The Intersection of Anime and Hip-Hop: Why 2015-2018 Was Filled With Nostalgia For So Many of Us
For many gen z adults those years aligned with middle and high school, a time when we were awkward, anxious, and coming of age. Anime and lofi weren’t just entertainment; they were places of comfort and escapism.
This is a topic that I have wanted to discuss for a while now. I am going to use this article as my first but most definitely not my last attempt at bringing all of these ideas to light. There will be deeper dives, videos, and further discussion about these topics, but for now, we will let this serve as a foreword to all of those future articles. This can also tie into the larger fold of black history month as well celebrate how African American culture has blended with art, culture, and peoples across the globe.
The Beginnings of Nostalgia: Anime and Lofi Hip Hop
My very first introduction to anime wasn’t through TV or a friend’s recommendation—it was through a music stream. I stumbled upon the now-iconic ChilledCow (now Lofi Girl) YouTube channel, which played lofi hip hop beats non-stop. The stream featured a looping animation of a girl studying, and originally, that character was Seiji Amasawa from Whisper of the Heart, my favorite Studio Ghibli film to this day. That moment, which has remained extremely special in my life to this day sent my down a rabbit hole of anime and subsequently, lofi hip hop— two seemingly separate worlds that blend seamlessly in evoking nostalgia. This was followed by my second introduction to lofi hip-hop. Which came during my freshman year when a friend shared the album Harbour, an album by Finnish producer Tomppabeats. The project, now a 2010’s cult classic, (with vinyls that sell for 1000s of dollars) opened my ears to a world of mellow, sample-heavy beats with warm undertones and decades of emotion seeped into them.
At the time, I primarily used SoundCloud, and that’s where I went to find more lofi artists like jinsang, saib, and potsu—producers who crafted soulful, emotional beats that resonated deeply with listeners. The community felt small, even as it grew in popularity. I even had the chance to take a few piano lessons with potsu, who was incredibly kind and generous, offering the lessons free of charge. These interactions had a profound impact on me. As someone who had been playing piano for years, they inspired me to start making my own beats—an experience that continues to shape the music I create today.
The Legacy of J Dilla and Nujabes
Any discussion of lofi hip hop culture is incomplete without mentioning J Dilla and Nujabes. Strangely enough, these two legends were born on the same day—February 7, 1974—yet never met. Despite their geographical distance, both created music that became the foundation of what we now call lofi hip hop. Their beats were rich with jazz influences, soulful samples, and an unmistakable groove that would shape an entire subgenre. They were (among others) the main founders that serve to showcase this genre today. They made lofi hip-hop back when it was just hip-hop.
