Before I found this guy, most of what I knew was complete chaos and disorder. My mind was a mess, and before, my old playlists on my iPod barely made a dent in clearing out any negative thoughts I've been having. I couldn't shake them off.
A quarter of my playlist is hip hop, and still is to this day. I know, a lot of people are like "Hip hop is dead," but another artist "told" me that it's just "malnourished and underfed," which I found to be mostly true. Then one day, while looking through the hundreds of artists in my library in my iPod, I stumbled upon one name: Nujabes. I was kinda wondering why it sounded familiar, so I just hit play and let it run.
Truth be told, I was stunned. It was like I stumbled upon a completely new lifeform in the shape of beats and instrumentals. There was literally an explosion of bright trippy colors suddenly swirling in my head, and I was like "Oh my gahd." Seriously, it just blew me away. If I can remember correctly, I think that particular song was Counting Stars, which was featured in the anime Samurai Champloo. Soon after, I was like "HOLY... s**t. That's why his name sounds so familiar!!" And then it also told me this: hip hop migrated overseas and evolved.
Seba Jun collaborated with others to produce the soundtrack to Samurai Champloo! The more I listened to his music, the more my mind seemed to clear of its fog. I felt so enlightened. No wonder even after knowing of him for like 6 years, I felt so much closer to his music than I was to Michael Jackson's. When Michael Jackson left us, all I felt was empty. But when Jun died, part of me got ripped out. My sister was upset about it too, probably as much as I was. But even without knowing all of his fans personally, I'm sure he knows how much of an impact he's had on everyone who has listened to his music. He left us physically, but he lives forever in his legacy through the music he has left behind for us.
Here, this is the list of his music that I found on Youtube.
Sign (ft. Pase Rock)
Ordinary Joe
World's End Rhapsody
Modal Soul (ft. Uyama Hiroto)
Eclipse (Ft. Substantial)
Feather (Ft. Cise Starr & Akin from Cyne)
Counting Stars
Lady Brown (ft. Cise Starr)
Letters From Yokosuka
Hikari
Imaginary Folklore
Voice of Autumn
Another Reflection
Reflection Eternal
Peaceland
Beyond
Kumomi
Kujaku
World Without Words
Battlecry
Mystline
Horizon
Sky Is Falling (ft. CL Smooth)
Psychological Counterpoint
If you haven't noticed, that's not a complete list.
He also has a tribute album out: Modal Soul Classics II. Playlist and then some.
And one of the last songs he worked on before he died. It's kinda weird at the intro, because apparently he said "I hope you listen one more time." I'm still wondering what that was all about.
