Monday, February 27, 2012

Honor Flow Productions Live @ On The Rox!!! (3.24.12)


On Saturday, March 24th, join us for "Good music in Good Company" as H.F.P. returns to our ol' stopping grounds of The Roxy, this time however @ The Roxy's upstairs club On The Rox, as part of a night full of music presented by JMWestLIVE!

Tickets can be purchased now via Eventbrite by clicking HERE for $5!!! Please buy them under the "Honor Flow Productions" column so we can get the credit for the sell.

And we HIGHLY recommend you get your tickets now for two reasons. One, tickets are double the price @ the door ($10). And two, On The Rox is a pretty small and intimate venue, meaning along with us and other bands on the bill that night, TICKETS WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY!!! So don't sleep now and be S.O.L. come the night of the show. Get your tickets "Right now! Not now, but right now!" (c) Robin Harris in Bebe's Kids.

WE TAKE THE STAGE @ 10:30pm!!! Soul Claps & Salutes and see you all on the 24th!

Honor Flow Productions Live @ Friar Tucks (Photography) (2.25.12)


Stills from our first show in the I.E! Special thanks to Vincent and everyone at Chamber Records and Mush Brains Entertainment for inviting us to be a part of the bill (we're gonna have to do this again soon homie), and much love to everyone that made it out and vibed with us on a late Saturday night.

Photography By Madame Genevieve




















Tuesday, February 21, 2012

VOTE 4 Honor Flow Productions In The 20-12 Chegg's College Battle of The Bands!!!


It is that time of year again ya'll! If you remember last year, we came VERY CLOSE to competing in the Los Angeles division of Chegg's College Battle of The Bands. THIS YEAR... we are DETERMINED to not only win the our division, but the whole damn thing. And to do it, we need each and everyone's help.

So here is what we need you all to do...
1) Click HERE!!!!!!!!! for the direct link to our page.
2) Click the play button to right of our picture to log in a play for us. The record we have up there is Make A Run A For It with Tricia Isabela.
3) Click 4 Stars for us in rating section.
4) Wash and repeat. You can play it a much as you want. THERE IS NO PER DAY VOTING LIMIT!!!
5) Pass the link to our page for the battle among your peoples! We need all the help we can get. PLEASE help send us to the Pacific South Regional battle!!!

This is a HUGE look for us!!! This competition is sponsored by major companies such as Live Nation, Grammy U and T-Mobile. If we win it all, we will be performing on the bill for some of the stops for Chegg's Textbooks & Tickets Tour, as well as rewarded with a very dope prize package valued at over $3,000!!!

Thank you once again for all of your love and support!!! Now... let's "make a run" for this s@%!!!

H.F.P. @ The Red Bull Music Academy LA With Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Maseo

Lecture: Ali Shaheed Muhammad (Los Angeles 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.


Lecture: Maseo of De La Soul (Los Angeles 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.


Speaking for myself (and I'm sure many a Hip-Hop head, and music lovers in general), I can not express enough the influence and impact of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Some of you who are close to me know this story, but when I saw Tribe live @ The Wiltern during my first week of college, Sunday, September 10th, 2006, that was the night I decided to make music my life's dream to chase. Many people use this saying and have made it a cliche, but I'm dead serious when I say that night changed my life. There was a certain energy and euphoria in that theater I can not describe, and have yet to experience again since. Maybe the best way I can put it is it was almost like this scene from The Blues Brothers (pay attention to John Belushi starting @ the 1:50 mark).

Cut to almost 3 weeks ago. For those of you who do not know of The Red Bull Music Academy, please visit their website here and educate yourself. There are so many excellent full lectures to watch dating back to the academy's conception in 1998. Above is another perfect example of these will in-depth music discussion. It is pure "Liner Note Junkie" heaven. And to have the opportunity to ask a question (peep the 1:08:32 mark during Shaheed's lecture)and be able to talk to these two living legends for a brief moment afterwards is something I will never forget, because the Native Tongue movement is a key component to the blueprint of what Honor Flow Productions is.

The event was in conjunction with Boombox's (a event held every Saturday night @ Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown) 5th annual celebration of the life and music of my favorite producer, J Dilla, who contributed heavily to both Tribe's and De La's catalogs during his career. Over the course of that day, I was able to meet, as well as re-connect with a lot of people. And it was great to see all of you, and I hope to continue to see you all, lol! And to Tribe and De La, upmost Soul Claps & Salutes, and thank you. Or as Maseo put it... "Salutes, Salutaries, Salutations."


Photography By Kris Perry Photography
To view pictures from Boombox later that night by Kris, click here...

Red Bull Music Academy Radio: Live Tribute Sets From Boombox

Maseo: Listen Here!



Ali Shaheed Muhammad: Listen Here!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Honor Flow Productions Live @ Friar Tucks In Pomona! (2.25.12)


P Town, CA... we're coming out your way. On Saturday, February 25, H.F.P. will be a part of a dope night of music @ Friar Tucks in Pomona presented by Mush Brain Entertainment. Peep the details below and come through!!!

Where: Friar Tucks (540 E. Foothill Blvd, Pomona, CA, 91767)
When: Saturday , February, 25, 2012
Time: 9pm-2am
Cost: FREE!!! That's right... Free.99.
Admission Age: 21 and over (Bring your IDs!!!)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I Played Musical Chairs With Don Cornelius (As Told By "thE oLd SouL")


It was March 2006. Just three months short of graduating from high school. Upon the recommendation of a girl I was "sort of" seeing for a brief moment at that time, Key and I became seat fillers for the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards in Pasadena. This was the first major awards show that I had ever "seat filled" for. For those who don't know what a seat filler is, basically their job is "fill the seat" of a star that was either up on stage accepting an award or performing, or taking up that unclaimed seat so it looks like a packed house on television.

So here was Key and I, suited and booted, among all these stars in their respected fields of entertainment in the first two rows of the civic center. It was 10 minutes to showtime, and The Black Eyed Peas were setting up on stage to open up the show. As I was looking around taking in the sights and sounds, all of a sudden, I heard a roar of cheers and applause. Everyone was standing up and I was sitting, so I couldn't see what the commotion was about. This was when the two empty seats to my left was filled. The one right next to me was filled by none other than this woman here...


I remember looking back at Key with a "Homie are you seeing this shit" type look on my face. So while I was trying to keep it "Cooler than a polar bear's toe nails," I thought of a way I break the ice and strike up a convo with Tyra. She was alumni from Immaculate Heart, a sister school of my high school Loyola. So I thought I would start there. Just when I was building up the courage to even utter a syllable, here comes the man himself. Don walks up to my seat and I immediately out of respect, briefly introduce myself and try to make very, very small talk. After the intros, he says to me in his signature deep, yet raspy voice, "Nice to meet you too young man, but I'ma have to move you a couple seats back." I was then escorted to the next 6 rows back and Don took my seat right next to Tyra. I had just got my seat jacked by the o.g, scramble board master of cool himself, Don Cornelius, lol!

Of course, the 17 year old version of me, while taking "the walk of shame" to that seat six rows back heard this repeatedly in my head, but in retrospect, looking back at it now, Don was just doing what made him successful in the first place, and that was seizing the moment. Don was all about his business and there was no doubt he wanted to build a little with Tyra given that this was time her "empire" (Top Model and her daytime show) was really starting to skyrocket. You're going to hear this a lot in the next coming weeks as Don's life and work is remembered, but I'll say it here because it needs to be said over and over. Don Cornelius changed not just music, but popular culture. PERIOD!

Before MTV, before BET, before the internet, their was one place that not just Black America, but all of America went to as the source for latest music, dances, and fashion. And that place was every Saturday on Soul Train. Everyone that has had anything to do with the last 30 plus years of music had done a song or two there... EVERYONE. And I'm not just talking about the Soul legends of the day such as EWF, Marvin, Stevie, and Jackson 5, I also talking about Pop legends Elton John, David Bowie and Prince. Although make no mistake, Soul Train was THE launching pad for damn near every Soul, Funk, R&B, and Hip-Hop act from 1971 to 2006, the year the final train pulled into the station.

Don came from where my grandmother came from, the southside of Chicago, and turn what was first a local cable access program, to cultural staple and in the process, gave life so many artists we know and love to this day. He was one of the authors of the blueprint for men of color to be powerful, influential musical tastemakers and to build enterprises in entertainment. Remember, those now groundbreaking Johnson Hair Product commericals that aired during Soul Train that Don's company produced, were some of the first spots in TV history to market directly towards Black America.

Furthermore, you wanna question Don's legacy? Tell me this. When have you been a wedding, family reunion, or just any kind of party for that matter and NOT done a Soul Train line? That alone, is testament to the lasting legacy Don's work will have for the decades to come.

He was a master of cool, smooth as Magic Johnson down the lane, and a positive force of change. This is what Don Cornelius should be remembered for; not the way his life came to an unexpected, absolute tragic conclusion. This is why I told that story above, and this is how I will forever remember Mr. Cornelius. Soul Claps & Salutes sir and thank you so much.

And as always... Love, Peace, and Souuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullll!!!