How to make lofi hip hop

You don't need expensive gear to make lofi hip hop. A computer, a music program and a pair of headphones are enough to start. This guide walks through the core building blocks, from drums to texture, and explains why writing your own parts matters.

1. Set the tempo and the mood

Most lofi hip hop sits somewhere around 70 to 90 BPM. Start a new project in that range and decide on a mood before you play a note: rainy and reflective, warm and sunny, or late-night and quiet. That choice will guide your chord colors, sounds and textures. Keep the arrangement simple. Many lofi tracks are two to three minutes long and built on one or two looping sections.

2. Program laid-back drums

Drums give lofi its head-nod. Use soft, round sounds rather than hard, bright ones:

• Kick: warm and short, without too much click.
• Snare or rim: muted and a little dusty. Layering a quiet clap or rim shot can add character.
• Hi-hats: soft and low in the mix, often with velocity changes so not every hit is the same.

A classic boom-bap pattern, with kicks on the first beat and snares on beats two and four, is a solid starting point. Then make it feel human: vary the velocities, drop a hit here and there, and nudge some notes slightly early or late.

3. Add swing

Swing delays every other subdivision slightly, turning a stiff, robotic groove into a relaxed bounce. Most DAWs and drum machines have a swing or groove setting. Try something in the mid-50s to around 60 percent on your hi-hats and adjust by ear. Many producers credit J Dilla's loose, off-grid programming with popularizing this "drunk" feel, where parts drift slightly behind or ahead of the beat. A good exercise is to leave the kick on the grid and move only the snares and hats.

4. Write jazzy chords

Lofi harmony leans on extended chords: major sevenths, minor sevenths, ninths and the occasional suspended chord. A common move is the jazz ii-V-I progression, but even two alternating seventh chords can carry a whole track. Tips:

• Use warm instruments like electric piano, felt piano, nylon guitar or soft pads.
• Spread the notes out. Open voicings sound richer than tightly stacked chords.
• Play the chords in by hand rather than drawing them in, or humanize the timing so the notes don't all land at once.
• Add a simple melody on top, or leave space and let the chords do the talking.

5. Bass that supports, not dominates

A round sub or a soft upright-style bass following the root notes is often all you need. Keep it simple and in time with the kick. Rolling off the very top of the bass keeps it warm.

6. Sidechain for movement

Sidechain compression briefly lowers one sound when another plays, most often ducking the chords or bass each time the kick hits. In lofi, keep it gentle. A subtle pump makes the track breathe and helps the kick come through without turning up the volume. Strong pumping belongs to other genres.

7. Saturation, tape and filtering

This is where the "lofi" sound really happens:

• Saturation: light distortion adds harmonics and warmth. Apply a little on individual parts and a touch on the mix bus.
• Tape emulation: wow and flutter (slow and fast pitch wobble) make melodic parts feel like they're playing from an old cassette.
• Low-pass filter: rolling off high frequencies makes everything softer and more muffled. Automating the filter can create intros and transitions.
• Bit and sample-rate reduction: a small amount gives a gritty, vintage-sampler edge. Too much quickly sounds harsh.
• Noise beds: vinyl crackle, tape hiss or rain ambience under the track glue everything together. Keep them quiet.

Go easy. It's tempting to stack every effect, but the best lofi still sounds clear underneath the texture.

8. Sampling vs. writing your own

Lofi hip hop has deep roots in sampling, and chopping up old records is a big part of the genre's history. But a sample of someone else's recording involves two sets of rights: the recording itself and the underlying composition. Using either without permission can infringe copyright, and "fair use" rarely covers it. Uncleared samples can lead to takedowns or automated claims, and they can stop you from releasing or licensing your music freely.

Your options are:

• Clear the sample with the rights holders, which can be slow and expensive.
• Use licensed sample packs whose terms allow release. Always read the license.
• Write originals and make them sound sampled with processing: resample your own playing, chop it, pitch it and add texture.

The third path gives you full control. For example, Purrple Cat writes original music, which is why most of the catalog can be released under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0, free for anyone to use with credit. You can only license what you fully own. Hear the results on lofibeats.net, and see musicforyoutube.com for how that free license works for creators. This is general information, not legal advice.

9. Arrange and finish

Lofi arrangements are simple: an intro (often filtered), a main loop, a variation where something drops out or a melody enters, and a soft ending. Small changes every eight bars keep it interesting. Mix at low volume, because that's how most people will listen. Finally, finish tracks and release them. Your fifth beat will sound better than your first, and finishing is how you get there.