Beats & Blue Notes: The Fusion of Jazz and Hip-Hop

Affectionately referred to as “America’s classical music,” jazz originated in New Orleans’ Black communities during the late 19th century. Rooted in blues and ragtime, jazz is characterized by six key elements — swing, blue notes, complex chords, call-and-response vocals, polyrhythms, and improvisation. The genre gained global popularity during the 1920s and became one of the leading forms of musical expression in popular culture.

By 1970, spoken word artists like The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron had begun to combine their poetry with music and created a sort of proto-rap by layering their words over jazz and funk instrumentals. Additionally, the intricate, spontaneous, and expressive quality of jazz appealed to hip-hop producers during the early 1970s, who often sampled the breaks, grooves, and horn and bass lines from jazz albums for use in their own recordings.

Golden age hip-hop artists, such as A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, and De La Soul, sampled heavily from classic jazz recordings, but jazz musicians didn’t warm up to collaboration with rappers and experimentation with hip-hop techniques until after 1990. Most early jazz and hip-hop fusion laid freestyle rap vocals over jazz instrumentals and incorporated scratching, but later works showed a true attempt to blend the two dominant forms of Black music by paying homage to jazz while expanding the depth of hip-hop.

In 2003, DJ-producer-emcee Madlib released Shades of Blue, a collection of remixes and reinterpretations of classic material from the catalog of iconic jazz label Blue Note Records. Using new, live instrumentation, and rap sound bites, Madlib reimagined works by Herbie Hancock, Donald Byrd, Ronnie Foster, and Bobby Hutcherson. Described as a “jazz album for hip-hop fans and a hip-hop album for jazz fans,” Shades of Blue added to the rich history of jazz and inspired a new generation of hip-hop artists — like the ones listed below — to try their hands at blending the genres.

Flying Lotus

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You’re Dead!

Flying Lotus

2014

Hip-Hop, Jazz, Experimental

Vinyl, Album

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If you’re familiar with Adult Swim, you may have already heard the music of Flying Lotus. The producer got his start by responding to the network’s request for song submissions to use in its bumpers, many of which featured his trademark atmospheric jazz and hip-hop fusion sound. Since 2006, Flying Lotus has released seven critically acclaimed albums and has collaborated with several hip-hop and R&B artists including Thundercat, Kendrick Lamar, and Mac Miller.

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Alfredo

Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist

2020

Hip-Hop

Vinyl, Album

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Rapper Freddie Gibbs is no stranger to jazz influence in his music. Gibbs followed up his 2013 debut album with two collaborations with Madlib, and later went on to complete two more albums with rapper-turned-producer Alan “The Alchemist” Maman. The Alchemist drew inspiration from Gibbs’ background (his father was a member of the Chi-Lites) and used samples from film, soul, gospel, and international jazz musicians to create the beats on their 2020 album Alfredo.

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IV

BadBadNotGood

2016

Electronic, Jazz, Downtempo

Vinyl, Album, Magenta Transparent

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BadBadNotGood is a Canadian jazz hip-hop instrumental band and production team. Bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski met as students at Toronto’s Humber College jazz program, but the trio left school and became full-time musicians after professors said their jazz remakes of Gucci Mane and Odd Future had no musical value. Since striking out on their own, BadBadNotGood has added saxophonist Leland Whitty to its lineup, released five solo albums, worked with Tyler, the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and Ghostface Killah, and earned the respect of jazz, hip-hop, and alternative music fans worldwide.