The Rust Hip Hop Network

Once you’ve heard a handful of licks from the Tokyo-based pianist and producer Kazumi Kaneda, you won’t be able to forget his warm, one-of-a-kind sound and feel. When those minor chords start to jingle around like a set of keys, you know Kazumi is on the track. He’s a visionary jazz pianist who knows how to work with hip-hop material, too, and blend both worlds effortlessly. Listen through to the end because we saved the best knock for last this weekend.

Fusing lo-fi textures and a plethora of downbeat genres, Hip Chimp channels lucid compositions and smooth, cerebral beats. As a multifaceted instrumentalist and producer, he has dug his hands through a wide variety of musical styles, and the Hip Chimp catalog reflects an appreciation for numerous attitudes and atmospheres.

There’s a thriving beats culture in Germany. We’ve covered several German producers in this column and for more, check out Millenium Jazz Music’s On The Radar Vol 2 - Made in Germany. But we haven’t found a German producer who captures the “golden era” boom-bap sound of hip-hop so well until stumbling across beatmaschine, who represents labels called Krupplyn and Papier & Bliestift from Dortmund.

Bringing a warm, soulful spin on traditional lo-fi and hip-hop flavors, S-ilo is a production powerhouse from Malmö, Sweden. His music has an unmistakable connection to R&B, utilizing smooth harmonies and groovy bass lines in abundance.

One of the more talented producers working in the somewhat strict, traditional lo-fi style is Prgmat from Riga, Latvia. His music is often one giant wash of ambient pads, steered by muffled drums, and punctuated by discreet, well-cut samples. It’s some of the music one would put in a time capsule in order to show someone 500 years from now what lo-fi hip-hop in 2019 sounds like.

Hip-hop and Detroit have a visceral history between each other, and the indelible impact the city had on its homegrown artists and creators continues to flow through modern veins. outcrowd. is an upstart Detroit beatsmith who’s been knocking breaks and warping samples for the last 5 years and running.

We first found the British Columbia-based producer Puar through his collaborations with Vancouver’s bsd.u, and we had the good fortune to catch his set at the Grove Cedar Lounge (a side stage) at Shambhala Music Festival on the Salmo River Ranch in BC. He was playing his signature style of highly vocalized phonk, some lo-fi, and a ton of straight west coast bass beats evocative of the Lab Group.

Hailing from Toulouse, France, DLJ has spent the last two years producing a steady stream of top tier lo-fi content. A standout member of Retro Jungle Records, DLJ is a constant practitioner of musical cleanliness. His tunes are full of life and specificity, giving his catalog an approachable, well-rounded veneer.

Our next edition of Lo-Fi Sundays brings us to the city of Minsk, Belarus. Beasty P is a European beats producer who runs with the internationally acclaimed NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers record label. He’s packing a stereophonic quality to his dusty tunes that is in short supply in the lo-fi world, and has a clear skillset for flipping breaks and samples.

The experimental hip-hop and R&B producer RudeManners follows the axiom that a diverse portfolio is a stronger portfolio. Pegging this New York producer with one style is hard. He makes jazzy work, boom-bap tunes, “phonk” and trap beats, a bit of lo-fi house, and a ton of spacey trip-hop-influenced songs. But in comparison to his peers, his catalog has a distinct and recognizable sound that’s defined by a lounge aesthetic.

Channeling New York City's undeniable hip-hop legacy, nick tesla reinvents the relationship between sampled gold and head-nod rhythms. His style absorbs the melodic sensibilities of soul, jazz, blues, and disco wrapped up and delivered in a Lo-Fi veneer.

Telemakus is a 19-year old producer from the Bay Area who is skilled beyond his years on the piano and in the digital audio workspace. His first productions appear to come from three or four years ago, and his most recent work came earlier this year; Calantha Vol. 2, the second of his two LPs. On this record from Inner Ocean Records, you can hear Telemakus truly indulging his jazz sensibilities.

While the majority of lo-fi hip-hop content is, by definition, low fidelity, a few producers take a walk off the beaten path. Fusing lo-fi textures and sampling motifs with audio dynamics characteristic to trip-hop and other sibling genres, the music of J. Vibes comes out extremely lush and stereophonic.

Every weekend we curate 10 tracks from one instrumental hip-hop producer to try to capture his or her essence. This can be a challenging task, but it may have never been more challenging than this weekend as we feature the music of Manchester-based producer Evan Jones aka Mecca:83. His catalog is vast, and virtually every cut is worthy of a deep listen. What’s more, music from his jazz alias Rise just became available for streaming for the first time.

Laying down stupendous cuts with an almost lackadaisical hand, 1 UP is a relative newcomer with an audacious talent for vibrant Lo-Fi music. With three EPs and dozens of singles under his belt already, his style varies as widely as the hip-hop terrarium allows, capturing a variety of moods separated by hazy lines.