Rescued Work: DJ Jazzy Jeff

DEF|Y|NE Media founder Matthew Allen revisits an erased 2018 interview of his with the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff, originally featured in Mass Appeal.

One of the best parts about being a music journalist is getting a chance to talk to your heroes. One of the worst parts about being a music journalist is when your work disappears from the internet.

In 2018, I got to interview one of the most important figures in Hip-Hop history, DJ Jazzy Jeff. Originally titled, DJ Jazzy Jeff Cracks The Album Making Code, I spoke with Jeff about how he and the participants of his annual music retreat managed to write, arrange, record, produced, mix, master, and release an entire album in seven days.

Jeff showed why he's considered one of the most skilled DJs and producers of his generation, but one of the wisest men when it comes to both the artistry and business of music making. Sadly, after freelancing for Mass Appeal for just over a year, they announced that they were discontinuing their journalism department. So, not only did a lose a gig, but all of the articles I wrote were taken down, as were the backlog of articles from others.

(L-R; Will Smith with DJ Jazzy Jeff in 2018. Photo courtesy of Jeff Townes’ Facebook page)

Luckily, I retrieved the original documents of many of my articles over the years. So, I'll be reposting the best of those pieces on this Substack. In honor of DJ Jazzy Jeff's 60th birthday, I present my interview with him:

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The Magnificent Jeff has been touring the globe as one of the most in-demand DJs, appeared with The Roots at the NBA All-Star Game in 2017, all while taping numerous episodes of his popular web-series, Vinyl Destination. Somewhere in this jam-packed itinerary, he found time to cut an album.

With a team of 18 musicians, writers, rappers and producers (including Rich Medina, Eric Roberson, and featured vocalist Glenn Lewis) he christened The PLAYlist, Mr. Townes oversaw the LP Chasing Goosebumps. The material on the album is eclectic, accessible, and relatable. Christened a genre-free outing, you hear but the most notable thing about is that it was written, recorded, mixed, mastered and released in a seven day period!

“I knew it was going to be great,” Jeff told Mass Appeal. “If you put the right people in the room, just coming up with the idea that the only objective was to give goose bumps; we miss music that gives you goose bumps, like, 'Oh, my God! That sounds so great!' It gives a nostalgic feeling and that's what we wanted to make.”

How could something sound this good be done so quickly? Usually, the average album making cycle for recording artists is a two year period. Because of the lay-offs in between releases, it’s easy to understand that people think it takes that long to make an album, in terms of writing and recording.

Jeff's experiment has shown this isn't and doesn't have to be the case. The legendary DJ/producer imparted his invaluable wisdom about the album, flaws of music’s corporate system, and the importance of the internet to connecting with the audience.

MCA: What inspired Chasing Goosebumps project?

DJJ: "This is the third year coming up that I've thrown the creative retreat at my house - The PLAYlist. The very first year that we did it, we issued a creative challenge to the people that were there; you give them a body of music, you put them in teams, and you basically have 24 hours to come up with a song using all the people that were in your group. It really is inspired to push the collaboration again. So many people that are making music today, their head is so into their computer screen that you don't get the collaborations like you used to. The first year, it ended up being the best thing at the retreat. We were so shocked with what everyone came up within 24 hours. The second year, we added a twist; we invited singer/songwriters and we ended up with 18 pieces of music that sounded like someone pieced together an album. For us to realize that this was done in 24 hours, that's when my wheels started turning; 'You know what? Let's get a group of collaborators together and let's see if we can make a full fledged project in a week.'

MCA: How did the retreat get started?

DJJ: "I do stuff for Red Bull every year and just to have a bunch of the best DJ's in the world all in a location that we all start talking about good shows, bad shows, promoters. I enjoy being together with your peers and just really discussing all the stuff that we all go through, and that's where the idea came from. It started off a DJ retreat, and then it turned into, let me invite the musicians of all of the music that the DJ's play. This year, let's invite all the singers, songwriters, MCs. Because when you look at it, you got the person who's making the music, the person who's writing it, singing it or rapping it, and then you've get the DJ's who are the messengers. You basically control the whole ecosystem."

MCA: Tell me about the process of choosing said musicians, songwriters, etc., for the project.

DJJ: “We wanted people who are trying to put the music first. I understand in the industry we're in, we have a lot of people who are forced to make a certain kind of music that's going to sell a certain amount, that have to be played on the radio. It's unfortunate that what we gauge so much as underground are the ones who put the music first. It started to be geared to people who have the ability to really put their art before everything else."

MCA: What was the response once the record was done?

DJJ: “I had musicians and producers come into the sessions and hear some of the stuff that we'd did, they were moved to tears. They were like, 'Not only have I not been able to make music like this, but I can't even play music like this, because some of these people we go on tour with, they have to be this, this, and this.' I've always been in the mindset that I want to make people's favorite music - not the most popular - I just want to be your favorite. There have been many times that your favorite song on the album is not the most popular."

MCA: Nostalgia is a big component of the album (“Chasing Goosebumps,” “1995,” “First Time Again”). Elaborate more on recapturing an old feeling. I heard "Can You Stand the Rain" and it reminded me of a time when everything on radio was great. Nowadays, not so much.

DJJ: "The same sentiment that you feel is pretty much the same way that other people feel. I can turn on the radio today and hear seven songs, and it's like you can do the “Soul Train” scramble board on who the artist is, because everybody sounds the same. In music, everyone had a distinct identity. When we went on tour back in the day, it was Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, it was Run DMC, JJ Fad, Kid & Play. Everybody had their own identity but everybody shared the same audience. So, to get to the point in time now where I don't know who is the person singing on the record because they all sound the same. It's where we all start to lose that feeling of music. When you can almost pinpoint what a song is...it's almost like you can hear the whole song when you haven't hear it before.”

MCA: "Die Empty" is my favorite song on the album. You address label suits acting like they know as much about music fans as the artists do, and how labels “want to be second.” Why don't major labels don't come to creatives more for their input, especially when independent artists are gaining ground?

DJJ: "When Sean Parker created Napster, that was the greatest gift. If the record companies said, 'Hey, let's not look at how he did it, but let's look at the medium that he did can solely benefit our business.' But instead, they shut him down because it was more about the money than looking toward the future. And now, the platform we get all our music from is almost the platform Sean Parker invented.”

“I've always thought that there are people at record companies more afraid of losing their jobs than to say, 'Let me take this shot.' That's where 'everybody wants to be second' comes in. 'I need to take the safest bet that I can to ensure I don't lose my job.' It goes back to, where are the classic A&R's? Where are the Motowns? Berry Gordy crafted and molded people's careers. Now, it's like, 'Oh, my God! I'm going to let you do all the stuff you do independently and as soon as you make any kind of noise, I'm going to scoop in and grab it. So, I don't have to mold you or shape you. You shape yourself. When I figure out you have something, let's hurry up and put it on sale because God knows if you'll ever be able to do it again.' I think the music business is not about music anymore; it's about business. When you hear these big record companies hiring the CEO of Pepsi, you think what the hell does selling Pepsi have to do with music?”

MCA: Why do you think it takes so long for an album to come out now and be recorded when there are so many great albums that we recorded in short periods of time – Sparkle, Thriller, A Love Supreme, What’s Going On all took two months or less to make.

DJJ: "You're never going in the studio with just the creative people. There is always someone in the studio who has never made a record in their life telling you how to make a record, because it's based on fear. Think about every record you just named. In every piece of history about that record being made, there wasn't a record company person in the studio. I've been in the studio with Quincy Jones. He was in the studio with a producer and we're going to make this record and give it to the record company. We know how to make records; you know how to sell records. Let us make the records, and we'll let you sell it. You know how many meeting I had to take back in the day with people that have never made a record and yet they've got the authority of what the world should like and what the world shouldn't like? That's one of the main reasons why I embrace the internet and social media so much, because it pushes people out of the way and gets you direct access to your fans, because they're the ones that make the decisions. They're the ones who say this is good, we love this or we don't like it. I think of how many great records that I might have never seen or heard because of one person. That drives me crazy."

MCA: You've been someone who's utilized the internet to great effect in your career. How do you see the internet contributing to artists and consumers going forward?

DJJ: "I've always looked at it like, back in the day, when you'd make music, you would have to take it to a record company to approve it, and they would basically put a promotional team behind you and try to blast your music out. The radio liked it - or they'd pay radio enough money - the radio would start to play it, in order for the fans to determine whether they like it or not. Right now, I can make a piece of music at 12:00 in the afternoon, upload it at 12:30 p.m. and someone can tell me if they like it or not. You cut through all of the red tape. I think I just want music to get to the people who determine if they like it or not. You don't necessarily need a middle man and that's not to say that someone can't give you advice. But I do think that the internet has allowed us the ability to go directly to your fan base. And you have companies like STEM, who we put the record out through - you can basically give your record to, and they make sure that everybody who is participating in the music gets paid directly, which the other issue that people have in the music industry, which is transparency. So, the two biggest issues in my career are you want creative freedom and you want to be compensated for what you do, and there were a lot of times when the music industry did neither. If you have the chance to have creative freedom, you want to be compensated. So, I love the fact that my fans can tell me that they like it or if they don't.”

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