UNESCO’s International Jazz Day is the brainchild of Herbie Hancock, the revered jazz giant and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. It’s every April 30 in a different global host city, and last week’s 15th Anniversary edition was especially meaningful. It was the first time in (my and) Herbie’s hometown Chicago, and the last edition before the US is withdrawn from UNESCO again; I’m happy I was able to be present.
I’ve been a fan of UNESCO since 2020 —my DownNow Project. was awarded by Chicago DCASE, The International Center for Journalists, and National Geographic; and the Nat Geo award led to my invited participation and small feature in the UNESCO World Press Freedom Conference…
I’d been generally aware of the agency, but this was how I began to understand the scope of its mandate, relative to my own work. My profound interest manifested a visit to UNESCO HQ in Paris, during my 2022 Euro Grand Tour, for a great meeting that still informs my current, UNESCO-related media project for The City of Chicago.
It was great to finally meet Herbie, he remains a coveted interview and personal hero for his impact on jazz, electronic music (esp. hip-hop) and Afrofuturism —plus, I’m from the same south side Chicago neighborhoods (Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood). I also appreciated Kurt Elling’s tribute to Oscar Brown Jr. (1:40:00), another personal hero. And salute to fellow native son Jahari Stampley, he snapped with Bela Fleck (1:18:48) and set me up smooth with Herbie backstage.
The other major highlight was reconnecting with Robert Glasper (we’re still overdue a follow-up). His sublimely-dope, jazz and hip-hop set (59:50) was especially resonant for me, because I’m gradually getting back to my own “true-school”. roots for said media project, and refreshing my emcee/poet and sampling beatmaker skill-sets.
Happy New Year! Enjoy the above track; here’s the backstory (and some real talk)…
2025 was heavy. The current, stressful sociopolitical theatre has dealt me a couple direct blows re: my UNESCO-related media project. Plus, I haven’t been able to move around like I’m used to, since taking on primary caregiver responsibility for my octogenarian mom. It’s my honor, duty, blessing, and a labor of love (and my big brother Kevin is invaluable support). But I also had to release a very cool, international job prospect, consistent with my Cultural Ambassador activities.
I understand that many people who know (of) me through my media work, are unaware of my extensive background as a “true-school”. hip-hop artist almost 20 years ago (my most notable rap activity was under the names Consummate O and O Type Star). I still love the art and craft of writing and beatmaking, and I’m currently refreshing my skill-set in context of said media project. These exercises have rekindled the pure joy of indulging in creative processes, regardless of output. And the feeling’s been surprisingly therapeutic, helping me maintain my mental and emotional equilibrium through trying times.
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DJ Jazzy Jeff is a favorite hip-hop icon, and a certified celebrity who remains down-to-earth. His wise, emphatic “die empty”. mantra has been resonating with me lately, while caring for my mom and contemplating my own life and legacy for my daughter. This sparked me to revisit two of his tracks I’d written to, but never recorded, and I finally finished one. By Any Other Name (BAON) is my two verses laid over his fresh flip of Pat Metheny’s 5-5-7 .(it’s also in my UN Geneva video).
BAON is a fun, simple-but-clever, “Golden Era”-style rap song, that celebrates the craft of writing (and my nerdy love of writing instruments), the joyous feeling of being a fan and participant of “true-school”. hip-hop, and the classic practice of the MC saluting the DJ (s/o Pos; Let Me Hear U Clap. was a dope model). Rapping again definitely scratched an itch for me. I produced a quirky dance track two years ago, but aside from a few rare guest verses, I’ve been off the mic.
I added some vocal samples and demo scratches to the hook. The main one —”Jeff, I told you my name is Jeff!”— is from De La Soul‘s Brain Washed Follower (0:30), and was also used in The Mack Daddy On The Left. And I included a sample from my own verse on Mic Illumination—”y’all don’t know the depth of the rap that’s spoken here…” (0:27). The assembling and recording of BAON unlocked a related memory that sent me to my audio/video archives…
North Coast Fest 2010… I was on assignment for Nude Hippo (s/o Tony Lossano), a comedic entertainment-news-magazine show via NBC Chicago (s/o Marcus Riley). This was early in my TV career (right after JBTV and before AXS-TV), but I was getting more comfortable as a so-called “TV personality”, and separating from my rap identity. I ultimately grew to a point where I could meet or interview my influences or hero-peers with little to no mention of my own hip-hop background (which seemed a professional necessity in the pre-podcast era, but was difficult initially).
De La Soul had just rocked the stage and I was set-up to chat with Dave [RIP] after. Re-watching this moment while building BAON was surreal, bittersweet and full-circle. In that context, our conversation articulated the song’s intrinsic feeling; and our playful, respectful interaction underscored my heavy thoughts of mortality and fulfilling one’s life-purpose…
I decided to add Dave’s voice as the opening soundbite —in salute to him, “that eternal, youthful feeling”, and De La Soul’s indelible genius and continuation. I loved how BAON turned out, but I’d made it mostly as a demo exercise for myself, and hadn’t really thought about sharing it publicly. Then serious, real-life priorities interrupted and it sat for awhile, until a recent, unexpected catalyst…
My DMs blew up the day after Christmas; about 30 people sent me an Instagram post with No ID namechecking me (as O Type Star) in a BackTrack interview. I’ve known him since 1987 or 88, and we have the most present-day interaction of my former Chicago “immediate crew”…
I rarely address the Shakespearean / Dumas-like tale of my shared history with him, Common and Twilite Tone. I’ve never been interested in gossip, conflict or “clout chasing” —only in the truthful account of my presence, caliber, influence and legitimacy— and everything good that naturally flows from that.
Long-story-short, the satisfying catharsis of making BAON marks an overdue reset, and the bump in interest from the recent mention is reason enough to share. I’ve been sitting on another “itchy” song called Mental Advisory, that I wrote and produced for The #DownNow Project. (around the same time I wrote BAON)… there’s even a TASC brand tee shirt in my Threadless shop for it.
The plan is to pair these two songs (one fun, one serious) for an official vinyl release sometime this year, after all the necessary check-ins and approvals. Peace (from me and all my rap aliases)… #salute
March 2023, I was invited to join the Inaugural Cohort of the Brand Storytelling Diversity Imperative (via my KTQ association). Regrettably, a priority project diverted me from completing the certificate, but the program was (is) an invaluable professional development and networking opportunity! I’m very thankful for the illuminating, sharpening experience, and the many dynamic people I’ve met (s/o Rick Parkhill, Sarah Colamarino, Angela Matusik, Stephen Marshall, etc.).
Equally important, I learned how I fit and how I don’t. I’m not a behind-the-camera filmmaker; I’m a Music, Arts & Culture Journalist-as-Presenter-and-Producer (think Anthony Bourdain). I’m also a socially-conscious, globally-minded creative, with an extensive urban arts background (as an artist and arts administrator).
I often find compelling, under-reported stories, that could be leveraged by brands (organically and ethically) for the desired “halo-effect” .with audiences —so I work best as an initiator of ideation. Responding to rigid RFPs isn’t necessarily my strength or interest; although some creative ideas are reasonably adaptable. That said, my focus is to identify (and cultivate relationships with) culturally aligned, open-minded brands, that can recognize my authenticity, to trust my vision.
In that respect, Morgan Spurlock was (is) an inspiration and model for me, so I was saddened to learn of his recent passing. We met in 2011, during his promo tour for The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, which had a big impact on me. We kept in loose contact and last corresponded in 2021.
I can’t really claim him as a mentor, but I believe he saw me as a kindred hustler, and he’d always get back to me whenever I’d reach out with a question. That small-but-helpful interaction was much-appreciated and is greatly missed [RIP].
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 —they discuss woodwinds (flutes/oboes/bassoons), creativity, enlightenment, success & celebrity, life in Los Angeles, and reference the 70s TV show Kung Fu — all subjects 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.) .(FFJ) 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. And the “soul” .lyric fits Rainn’s recurring theme (Soul Boom, Soul Pancake).
As a beatmaker, I usually produce downtempo, “boom-bap” style hip-hop (rarely over 100 BPM). 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 FFJ loop, but decided I didn’t want that much essence from the same source. So I chopped out and self-sequenced a kick, snare and 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, a short Hennessy Artistry (2010) doc by Cam Be, which I co-produced & hosted. But I almost passed on Ludwiggy for BLISSOON, because I’d used it once before and already had another use in mind.
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 were 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)… enjoy!
BTW: I’m a casual fan of The Office, 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 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.
About an hour before showtime, I ran over to check-in with “my dude”, The Lion of Lucerne for good luck (below). I made that background beat not long after my 2015 visit (originally intended for the soundtrack of my TOWNIE program). It’s called A-YO! for the traditional Swiss alphorn and yodel samples (the Busta/Dilla vocal was a logical afterthought -iykyk).
On a sidenote, I suspect Jonas and I inspired a 2023 Switzerland Tourism ad with Roger Federer and Trevor Noah. The optics and banter —“we are brothers”— are just too coincidental. See @ 2:35 in our recap video (below) and @ 2:57 in their fun promo spot.
April 2022, I embarked on a month-long, 5-city Euro Grand Tour for my various, independent media and arts ventures. I started with flights to Rome —for the yearly International Journalism Festival in Perugia— and Zurich, to refresh my Cultural Ambassador activity in Lucerne; then direct train travel to Geneva, Paris and London (including the Eurostar through the “chunnel”).
Though mainly a business endeavor, I of course had some fun too. Highlights included visiting the United Nations Office in Geneva (with its resident peacocks), and productive meetings at Maison de l’UNESCO in Paris, and BBC Broadcasting House in London (see slideshow and videos)…
A Zoom meeting last week, reminded me of my experience with (and appreciation for) Kartemquin Films (KTQ). In 2014 (after my time with AXS TV), I wanted to create urban music, arts and culture content that was more eclectic and socially conscious. This led me to the DVID Fellowship (the doc film program is a partnership with CFW Chicago).
The idea I brought for an international project was too ambitious at the time. But the fellowship experience helped me to better define myself as a storyteller and refine some elements that are emerging in The DOWNNOW Project, as it continues to develop.
[above] DVID 2014 Pitch Day and Reception [left] Screening some of my best/favorite work for the review panel (including the Blitz clip behind me). [right] Post-pitch chat with Lauren Pabst (MacArthur Foundation) and Dan Andries (WTTW Chicago).
[above left] DVID 2014 Graduation award and [right] class photo. [below left] Gordon Quinn, KTQ co-founder and [right] #thumbsup with Chaz Ebert, our keynote speaker.
[below left] DVID 2018 Graduation with fellow alumni Jamaar (center; 2018) and Cam Be (2017). [right] The three of us with doc godfather, GQ (these guys are very talented, and some of my best work has been with them).
Historian, Sir Hilary Beckles is Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. Zeinab Badawi, one of my favorite international journalists, traveled to Barbados to interview him for Hardtalk (BBC).
They discussed reparations and justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans, and I thought: “Big Bro is straight fire, somebody needs to put Nas’ Ether beat under this!”
After a replay, I realized Barbadian Ambassador and National Hero, Rihanna’s BBHMM was an even better fit. The full interview is 23 minutes, but enjoy this excerpted (and unauthorized) BBHMR mash-up.
While planning The #DOWNNOW Project, I was happy to be recognized as an Emerging Producer by the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers —WCSFP. I was impressed by the entire cohort and really appreciated participating in Congress ’21.
A major highlight for me was Jeff Goldblum’s Spark of Inspiration session with Arif Nurmohamed. Their excellent Nat Geo show is a model for the kind of smart, fun television I aspire to make; and their insights aligned with my experience (global arts, journalism, documentary, music TV).
I appreciated my invite and small feature with Christiane Amanpour and Humberto Tan (above). This was an indirect result of my National Geographic award for The DownNow Project.
Just to be clear though, I’m a Music, Arts & Culture Journalist and a Cultural Ambassador, not a Sports Journalist. See the full session at UNESCO’s YouTube —my clip’s at 29:05.
Jeff Baraka's Planet Boom! 