times, or simply provided them with feel-good beats to listen to, and his work continues to influence the chillhop scene years after his death. For many, Nujabes will never truly be dead so long as his music lives on inside of his fans.
• Misattributed Song:
  • A lot of people are under the impression that Nujabes did the entire Samurai Champloo soundtrack on his own, and uploads of the various songs on YouTube or download sites often credit him for every single track. While his contributions are probably the best known, it would be unfair to ignore the contributions that collaborators Fat Jon, Tsutchie, and Force of Nature made.
  • This extends to one of his compilation albums, Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection, as Nujabes composed all but three of the tracks (those three being "Waltz for Life Will Born" and "Windspeaks" by Uyama Hiroto and "With Rainy Eyes" by Emancipator, the latter of which was additionally edited by Nujabes). It is not uncommon for YouTube uploads to credit the entire album solely to Nujabes. Similarly, Metaphorical Music's "Letter from Yokosuka" is actually another contribution of Hiroto's, but tends to be attributed to Nujabes.
  • The compilation album Modal Soul Classics also gets hit with this a lot (none of it is by him, actually), but given that it's an album of music that inspired his sound, mastered by him, and released on his label, the confusion is a little bit more understandable.
  • Speaking of Uyama Hiroto, he got hit with this hard on his first album A Son of the Sun. Nujabes was erroneously given a lot of credit for that album, particularly since he was credited as an executive producer. In reality, while Hiroto's style is very similar to Nujabes', the latter only co-produced one song on the album ("Ribbon In The Sea"), and handled the mixing and mastering.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • His entire discography is stocked to the brim with these.
  • The choir heard around the middle of "Imaginary Folklore."
• Older Than They Think: Nujabes had been around since 1996 despite not making a real debut until 2003.
• Sampled Up: Nujabes' work in general makes heavy use of this trope, usually creating beats that are built around soul, jazz, and blues samples. "Counting Stars," one of Nujabes' best-known songs, exemplifies this. The song uses two different samples, of various versions of the same song ("Affirmation" by Jose Feliciano).
• Sweet Dreams Fuel: All of his music. ALL. OF. IT.
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Shiki no Uta." There's just something about MINMI's vocals and Nujabes' mellow production that strikes emotional pangs...
  • "Island," especially since it was the song used to close Spiritual State, his final full work.
  • His swan song and curtain call, the sixth and final part of the "Luv(sic)" series, is devastating. Not only because of the angelic and heavenly instrumentation, but because of Shing02's lines, which are mainly a retrospective look back on his work with Nujabes and Nujabes' legacy. The final lines of the song are especially saddening:
    Gotta finish what we started, so I cut this tape
    As our records will stay on rotate
  • "Imaginary Folklore." Again, the vocals really bring a lot of the table in the field of emotion.
    • The moment when you start hearing a children's choir in the background...
  • "Reflection Eternal."
  • His passing. Just... his passing. Seba was a defined genius within the indie hip-hop scene and to know he's no longer around to create fantastic music that he did for the sole art is just devastating. It's sad to say there isn't going to be a smart and beautiful soul like this in a long time, if ever.
    • As a silver lining to this rain cloud, the poignancy of Nujabes' recordings has managed bring together a large variety of people across the globe regardless of cultural differences. It's also been argued that there are many musicians, ranging from contemporaries of Nujabes' who were on the scene with him to those inspired by his music ^{for example...}  Kenichiro Nishihara, Haruka Nakamura, Uyama Hiroto, DJ Okawari, Nomak, nitsua, Emancipator, Thomas Prime, Marcus D, tsunenori, jinsang, Blazo, Kondor, nymano, nohidea., tomppabeats, and FLUGHAND, just to name a few , who are carrying on the sound associated with Nujabes — albeit with their own unique spins.
• Tough Act to Follow: Majestically defied; the albums he put out after Metaphorical Music are no slouch and offer their own enjoyability.

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