Almost a month later, reports are just surfacing in the car accident that claimed the life of respected Japanese beatsmith Nujabes The critically acclaimed producer was extremely private in his personal life, and the news of his death was only recently confirmed by his friend and collaborator, rapper Shing02.

Nujabes died on February 26, a week after his 36th birthday, while exiting the Metropolitan Expressway in the Minato Word section of Tokyo, Japan. He was buried by his family, in a private ceremony.

The beatmaker, whose moniker is the reverse of his birth name, Jun Seba, was known for crafting melodic, jazzy songscapes. He provided some of the best soundtrack work for popular anime series 'Samurai Champloo,' and though the bulk of his work was instrumental or featured Japanese artists like Shing02, Minmi and Uyama Hiroto, Njaubes also collaborated with American artists like CL Smooth, Five Deez and Cyne and singers Terry Callier and Dwele.

In addition to releasing four highly respected solo albums, which were distributed worldwide, Nujabes owned two record stores in Tokyo's popular Shibuya district, Guinness Records and T Records. In memoriam, his production company, Hydeout Productions will be releasing a collection of his unreleased works in the near future.

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