GENRE

Instrumental Hip Hop Artists

Beat-driven tracks foreground chopped samples, dusty drums, and melodic basslines while leaving space where a rapper’s verse would sit.

34 Instrumental Hip Hop artists · 67 releases in the last 6 months · Top labels: Friends Of Friends, Warp Records, Sichtexot

Related Genres

Artists

Clams Casino photo
Clams Casino
Clams Casino Productions · RCA Records · A$AP Worldwide
cloud raphip hopelectronic
TOKiMONSTA photo
TOKiMONSTA
Young Art Records · Rhino
electronichip hopwonky
Snakehips photo
Snakehips
Thirty Knots · Mine Recordings · Never Worry Records
electronicelectronicaindie
Gud photo
Gud
RealYungPhil
cloud rapambientwave
josh pan photo
josh pan
Nitepunk · New 11 Records · Kannibalen Records
ambienthip hopelectronic
Kenny Beats photo
Kenny Beats
Turbo Blanco · Loma Vista Recordings · Dead Oceans
J Dilla photo
J Dilla
The Conglomerate · SPA Recordings · UME - Global Clearing House
plunderphonicsalternative hip hopjazz rap

About Instrumental Hip Hop

Programmed drums drive instrumental hip hop, while bass, samples and melodic fragments take the space a rapper would usually occupy. The music keeps hip hop’s rhythmic focus but treats the beat as the complete composition, allowing loops, texture and arrangement to hold attention on their own.

Its range overlaps with downtempo, electronic music and lo-fi hip hop: some tracks are spare and hazy, others use sharper percussion or more experimental production. Without a lead vocal or verse-and-hook structure, small changes in rhythm, harmony and sound design carry the track forward.

Instrumental Hip Hop at a glance

Descriptorsatmospheric, head-nodding, experimental, melancholic, hypnotic
Characteristicssample-based beats, prominent drum breaks, layered loops and textures, instrumental arrangements, synthesized basslines
Key instrumentssampler, drum machine, turntables, synthesizer, DAW
Tempo70–100 BPM
OriginNew York City, late 1970s

Top Labels

Friends Of FriendsWarp RecordsSichtexotVinDigYoung Art RecordsMutombo RecordsTwenty Twenty London RecordingsHip DozerNever Worry RecordsHelix Records

Notable Contributors

Producers
TOBACCOFlying LotusBonoboJ DillaKenny BeatsSteven EllisonRobin Taylor-FirthShovell
Songwriters
TOBACCOFlying LotusBonoboGeorge EvelynBusta RhymesDenzel CurryKenny BeatsJ DillaRobin Taylor-FirthJahanbakhsh PazoukiAndrew LovellGilberto Gil

Recent Releases

mountain keys artwork
mountain keys
Oiyo Records
Together (Remixes) artwork
Together (Remixes)
EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty
Lanzarote (Tall Black Guy Bonus Funk Remix) artwork
Lanzarote (Tall Black Guy Bonus Funk Remix)
Ruby Francis, Tall Black Guy
Ruby's Bedroom Records
Fyra artwork
Fyra
HNNY
Debo's Song (TBG Grateful Go-Go Edit) artwork
Debo's Song (TBG Grateful Go-Go Edit)
Debórah Bond, Tall Black Guy
Deborah Bond & Tall Black Guy Make Dope Shit Records
Brown Lounge 7 artwork
Brown Lounge 7
Wulf
Alps artwork
Alps
Sichtexot
Far Away (feat. John Glacier & Khadija Al Hanafi) artwork
Far Away (feat. John Glacier & Khadija Al Hanafi)
The Avalanches, Khadija Al Hanafi, John Glacier
EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty
I Don't Care artwork
I Don't Care
Your Old Droog, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Flying Lotus
REM-U-LAK RECORDS
Long Jacket artwork
Long Jacket
Cake, Chris Lorenzo, Chris Lake, Kenny Beats
Turbo Blanco

Common questions

What is Instrumental Hip Hop?

Instrumental Hip Hop is a music genre defined by sample-based beats, prominent drum breaks, layered loops and textures, instrumental arrangements, and synthesized basslines. Beat-driven tracks foreground chopped samples, dusty drums, and melodic basslines while leaving space where a rapper’s verse would sit.

What BPM is Instrumental Hip Hop?

Instrumental Hip Hop tracks typically run between 70 and 100 BPM.

Where did Instrumental Hip Hop come from?

Instrumental Hip Hop originated in New York City, late 1970s.

What instruments are used in Instrumental Hip Hop?

Instrumental Hip Hop is built mainly from sampler, drum machine, turntables, synthesizer, and DAW.

Which Instrumental Hip Hop artists are most popular?

Clams Casino, TOKiMONSTA, BADBADNOTGOOD, letherette, and Snakehips are the highest ranked by Spotify popularity of the 34 Instrumental Hip Hop artists on this page.

Which labels release Instrumental Hip Hop?

Friends Of Friends, Warp Records, Sichtexot, VinDig, and Young Art Records have put out the most Instrumental Hip Hop records in the Tracknack catalogue.

What genres are similar to Instrumental Hip Hop?

Artists tagged Instrumental Hip Hop are most often also tagged Hip Hop, Electronic, Downtempo, Instrumental, and Experimental.

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