Did some digging for an article and needed to scratch my mini- history lesson...
As the appreciation for Hip Hop’s beginnings comes full circle, lo-fi beat makers are right there to serve up that sound and nostalgia. If a listener is to appreciate this particular sound as a subgenre as opposed to a technique- there are a plethora of artists that would comfortably sit in the category: think of those Adult Swim bumps from a little bit ago that were chock full of Nujabes, Flying Lotus, J-Dilla and more. Stones Throw Records, a record label based out of the West, were also able to release plenty of Dilla and MF Doom in the early ’00s that caught the interest of many intrigued by this sound. Again, lo-fi means low-fidelity and is a technique or style that has bred what listeners and fans around the globe have come to understand as another niche in Hip Hop; “During the late '80s and early '90s, lo-fidelity became not only a description of the recording quality of a particular album, but it also became a genre unto itself,” reads an article from allmusic. “Throughout rock & roll's history, recordings were made cheaply and quickly, often on substandard equipment.”
The large ‘n’ heavy analog machines of yesteryear, although coming back into popularity (thanks to things like Korg Gadget app and Moogfest), were clunky and difficult to use. The sampling method made good use of vinyl turntables where the sounds would be ripped from the pre-recorded project into another. These cut-n-paste tactics never completely phased themselves out and for artists that range from Wu-Tang Clan to Sophie Meiers, this approach is what helps makes their music exemplar.
