Lo-Fi is a music genera that was spawned from (what is presumed to be) millennial nostalgia for the late 80s to mid 90s. The songs are often without vocals and use very simple piano and/or guitar melodies. The chords and drum beat used are also very simplistic, to make it easy on the ears. The samples used are often from 80s/90s cartoons, movies and games, but can also be from jazz or funk songs. Lo-Fi is often correlated with studying/ chilling, but is often used as beats for rap songs. The simplicity of these beats make it easy for anyone to like.
by JakTheBigBrain November 12, 2020
by abd11a November 26, 2020
by Wotawain December 3, 2020
After a hectic week at work, I look forward to my weekends when I can embrace my Lo-Fi Lifestyle, listening to vinyl records and enjoying a warm cup of tea while reading an exciting comic book.
by CozyExpress December 30, 2022
by yo February 2, 2005
Lo-fi is short for high-fidelity, when applied to rock it typically refers to rock music that sounds like it was recorded on cheap/faulty equipment, with slightly choppy music arrangements, and includes a lot of barely audible vocals.
by K-Dogg1 November 21, 2021
A type of chill music genre that is, by and large, copyright-free. It is widely encountered as the background music of almost every YouTube video or Twitch stream. Lo-fi hip hop started off as a unique genre which grew popular in 2016, but has now become rather mainstream, with more and more amateur producers trying to replicate that quintessential mellow lo-fi vibe, and more and more content creators depending on this music.
To achieve the lo-fi hip hop vibe, you will need all of the following:
1) Vinyl and/or ambiance background loops
2) Lo-fi drum samples (primarily found on splice.com)
3) Continuing, a hip hop beat with a large amount of swing applied
4) Mellow sounding instruments like a Rhodes piano, Kalimba or acoustic guitar
5) Amping and distortion for that fuzzy effect
6) Various mellow-sounding foley sounds (e.g. leaves crunching, gentle footsteps)
7) Some musical creativity (this is all dependent on your knowledge on music theory and your familiarity with good-tasting music in general)
To achieve the lo-fi hip hop vibe, you will need all of the following:
1) Vinyl and/or ambiance background loops
2) Lo-fi drum samples (primarily found on splice.com)
3) Continuing, a hip hop beat with a large amount of swing applied
4) Mellow sounding instruments like a Rhodes piano, Kalimba or acoustic guitar
5) Amping and distortion for that fuzzy effect
6) Various mellow-sounding foley sounds (e.g. leaves crunching, gentle footsteps)
7) Some musical creativity (this is all dependent on your knowledge on music theory and your familiarity with good-tasting music in general)
Unlike most producers, lo-fi hip hop producers tend to stay behind the scenes, wanting to draw little attention to themselves. These producers mainly produce music not for money, not for popularity, but simply for curiosity and general fondness with the genre. They need not be experienced with music theory to make lo-fi hip hop, but rather a passion and keen sense for music is sufficient enough.
Thus, lo-fi hip hop, to a degree, sort of presents itself as a grassroots movement made up of various amateur producers that want to experiment with this genre. Nobody really knows who these producers are, all we know is that they make some great-sounding music that turns out to be 100x better than what any high-profile pop producer could make.
(This definition was written by a long-time EDM producer.)
Thus, lo-fi hip hop, to a degree, sort of presents itself as a grassroots movement made up of various amateur producers that want to experiment with this genre. Nobody really knows who these producers are, all we know is that they make some great-sounding music that turns out to be 100x better than what any high-profile pop producer could make.
(This definition was written by a long-time EDM producer.)
by Idiosyncratic Misnomer June 25, 2021