Slaps is the collaboration between XJ music, Mark C. Stewart, a New York based multi-instrumentalist, and Voodoo Lion, a San Francisco based hip-hop producer. They combine for a new twist on Lofi Beats and Trap, drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources, many of which lie outside of hip-hop completely.

“It’s amazing to see what XJ does with our patterns and performances, it truly feels like a real person.” says Stewart, the son of classical musicians and a graduate of Berklee College of Music. With the rising popularity of lofi playlists, Slaps saw an opportunity to test XJ’s capabilities by introducing a new genre, full of free-flowing percussion, unquantized drum patterns, and delayed melodies, all staples of lofi hip hop.