If you’re like me and spend way to much time on the internet watching endless Vine compilations and are constantly reading news on the best upcoming movies, music, and video games then you’re bound to have come across some interesting genres of entertainment that you might not have even thought existed. While some media genres are seemingly born and then taken away in the blink of an eye, others come out of nowhere and stay for the long run. I firmly believe that lofi is one of those genres. I first heard of lofi when I was scrolling through YouTube late one night and a picture of a sad anime boy (Yep, that’s the best way can think to describe it) and the title read something to the effect of “l o f i a e s t h e t i c”. I clicked on it and listened for a bit and was very interested in the whole… aesthetic of it. Over the next couple of months more and more lofi compilations started popping up all over YouTube, and ta-da! lofi is now actually gaining a foothold!
Why Is LoFi Becoming So Popular?
While there are a plethora of reasons as to why lofi is on the rise, it can mainly be boiled to the emotions it evokes, the aesthetic that it displays in music videos and art, and the chilled/relaxing beats that the music follows. In my opinion lofi can simply go with such a wide variety of videos, movies, and other types of art that it makes it easy to insert it into almost any media medium.
When Did LoFi Become Popular?
While there is some debate about this, this first time that I personally saw it and friends of mine started to notice and make comments about the genre’s existence was through a YouTube channel called ChilledCow. The video was simply a gif on repeat of an animated girl writing and doing homework, while the chilled out lofi was playing in the background. This was around 2015 when I first saw it, and started hearing about it from friends. So while there isn’t a definitive way to answer the question, it’s safe to say that around the mid 2010s was when the genre really started to grab the attention of the internet.
While lofi has been around for quite awhile, it’s popularity has only really started to arise in the past couple of years. It has a very distinct feel and sound that makes it appealing to almost everyone, (of course there is always going to be those couple of people who hate everything, but that’s a given) and gives off some of the most chilled out vibes around, and the best part is that as for right now, it’s here to stay.
