Subscriber Playlist, February 2024: The Beat Goes On
A collection of beat tapes, chill-hop, and other vibes.
Launched in 2017 by French producer Dimitri Somoguy, “Lofi Girl” has become one of YouTube’s most popular live streams, streaming thousands of hours of chilled out tunes to millions of subscribers while a young anime girl studies late into the night.
The music accompanying the young lady’s studies might technically fall under “hip-hop,” but it’s of a considerably more vibe-heavy variety. Eschewing flashy MCs slinging rhymes about wealth, women, and their own prowess, Lofi Girl’s study soundtrack is the domain of producers blending hip-hop beats and scratches with ambient interludes, muted samples, and a lo-fi aesthetic that’s more intimate and relaxing.
This month’s playlist, titled “The Beat Goes On,” delves headfirst into this sonic world, exploring a genre that can sound gritty but more often than not sounds mellow, nostalgic, and melancholy. It’s filled with intriguing sonic details even as it fulfills Brian Eno’s ambient music stipulations and is as “ignorable as it is interesting.”