Lo-Fi Jazz
It’s easy to hear how hip-hop descended from jazz: Not only are both rooted in Black expression, but both depend on that alchemical confluence of rhythm and mood we call <I>flow</I>. So when we say “jazz” here, it isn’t jazz in the traditional sense but jazz as filtered through hip-hop pioneers like Q-Tip, Madlib and J Dilla before being passed down to a whole new generation of beatmakers whose music—low-key, chilled-out, intricate but subtly so—tweaks the sound while keeping tradition intact. Our editors update picks here regularly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.