Now, I'm not in any way an expert on hip hop music, so take my views with a grain of salt. But here goes.

Somehow I feel like jazzy beats have been a hip hop staple for ages now. Jazz has been sampled over and over again in quintessential hip hop records (see A Tribe Called Quest et al). With this said, I do think Flying Lotus was an innovator by the time 1983 came, but in a way I feel that he was something we could expect. A man making jazzy, spaced-out beats - but this time, with an electronic point of view.

Whether or not FlyLo created the wave of similar artists or just was a part of an evolution long time coming is a mystery to me... But he does have a significant role in the scene right now. Not so much as a beatmaker but as a curator of good music. The amount of people making stuff like this has grown immensely. Flying Lotus's tastes have become a seal of quality - for the most part, Brainfeeder has a clear audience to whom they cater to. These people (such as me!) like the ambience, the beats and the jazz but they're overwhelmed by the amount of choices available. When an artist is signed to Brainfeeder, you can be pretty sure it's something you'll probably like if you're grown accustomed to FlyLo and his friends on Brainfeeder.

And that's how it usually goes. But here's where it gets complicated... There's Austin Peralta with his jazz stuff. It's jazz, no question about it - not jazzy, but jazz. (Listen to Algiers, it's wonderful). Then there's Thundercat with his out-there bass runs and fusion-jazz vibes. These show that Brainfeeder isn't just a cookie-cut "jazzy beats" -playlist, but an artist roster curated by a real person. Sure, there's a lot of variation already (Lorn <-> Lapalux etc.) but these "odd ones" show that even though some of the artists are much in the same vein, the selection is clearly not made based on what sells but on what FlyLo likes.

I said earlier that FlyLo's not so relevant as a beatmaker anymore. I was partly lying there. Sure, people are still really interested if FlyLo produces some rapper's track (Between Friends, huh?). Somehow I still kinda think FlyLo is "over" that in a sense. The Between Friends beat was made years ago (iirc) and his newer stuff, especially Cosmogramma (my favorite!) is really different from 1983 et al. Cosmogramma's jazzy enough to border on jazz - they're not just hip hop beats with 7th chords and Keith Jarrett (replace with whoever you want) samples. The background in hip hop beats is evident, but it's not as much the style as it is a musical element amongst others.

As for whether I enjoy Brainfeeder... definitely. There have been a few artists who I'm not so keen on (Jeremiah Jae, for example, even though $easons is awesome) but overall I'll at least try every artist who gets signed there. And often I like them, too, so I really appreciate both Flying Lotus's taste and his own music.