Beats to Relax/Study To: Contradiction and Paradox in Lo-Fi Hip Hop

Abstract

Lofi hip hop is a musical genre which is distributed and mediated entirely via the internet, and which, to our knowledge, is currently unexamined academically. This article serves as an introductory investigation into the genre, which we hope may inspire further research and perhaps call into question existing trends in the analysis of "internet-born" music genres, which, as Adam Harper (2017) notes, often emphasize the degenerative effects of digital technology. We briefly define lofi hip hop stylistically and aesthetically, before exploring its contradictory relationship with nostalgia. We then consider the genre's mediation and reception in terms of its participants' relationship with the material conditions of late capitalism. We conclude that lofi hip hop is characterized by a series of complex paradoxes navigated effortlessly by its listeners, highlighting a shift in everyday reality amongst a generation of young people for whom the social internet is simply an ordinary part of life.

Genre in Practice: Categories, Metadata and Music-Making in Psytrance Culture

“…She describes this in terms of the "fashionable haircuts and wellassembled record collections" which distinguish subcultural club-goers from the mainstream crowd (Thornton 1995: 11). 19 Winston and Saywood (2019) offer one of the first analyses of the "Beats to Relax/Study To" phenomenon and the lofi hip-hop genre with which it is associated. Observing the use of these mixes for performing intellectual work (e.g.…”

Lo-fi Today

“…Fans of lo-fi hip hop certainly feel communality; the comment sections on lo-fi YouTube streams have been noted as 'uncharacteristically friendly' (Alemoru 2018, as cited in Winston andSaywood 2019). More study remains to be done about the producers themselves and how they interact.…”

“…Far too many recordings have been labelled 'lo-fi' to list here, and they span genres from acoustic folk to electronica. Recent histories of lo-fi as a practice include Harper (2014) and Jones (2014), with lo-fi hip hop explored in detail by Winston and Saywood (2019) and Vouloumanos (2019). This article attempts to understand lo-fi as currently practised, by focusing on two subgenres: hip hop and ambient.…”

Enhancing Student Concentration and Motivation Using Sound in the Classroom

“…All these obstacles can be overcome or reduced by using the right type of music, that is specifically designed to stimulate the human cognitive for the purpose of improving their experience in learning and studying. It is also known as Lofi hip hop or Chillhop [28]. It is a musical form that is uploaded and mediated through the internet.…”