The Story of ‘ordinary joe,’ Nujabes’ Most Underrated Song

‘Ordinary joe’ captures so diligently an image of positive anonymity that the song itself could be said to bask in freedom. Freedom from the social need to be extraordinary and unconventional, that pervades our own online culture, where digital avatar gradually splits from the reality and mundanity of actual self. For that reason, I believe that the song still resonates twenty years after its release, even if it only repeats a universal truth.

It is also my favourite song by the late great Japanese producer Jun Seba (or Nujabes), and not simply for the pervading clarity of its themes. And I would suggest that it stands out even in a career as refreshing as Seba’s own. Perhaps to his cult following that statement may bear little weight: understandably so, for almost every song on the same album as ‘ordinary joe,’ Modal Soul, encapsulates a similar vibe.

The vocal sample on ‘reflection eternal’ is both endearing and melancholy – “your hair piled up, piled up high.” Shingo Annen’s lyrics on ‘Luv(sic.) pt3’ resound like the words of a wise ferryman as he carries us across Seba’s softly undulating beat. And the vocal sample on ‘World’s end Rhapsody’ can never seem to overcome the surface tension of the instrumental – it’s a delicate balance.

The Collaboration

Yet ‘ordinary joe’ is surely the strongest showcase on the album of Seba’s creative ambition, due in no small part to the contribution of Terry Callier, an American jazz and soul artist who was most prominent in the ‘60s and ‘70s. On first listen, and for obvious reasons, you would think that Callier’s voice is a sample of the 1972 single ‘Ordinary Joe.’ But his delivery is noticeably different.

What actually happened is that Callier – who was in the midst of his comeback when Seba requested the sample clearance – was infatuated with the producer’s sonic aesthetic and offered to re-record his vocals entirely for the track. This is obvious from the fresh hum-mumble delivery (in parts) and the warm epigraph that did not exist in the original rendition: “Yeay, what’s up? It’s Terry … Callier. Got a new way to flow, for ordinary joe. You know.”

Who is this “ordinary joe” in the context of Nujabes’ remix? The protagonist of the song encompasses the average everyday person, apparently unspectacular but actually no less substantial than the stars and celebrities: “although they say you’re just a lazy so-and-so, what they think is real is nothing but an animated puppet show.”

Callier addresses himself as much as he does the listeners, but the main recipient of the opening lyric is almost certainly Jun Seba, a self-proclaimed “ordinary guy.”

The Flute

In many ways the track is vitalised by a dialogue between the two great musicians about the intimate embrace between music and freedom and, conversely, the yawning gulf between reality and celebrity. The love for music can not only be felt in Callier’s re-rendered verse, which merges seamlessly with its new environment, but also in the flute solo that weaves itself into the middle of the song, performed by Seba himself.

Playing the instrument, he takes on the voice of a “sparrow,” whom Callier’s hero addresses in the chorus. In turn the sparrow, which was only ever referred to in the original, permits Nujabes a voice – it seems fitting that he exhales music rather than words.

I’ve seen a sparrow get high,

Wasting time in the sky.

He thinks it’s easy to fly,

He’s just a little bit freer than I.

Terry Callier in ‘ordinary joe’

What is even more impressive about Seba’s raw and colourful flute solo is that he learned to play the instrument specifically for ‘ordinary joe.’ On top of the icy drum loop, sampled from the band KISS of all places, the live flute settles unbelievably well. Whether live or digital, Seba worked his music with a meticulous and affectionate hand.

Seba sought full creative control over his music, and learned to play the flute and piano (with Uyama Hiroto’s assistance) in order to depend less on samples of other artists’ melodies. He was a very private man, but far from shy. He really put everything of himself onto his canvas, which is ultimately what he wanted his audience to focus on.

The Reach of Nujabes

No particular feature – the drums, piano, flute or vocals – takes away from ‘ordinary joe,’ making for a sprawling, infinitely replayable tune. I cannot name another song where such a substantial effort was required in the creative process, that could be felt in the idle act of listening to it, and yet has garnered so little attention in alt hip-hop circles.

In reimagining the sound of hip-hop without taking away from it (a practice he affirmed throughout his career), the producer bridged two disparate worlds together and proved that the genre still showed signs of uncharted waters. Nujabes now ranks among the best of alt hip-hop beatmakers, alongside MF DOOM, Madlib, J Dilla and The Alchemist.

Although he was far removed from the grounds in which the sound was sewn, he nonetheless added to the international scene, inviting hip hop to walk with samurai (see Samurai Champloo) and paving the way for exciting innovations to this day.

The car accident stole a flourishing creative mind from us, but his voice still rings through today, like a sample beating underneath the surface of one of his songs. ‘Ordinary joe,’ a collaborative effort between two late greats, is an ode to music itself; an exemplum of music made for music’s sake, not for the sake of fame or money.

Seba died in relative obscurity, but as Fat Jon (a frequent collaborator) reminds us, “that was all by design – Nujabes didn’t want people to know him like that.”