The Luv(Sic) Hexalogy

Remembering Jun Seba (Nujabes) (1974-2010)

No matter how slim the chances, once you meet the love of your life, you might just end up creating something that may outlast your lifetime... - Shing02

Even when he was alive, Jun Seba aka Nujabes had this mythical quality that many of my peers reveled in. His music was JAZZY when jazz wasn’t cool. He featured amazing rappers on his releases that none of us knew. He scored one of the dopest anime shows of the time. Through high school, I listened to A LOT of instrumental hip hop. I had recently discovered Madlib, was in the thralls of peak RJD2, Blockhead, Prefuse73, El-P and of course, MF DOOM. I would listen to mediocre Anticon instrumental records and pretend they were masterpieces. I would BUY beat tapes from producers I’d never heard of because they featured a verse from a rapper someone told me was good.

But I was NEVER into Nujabes.

I was into “Luv(Sic)”

I had friends who were into Nujabes. I had online acquaintances that were into Nujabes. I WATCHED Samurai Champloo, but I just never dove deep. Honestly, other than “Luv(Sic)” - I didn’t consciously dive deep into his records until 2022, when I finally decided to try and listen to as many Nujabes releases as possible. Spoiler: They’re good, he’s good.

However, very few of his songs, let alone full records are “transcendent” for me in the way they are for others (yes, I DO think we can really count Nujabes as THE main inspiration for the lo-fi movement).

“Luv(Sic)” has always been the exception.

I don’t remember the first time I listened to the first song in the Hexalogy, nor do I remember the first time I heard “Luv(sic) Part 2”, but I DO remember a entire day spent listening to those first two tracks over and over again. I can remember my Winamp skin, I remember chatting on AIM, I remember attempting to be a graphic design with bootlegged versions of Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro and feeling inspired by these tracks.

I DO remember the first time I heard “Luv(sic) Part 3” and thinking it was one of the best song I’d ever heard in my life - and this was the edited down version from Modal Soul.

Since those days around 2005, I feel like I’ve heard Nujabes every week of my life by osmosis. As stated, I hadn’t really chosen to listen to him again until 2022, but felt like I was surrounded by Nujabes references, memories of the tracks soundtracking Youtube MV’s, and feeling the influence anytime I pulled up the “Lo-Fi Girl”.

I also never listened to the complete Hexalogy (released 2015, 5 years after Seba’s death) until 2022.

But I never LISTENED to that release until this past month after the video of Shing02 performing “Pt. 3” with UK band OMA showed up over and over again on my IG explore page.

In the past month, I’ve listened to this compilation at least a dozen times. It’s the biggest musical obsession I’ve had in years and it’s nearly 2.5 hours long. I love the original versions that feature the same drum loop on all 6 tracks with Shing02 rapping. I love the remixes, with Uyama Hiroto’s take on “Pt. 6” being a true standout and genuinely better than the original. I love that the second disc is just instrumental versions of all the tracks. It’s hypnotic, it’s meditative, it tells a story. It’s beautiful, it’s inspiring, it’s tragic. It feels cliche to be a white guy who loves hip hop in his late 30s obsessed with these tracks, but it is what it is. Sometimes music connects with you in a visceral way, even if you’ve known the tracks for decades. That has happened for me this past month.

It’s worth reading about or listening to interviews with Shing02 about the creation of these songs, the different versions that exist, the story within and the story that came after Seba’s passing. Below, I’ll have a handful of links that get my full recommendation.

Also, I hope Shing02 restocks the Luv(Sic) hats on his merch site soon.

It seems serendipitous that my obsession with these tracks and this compilation came when it did, approaching the anniversary of Jun Seba’s tragic death on February 26, 2010 - but I’d like to believe that was some sort of universal reveal. I’d like to believe I’m not the only one “going through it” with this compilation RIGHT NOW. I do NOT like to deify any celebrity, let alone a hip hop producer, but I’m coming to realize that things as simple as rap songs can have a spiritual, emotional quality to them, can come to you at JUST the right time and can unlock feelings of creative freedom, reflection and contentment.

I can say with near-full certainty that this compilation is one of my favorite music releases of all time. I’m so glad that IG Explore page got me, for once.

Nujabes’ influence and importance to a certain segment of hip hop will far outlive and outshine the actual volume of music he released. On the whole, I still may prefer other producers of the era, but for 6 tracks - Seba and Shing02 created blissfully perfect music.

RIP Nujabes.

Further Exploration:

Wikipedia Entry (including sample identification)

Lyrics / Explanation (Genius)

“The Story of Luv(Sic) (as written by Shing02)” (Reddit)

“Your Beat Plus My Melody” (a college paper) (Reddit)

“The years go fast, and the days go slow” (Sputnikmusic)

“A Posthumous Love for Music” (WBRU)