21 Feb What Happens When Jazz Reimagines Hip-Hop’s Greatest?
Hello Music Lover with Discriminating Taste, You’ve Found Your Tribe.
What Happens When Jazz Reimagines Hip-Hop’s Greatest?
Hip-hop and jazz have always been in conversation—two revolutionary Black art forms that share DNA in improvisation, storytelling, and soul. But what happens when jazz takes the lead and reimagines some of hip-hop’s greatest anthems?
What happens is that musicianship and lyricism collide in a way that elevates both. Jazz, a celebration of instrumental mastery, shifts the focus from the words to the notes—yet, in doing so, it doesn’t erase the lyricism of hip-hop. Instead, it amplifies it. The emotion, cadence, and storytelling that define hip-hop’s greatest verses are now interpreted through live instrumentation, allowing the music itself to speak the words. The result? An entirely new way to experience these songs—where the melodies, harmonies, and improvisation become the voice, giving the music a fresh perspective while honoring the original intent.
For Unwrapped Vol. 9, we made a creative decision unlike any other in the Unwrapped series. Traditionally, Unwrapped features jazz reinterpretations of hit songs from multiple artists, spanning different eras of hip-hop. This time, we chose to pay homage to a single artist—Kendrick Lamar. With billions of streams and hundreds of millions per song, Kendrick Lamar is undeniably one of the greatest lyricists and most influential voices in hip-hop today. The world agrees. His ability to merge storytelling, poetry, and social commentary has positioned him as one of the most celebrated artists of this generation.
We wanted to honor that impact through jazz—the genre that has always served as the foundation of hip-hop’s evolution. The majority of the musicians involved in Unwrapped Vol. 9 are deeply inspired by Kendrick’s work, and even those unfamiliar with him before, like virtuoso pianist Jesus Molina, were captivated. Molina, hearing Kendrick’s music for the first time, performed his part in a single take—pure improvisation, pure mastery. This project also features legendary violinist Karen Briggs, Grammy-winning band Ozomatli, a powerhouse brass section from Regiment Horns, and the a cappella innovators Naturally 7. Their combined artistry brings Kendrick’s music into a new space—one that speaks to the roots of jazz while celebrating the future of hip-hop.
This isn’t just another cover project. Unwrapped Vol. 9 is a love letter to music—a fusion of hip-hop’s most defining records and jazz’s timeless artistry. The album takes some of today’s most-streamed hip-hop songs and reconstructs them with rich instrumentation, bringing a fresh perspective to a younger audience while reconnecting older listeners to the jazz foundation that hip-hop was built upon.
At its heart, Unwrapped Vol. 9 is about connection—the bridge between generations, between past and present, between jazz and hip-hop. These two genres have always been intertwined, from jazz samples in early boom-bap production to Kendrick Lamar’s own jazz-infused To Pimp a Butterfly. This album expands that dialogue, allowing hip-hop’s biggest songs to be reborn through the improvisation, live musicianship, and soulful textures of jazz.
Why This Story Matters Now:
Jazz and Hip-Hop: The Intersection of Two Cultural Giants – Hip-hop borrowed its swing and groove from jazz; jazz finds new life in hip-hop’s rhythms and cadences. Unwrapped Vol. 9 continues this symbiotic relationship.
A New Way to Experience Hip-Hop’s Biggest Hits – The project transforms iconic tracks like HUMBLE., LOVE., LOYALTY., and Money Trees into lush, jazz-forward compositions, creating an entirely new listening experience.
Music That Connects Generations – Young hip-hop fans can recognize their favorite songs in a new form, while older jazz lovers can hear the improvisational genius of a new era. This is an album that brings families together, where a teenager and their parent can sit down and appreciate the same music through different lenses.
A Celebration of Musical Love and Innovation – Unwrapped Vol. 9 isn’t just a reimagining—it’s a movement that highlights the universal love of music and the limitless ways it can be reshaped, reinterpreted, and celebrated across genres.
Hidden Beach Recordings, the visionary label behind this project, has long been at the forefront of innovation in jazz and hip-hop fusion. Stream Unwrapped Vol. 9 – The Songs of Kendrick Lamar Reimagined
As we continue celebrating #BlackHistoryMonth 2025, especially Black musicians and th. We believe this story is bigger than the music—it’s about the evolving conversation between jazz and hip-hop and how this project reflects the enduring love that connects us through sound.
#UnwrappedVol9 #KendrickLamarReimagined #JazzMeetsHipHop #HiddenBeach #JazzFusion
