Sonically, it’s an MF Doom instrumental slowed to half speed, the Xanax-laced thumps of a drum machine combined with the sounds of rain patter on a window pane and synthesized vinyl scratches. Channels like “College Music” and “Chillhop Music” have contributed to the trend, attracting hundreds of thousands of listeners through streams with titles like “cozy chillhop radio 24/7 - chill study/relax/gaming beats.” Since it first appeared a little over a year ago, the “lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to” stream has amassed over 2 million subscribers to date.ĬhilledCow is just one of several endless radio stations playing lofi hip hop, also often referred to as “chillhop,” to crop up on YouTube over the past couple years. The channel has over 1,000 songs currently in rotation, all handpicked by ChilledCow, the anonymous user behind the channel that hosts the stream. She’s the animated face of “lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to,” a 24/7 YouTube livestream. The nameless girl is left in an infinite loop of productivity, meant to welcome the stressed-out university students (or anyone searching for the relaxing, atmospheric sounds she’s peddling) that trickle in at any given hour of the day. Her eyes trained downward as she adds a line of text into her notebook, a pair of headphones perched on her head, purring out calming, lofi hip hop beats to get her through the night. A stack of worn books, a cup of utensils necessary to get her work done: pencils, pens, scissors.

Her open laptop beaming an ambient light. The girl sitting at her desk in the early hours of the morning, the totems of her academic life scattered around.

Lofi hip hop radio images