{"id":90729,"date":"2025-05-07T10:14:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=90729"},"modified":"2025-05-07T10:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:14:49","slug":"bal-brings-haitian-creole-and-opera-to-rap-with-voodoo-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2025\/05\/bal-brings-haitian-creole-and-opera-to-rap-with-voodoo-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"BAL Brings Haitian Creole And Opera To Rap With &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Although he&#8217;s a lifelong music lover, BAL only started making music around five years ago, initially creating in Haitian Creole, but now his tracks are delivered in English and French as well. BAL, which translates from Creole to English as &#8220;Bullet&#8221;, or &#8220;Festival&#8221;. brings his sound to a wide and diverse audience, and new single, &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217;, will have him winning over even more hearts and minds.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>BAL moved from Haiti to Brooklyn at the age of 14, and his heritage is even still at the very heart of his sound, which includes tantalising storytelling, absolute passion for his craft, and &#8211; interestingly &#8211; opera. BAL was transfixed by the spiritual essence of the genre, and he&#8217;s got the chops to pull it off. Weaving the grandeur of this style into rap, R&amp;B, afro beats &#8211; among many others &#8211; BAL has pioneered a whole other sub-genre, which he&#8217;s called, &#8220;Opera Drill\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We only get to hear BAL&#8217;s opera stylings towards the end of his new single, &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217;, but that doesn&#8217;t mean we can&#8217;t enjoy the rest of the track. Filled to the brim with an inescapable energy, the song sees BAL channel the mysticism and intensity of the religious and cultural practice of Voodoo, with a wildly vibrant, and wholly unapologetic presentation of his his heritage and identity. Blending Haitian Creole into the English lyrics, BAL shows that music is a universal language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The music video for &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217; is just as energetic as the song. Filled with the classic quick cuts, bright flashes, and off-kilter camera angles that we&#8217;ve come to love in classic rap and hip hop clips, he also incorporates touches of Voodoo, with symbolic imagery. The setting is dimly lit, at times with only candles to guide us in the otherworldly atmosphere, while our senses are filled with the high octane performances of BAL and his cohort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can watch the music video for &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217; below, and find out more about BAL and his music online via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sfhbal?_t=8hesWQXBLQ6&amp;_r=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@sfh_bal?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Threads<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sfh_bal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Baltazard40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_38570\"  width=\"640\" height=\"360\"  data-origwidth=\"640\" data-origheight=\"360\"  data-relstop=\"1\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RQJgAnLzmLM?enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/essentiallypop.com&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"BAL  \u201c VOODOO BABY.  (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) prod by @KrayOTB HAITIAN VOODOO DRILL #VOODOODRILL\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/RQJgAnLzmLM\/maxresdefault.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although he&#8217;s a lifelong music lover BAL only started making music around five years ago, initially creating in Haitian Creole, but now his tracks are delivered in English and French as well. BAL, which translates from Creole to English as &#8220;Bullet&#8221;, or &#8220;Festival&#8221;. brings his sound to a wide and diverse audience, and new single, &#8216;VOODOO BABY&#8217;, will have him winning over even more hearts and minds.<\/p>\n<div class='heateor_sss_sharing_container heateor_sss_vertical_sharing heateor_sss_bottom_sharing' style='width:39px;left: -10px;top: 100px;-webkit-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none;' data-heateor-sss-href='https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90729'><div class=\"heateor_sss_sharing_ul\"><a aria-label=\"Facebook\" class=\"heateor_sss_facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fessentiallypop.com%2Fepop%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F90729\" title=\"Facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:32px!important;box-shadow:none;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle\"><span class=\"heateor_sss_svg\" 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class=\"heateorSssClear\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":90735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Although he's a lifelong music lover BAL only started making music around five years ago, initially creating in Haitian Creole, but now his tracks are delivered in English and French as well. 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The Haitian American singer songwriter was raised by her Catholic mother but was also profoundly affected by a father who practiced Vaudou.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/malou-press.jpg?fit=957%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/malou-press.jpg?fit=957%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/malou-press.jpg?fit=957%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/malou-press.jpg?fit=957%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":86709,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2024\/05\/heart-of-pine-bring-their-southedelic-style-to-new-single-voodoo-leg-bone-ahead-of-august-release-of-album-southern-soul-revival\/","url_meta":{"origin":90729,"position":2},"title":"Heart Of Pine Bring Their Southedelic Style To New Single &#8216;Voodoo Leg Bone&#8217; Ahead Of August Release Of Album &#8216;Southern Soul Revival&#8217;","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"30\/05\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Set for self-release on August 2, 'Southern Soul Revival' is the new album for Athens Georgia outfit, Heart Of Pine. 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