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!

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!!!

"The Road Less Traveled" by Ohemaah (Co-Produced By DJ Chuck "thE oLd SouL")

College made me a musician. Why do you ask? Because all of my bandmates, for the exception of Key, I met in college. One of my professors Dr. Pearson once said during a lecture (and I hope I get most of her quote right) to "take advantage of the ability to freely exchange ideas in college, because it is one of the last opportunities you will be able to gather in one space to do so without restraint." And this is what happens with musicians in college. No managers, no contracts, no politics; you just decide to put yourself in room with other talented and willing folks and let the magic naturally emerge, as it should be. I've had many a moment like this at both Marymount College and LMU. Working with Ohemaah was one of them.

As a matter of fact, I had no idea she even a singer/songwriter until almost 2 years into our friendship, when she approached me in Spring 2010 to her help make a demo for a song she wrote. She had build up the nerve to perform at LMU's weekly Open Mic @ The Living Room and needed a beat. So we met in one of LMU's small piano practice rooms in the Music department on a Saturday morning and put together a demo instrumental of the song. She layed the piano cords on one of LMU's old rickety grand pianos and used my Korg X-50 to lay down the strings. I programmed the drums and other musical arrangements. That next Monday, she performed the song to a very receptive crowd. Which I still have the footage of her performing that night to this day. We talked about actually recording the song in full soon after, but schedule's never lined up, and it never happened.

Cut to about 3 weeks ago when I received a call from 'Heeme (a nickname I still call her which was given to her by my then girlfriend), telling me she had just finished recording her debut EP and was asking me advice on the best way to release it. At the end of the conversation, we both promised we would send each other autographed copies of our albums. A week ago, she received her autographed copy of V.I.S.I.O.N.S. signed by me and fellas. Just today, I received my autographed copy of her EP entitled Symphony.

To my delight, when I opened up the booklet to read the liners, I saw she had included The Road Less Traveled, the song we recorded that day on the EP. But to my surprise, she gave me a production credit on it: "Beat originally mixed by Charles Nunley IV (Honor Flow Productions)." EVEN MORE surprising, when I popped in the CD to listen to the track, as it turns out, although now it's much more mixed down with some additional instrumentation, she used THE EXACT SAME DEMO we recorded that one Saturday morning at LMU!!! I can still here the cricks of that old piano, lol!!!

I couldn't be more happier that my first official production credit outside of an H.F.P. record would come from a beautifully written record such as this. Sonically, it's pretty different then you're use to hearing from me. Furthermore, I'm glad 'Heeme is really make a run for it (no pun intended) in terms of pursuing her passion of music. She has a message in her songwriting that needs to be heard. And I'm blessed that I was given a chance to contribute to her journey; the road less traveled.