The musical direction was chosen by series creator and director Shinichirō Watanabe as part of his planned blending of hip hop culture with the anime's setting in the Edo period, additionally incorporating contributions from guest artists.

A 2006 video game based on the series called Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, scored by in-house composer Masafumi Takada.

Reception of the series' music has been generally positive from Western reviewers of the anime, and remains well-regarded in retrospective articles.

The 2004 anime series Samurai Champloo was created and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, known at the time for his work on Cowboy Bebop.

[1][2] Watanabe's goal for the series was to blend a traditional Edo period setting with anachronistic elements including the culture and music of hip hop.

[3] When deciding on the music, Shinichirō Watanabe wanted to incorporate hip hop, fitting in with the series' original goals and themes.

[6][7] Watanabe was friends with Tsutchie and had worked with him on the final episode of Cowboy Bebop, and Nujabes was the first name which came to mind when he was thinking about the series music.

[9] The non-standard sound design and dubbing approach, together with the improvised style of the production as a whole, meant that the composers had a harder time than expected finding suitable samples for their work.

[13] The second part of "Misguided Miscreants" included a long uninterrupted piece of Okinawan music, "Obokuri/Eeumi", which was in Watanabe's mind before the animation was created.

Yukiko Tsukioka sang the folk song performed by the character Sara in the story "Elegy of Entrapment", creating a new recording of it for the episode.

[14][13] The CD album Samurai Champloo Music Record: Departure was released on June 23, 2004, parallel with Masta by Victor Entertainment under their JVC label.

[15][18] The CD album Samurai Champloo Music Record: Masta was released on June 23, 2004, parallel with Departure, by Victor Entertainment under their JVC label.

[15][18] The CD album Samurai Champloo Music Record: Impression was released on September 22, 2004, parallel with Playlist by Victor Entertainment under their JVC label.

[16][18] The CD album Samurai Champloo Music Record: Playlist was released on September 22, 2004, parallel with Impression by Victor Entertainment under their JVC label.

[38] The music was composed by Masafumi Takada, a long-time collaborator of Suda's and a core member of Grasshopper's in-house sound team.

[8] In a 2020 article on NPR, Jon Lewis noted its influence on similar music popular at the time, praising Nujabes's opening theme.

[45] Tasha Robinson of Sci-Fi Weekly noted the strong musical identity of the show, though finding it less varied than Watanabe's earlier entry Cowboy Bebop.

[49] Mike Dent of Otaku USA Magazine summarised the music by saying "the collaborative efforts add a vibrant and moving atmosphere to each episode".