Jeff Baraka's Planet Boom!: Recent Episodes
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https://jeffbaraka.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/jeff_baraka-blissoon-120bd.mp3I really enjoyed the first season of Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, his travel docuseries based on the book by Eric Weiner. As an independent creator/producer —and something between a “serious journalist” and a humorous presenter— I pay close attention to programs like this. I’ve been plotting my own travelogue since my early days as a VJ, and I’ve been lucky enough to meet with and learn from some of my biggest inspirations —Rainn and this show are now among them.
Finishing the series led me to check out some of Rainn’s interviews for it (and for his own books, Soul Boom and The Bassoon King). But a lightbulb moment occurred, listening to Questlove’s recent interview with Andre 3000, in which they discuss woodwinds (flutes/oboes/bassoons), creativity, enlightenment, success & celebrity, life in Los Angeles, and reference the 70s TV show Kung Fu —subjects that Rainn also talks about. That sent me back to Geography of Bliss, Episode 5 (Los Angeles), in which Rainn visits some young influencers to discuss among other things, “how to make the bassoon go viral…”
I’m also still a semi-active beatmaker, from my earlier days as a “true-school” hip-hop artist. Re-watching Episode 5 sparked me to produce BLISSOON (stream via player above), which contains multiple sounds from the episode. The track is built around the bassoon riff Rainn teases at about 31:55 (before the moment dissipates in laughter), and it opens with a soundbite of the influencers explaining how they use audio bits —which struck me as similar to what sampling producers do…
I’d sampled the Tom Browne classic Funkin’ For Jamaica (N.Y.) years earlier. I discarded my first idea, but always intended to return for the powerful “I feel it inside my soul” lyric. I was reminded of this in 2020, when I learned FFJ lyricist and vocalist, Toni Smith had passed (RIP). BLISSOON features her immortal FFJ vocals: edited, tuned and arranged in call-and-response, to match the bassoon progression.
Funkin’ For Jamaica is a flawless jam, and I have the utmost respect for Tom Browne and his other genius collaborators. I just wanted to (respectfully) recontextualize Toni Smith’s soulful voice —think Fat Boy Slim with Camille Yarbrough, Flo Rida with Etta James, Kaytranada with Chaka Khan, Odesza with Bettye LaVette, or The Roots with Sly & The Family Stone [sidenote: speaking of Chaka, FFJ is sometimes mis-credited to her, which is understandable, because she and Toni shared some vocal characteristics, and she sometimes performs it].
As a beatmaker, I usually produce downtempo (rarely over 100 BPM), “boom-bap” style hip-hop. But I wanted BLISSOON to be more dancey/bouncy/fun (like Native Tongue-type “everywhere music”, as explained by Will.i.am to Talib Kweli). For drums, I started with a full loop from FFJ, but then decided I didn’t want that much essence from the same source. So I chopped out (and self-sequenced) a kick, a snare and a hi-hat to keep rockin’ while I searched for new drums. Later, in a full-circle moment, I decided to audition Questlove’s hella-groovy Ludwiggy breakbeat…
I’m a huge fan of The Roots. I regard them as the foremost representation of “true-school-hip-hop-as-high-art”; and our several meetings as personal highlights —the most notable during filming of The Legendary (2010), a short doc by Cam Be, co-produced & hosted by me. But I almost passed on Ludwiggy for BLISSOON, because I’ve used it once before (slightly modified chops) and I already have another use in mind (unmodified loop).
But when I randomly discovered Rainn Wilson and Questlove share the same birthday (Jan. 20), that struck me as a wild coincidence, given how BLISSOON was conceived, plus all its audio files are saved in a folder I’d titled “Blissoon 120” —for the BPM, not the date. I then felt compelled to make Ludwiggy work, so I chopped out another kick, snare and hi-hat, stacked and EQ’d them with the FFJ set, and used some other parts at full and half tempo (120/60 BPM).
BTW: I enjoy The Office as a casual fan, but I started following Rainn via my curiosity about the Baha’i faith, of which he’s a prominent voice. I live in Chicago and the beautiful North American temple is nearby in suburban Wilmette; I occasionally attend music events there (see flyer) or visit just to sit and journal in the surrounding gardens when the weather’s nice. During my active rap days, that’s where I wrote Soul Oasis and Coolin’ on the Lakeshore.
The #DOWNNOW Project is my original journalism/storytelling and music series, conceived in Summer 2020 through my Chicago Music Ambassador role. Promoting the “Year of Chicago Music” began to feel increasingly tone deaf and out-of-sync during a crucial election cycle, the disruptive arrival of COVID-19, intense social upheaval for racial justice, and the convergence thereof. The … Continue reading THE #DOWNNOW PROJECT
I’m happy and honored to be named a Chicago Music Ambassador, and to join the City of Chicago’s Office of the Mayor, its Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and its official destination marketing organization (Choose Chicago) in celebrating the Year of Chicago Music (2020), and the 35th anniversary of the Arts & … Continue reading From underground to Ambassador
Diggin’ through my archives in March, looking for this old Phife pic, I found several others (OutKast, Bam+Dres, Common), including the above collage with KRS-One. He’s a “true-school” icon and one of my early influences as an MC (along with Rakim, Chuck D, Big Daddy Kane, and others). This was a fun, informative 2013 conversation … Continue reading Jeff Baraka x KRS-One
I’m still processing Phife‘s passing last week (3/22), playing my A Tribe Called Quest collection and re-watching the Beats, Rhymes & Life documentary. I only met him a handful of times -the same way I met most of my hip-hop hero/peers during my active rap years, as an opening act or host of underground shows. … Continue reading Beats, Rhymes & Life / Rewind That
I caught the amazing Mauritanian singer Noura Mint Seymali and her band at WTTW studios, during their recent Chicago residency with OTSFM and IMAN (click pic to enlarge). I checked them out online after, which led me to the cool Rhythm Planet program at KCRW. I was familiar with the station’s eclectic music programming, but … Continue reading Keep Calm & Rock Well (one cool thing leads to another)…
I spent September 2015 in Switzerland* with the CLAER Program, organized by the Lucerne Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI). Here’s a beat I produced, inspired by that time. I call it A-YO! for the traditional Swiss alphorn and yodel samples. Stream via the player below, or click the pic to download (automatic on … Continue reading A-YO!
Here’s a beat I made, inspired by the CREED movie. The horns (obvious) and the guitars (not-so-obvious) are samples from Gonna Fly Now, the original ’70s Rocky Theme. I called it Stay Fly, to salute the original (and composer, Bill Conti), but once I remembered the 3-6 Mafia jam of the same name, that became … Continue reading Champion Legacy (Stay Fly)
This is a Christmas commercial for Ritz Crackers, produced by Onion Labs. It was a fun time, a nice check and we made kids happy, so please laugh all you want at the bad pun, lame raps and corny outfits haha… salute to “my dawgs”, Ross Bryant and Glenn Stanton.
JBTV is an iconic, Chicago music television program (and production studio), named for founder, host and executive producer, Jerry Bryant. Since 1984, he’s showcased some of the biggest names in modern rock, like Arctic Monkeys, Dave Matthews Band, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, No Doubt, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, and many more. I was brought onboard … Continue reading JB x JBTV