Album Review: Chillhop - Raw Cuts 2

If you guys are ready for some nice, chilled afternoon treat, the new Chillhop Raw Cuts 2 release is exactly what you should be listening to right now.

Comprised by 21 bite-size lofi hip hop beats, the compilation feels like a homage to the genre, which has been picking up for some time now. One might think 21 tracks in a release might be too much, but actually you will be impressed with the sound diversity on the album.

The opening track - nohidea's "Drowning" masterfully throws you off the direction you might expect prior hitting that first play button. There's something way beyond mellow when it comes to that track. The minor scale approach feels like a perfect choice to kick off Raw Cuts 2. The feeling is, however, quickly forgotten as soon as Bluntone's jazzy "The Whut" pops up. That was when I the slow groove motion of the body began.

I probably won't be going throughout the whole release, but I firmly believe each of these producers have done an outstanding job channeling their take on lofi hip hop music through their prism. The whole thing feels like a sound journey across the genre. There's traces of bossa nova, jazz, old school hip hop, soul, ambient and r&b. Yep, speaking of that r&b influence - Juan RIOS' "noche" is dope!

I've no idea how the sequence was chosen, but I feel the flow is designed in a way to not leave the listener in a constant state of mind. You know when you do a puzzle and you kinda know the end result, but you still get kinda happy with ever major element you unveil? And since the picture is kinda zoomed in, you discover something new. Yeah, if I were to describe this flow, that would be the easiest way to do so. Such moment was when fantompower's "Things Work Out Eventually" started - the guitar-driven track has this distant, hazy, summer new wave vibe to it. It felt like out of the blue, but actually perfectly fits the whole journey.

Besides some favourite producers like idealism, fujitsu, tesk, tusken, sugi.wa, emune, beatboxbandit, Made In M and Philanthrope, it was great to discover some new names like Jhfly and Fushou among many. As I wrote this, I realized we've featured a lot of the producers before. It did made me quite happy!

Again, it would be pretty difficult to review this thing a track by track, but I couldn't stress enough how happy it makes me feel to see people teaming up and creating something beautiful. Chillhop and lofi hip hop music have become an essential part of my life and I believe compilations like this one are a good example that the genres have paved their way into people's music taste and are here to stay. I always view them as a much needed bridge between today's sound and the really important legacy we have from the past, especially when it comes to soul and jazz music.

Well, I hope you enjoy the release as much as I do and... stay tuned for more music like this!