It’s just time to prioritize and make it ALL pop.

So many endeavors keep me from sitting at my keyboard and churning out compositions, but that’s about to change.

As I stare out at the mountains, I know that even higher heights of musical excellence, positive energy and fun-filled nights await me in L.A.

These headphones give a true studio sound that makes every song sound they way it was intended — with fullness and richness unlike any headphones I’ve ever owned.

I have two titles, but I’m torn between them.

I haven’t posted here in a while so I thought I’d put share some randomness. On December 31, the 2010 Best Albums Round Table (BART) Podcast will be available for download. Six music aficionados: EJ Flavors, Butta, KB, DJ Diva, The Big La and yours truly come together to discuss our favorite albums of the year along with honorable mentions, predictions for 2011 and a whole lot of fun. I…

I’m always looking for ways to step my game up with the Friday Favecast. I wanted to create something that illustrated the journey of the show, in a way that was brief, innovative and fun. The Big La suggested I put my energy into Adobe After Effects, a gigantic multimedia app that’s very intimidating at first glance. Through positive coaching (via IM), I overcame that intimidation factor and put together…

I’ve decided to combine my ability to draw with my thirst for technology to memorialize APNF in a webcomic that will debut this summer.

I’m doing so much and constantly prioritizing so that it doesn’t become too much. I was told to chalk up my uneasy feelings, MBP and iPhone issues, bicycle drama, etc. to the mercury retrograde — which ended yesterday. Now that it’s over, I have no explanation for the current weirdness in my life.

I wanted a GROOVMNT t-shirt that was snazzy, yet economical. Thankfully, three elements aligned themselves to make my dream come true:

Word on the street Twitter is Lalah Hathaway is still accepting demos to possibly use on her next project. She had the same call to action on her Facebook status last week — only it had a deadline of 24 hours. I saw it while riding the train, but it didn’t stop me from pulling out my moleskine and writing something for her on my way home. Yes, it’s that…

The first time I heard those words, it was August 20, 1989. My girlfriend broke up with me over the phone. A surge of sadness cascaded through my body as I stood in my parents’ basement filled with unanswered questions and my first, official broken heart. I was thirteen. Fast forward 20 years — and countless “it’s over” phrases said and heard — I find myself slouched in my home…

Musicians and producers have been pimpin’ their songs on Vimeo and YouTube for a minute now. I’ve discovered a few instrumentals and rarities as I’ve scavenged across the ‘net looking for a hit Recently, I’ve been able to follow a number of great entries to Eric Roberson’s Remix Contest. There are some very talented musicians out there and I chose to take my late pass and join in on the…

Vikter Duplaix has appeared in the liner notes / production credits of my favorite artists (i.e., Erykah Badu, Jazzanova, Eric Benet, etc.). His International Affairs LP piqued my interest while Bold and Beautiful truly made me a fan. Nicolay is one of my favorite producers. From my introduction to him via Foreign Exchange’s Connected to their GRAMMY-nominated single “Daykeeper,” his innovative perspective on soul music and experimental beats continues to…

I’ve been a fan of Jesse Boykins III ever since I discovered “Pantyhose” at the beginning of the year. His album, The Beauty Created, has quite a few jams I’ve played over at the FFC and his version of “No One Else” on the Men Love Mary mixtape was stellar as well. So when I got this tweet about his newly released remix album, I had to show love. The…

For the past couple of months, I’ve been working with the cool kids at SoulBounce – a popular online music & culture magazine. This relationship has afforded me to contribute to a myriad of projects. One in particular was the Men Love Mary: A Tribute to My Life mixtape that was released as a free digital download on 2 December. The project features eleven (11) of today’s progressive, male soul…

This is a first of a series of videos capturing the making of “contempojazzsoulhop,” the EP produced by the Cross Country Collective = Big La + Fresh + yours truly = “C3.” Now that I’ve put myself on blast with this video, it’s time for the other fellas to do the same Stay tuned.

My first SoulBounce post went up this week – a review of Nicolay’s “City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya.” I’ve always considered myself a friend of SB, but lately it’s felt more like family. To celebrate I created a blend of spices, based on each SB member, to use exclusively use on “chicken wangs.” I call it Fave’s “Soulbounce Pretty Wang” Seasoning 4 the Grown & Sexy (try putting that on…

From childhood heroes to legends in the making, these artists maintained a constant flow of funk, jazz, soul, dance and inspiration throughout two days and nights in the sweltering Houston heat.

I want to go where “everybody knows my name.” And if they don’t, they wouldn’t mind finding out. That place for me is Coffee Groundz – a hip, socially conscious, tech savvy coffeehouse in midtown Houston. It has been the backdrop of the best moments I’ve had in this city: tweetups, poetry night, performing live with my band and even hanging out with my kids. When Obama won the election,…

Eric Roberson is one of my favorite soul singers on the planet. His new album dropped today and his fans have been rejoicing among the 17 new tracks that are incredible. I was blessed to interview Eric for this week’s upcoming Friday Favecast (8/28). His current single, “Can I Borrow You,” paints a playful picture of a young man pursuing another man’s woman for a few shakes on the dance…

I love music. It’s safe to say that it loves me. There may be an overabundance of mediocrity out there, but the pulse of true artistry still thumps. In a world of manufactured melodies, diluted for radio consumption, my universe is filled with incredible gospel, soul, fonk, hip hop, electronica, breakbeat, dubsets and riddims. The life force of creative musicianship shines bright – often blinding my iTunes library. I love…

When I resurrected Friday Favecast (FFC) in 2007, I wanted to go beyond 2-3 minute sound bites and produce a full-length podcast featuring the music of my favorite soul and hip hop artists. Dwele, Sy Smith, Little Brother, Choklate and Raheem DeVaughn weren’t (and still aren’t IMO) getting the shine they deserved and the FFC was going to be my online vehicle to share their gift with the world. In…

Stevie Wonder’s “Rocket Love.” Although it’s not vocally challenging, the concept and simplicity is genius. I love Stevie’s chord progressions and timbres. Plus, the universe demands that I do a Stevie song RIGHT. No mistakes allowed. The goal would not be to get on his musical level, but to capture just a glimpse of genius and let it serve as the cornerstone of my own imagination.

FFC on Rhodes from Fave on Vimeo.

**DISCLAIMER: this post is brief, yet slightly “stan-ish” but I don’t care..these are my hip hop heroes, dammit.** While on Twitter today, Q-Tip replied to me after I sent him a tweet about his album review on the Best Albums Round Table (BART) 2008 podcast. Kind of cool, huh? I thought so. I love the way artists are flocking to Twitter and truly engaging with their listeners / supporters. This…

Most of us dread Mondays. It’s viewed as the death of the weekend and the birth of long hours at work, never ending action items and five days until the next 48 hour reprieve. It’s rare that we see Mondays as the mark of a new beginning. New opportunities stand patiently behind a door we’re too distracted to see because we’re lamenting over a cup of coffee. But today is…

The cold air reminded me of the days I used to walk in the wind to school / work in the midwest. I’ve never been homesick and I hesitate to use that word to describe how I feel right now. There’s nothing in which to return for home is moreso a state of mind than an actual place. The people made up my “home” and the majority of them have…

Was it a coincidence that – after not receiving the nod for Best Podcast @ the BWAs on last Thursday – there was no new Friday Favecast the following day? Could it have been a symbolic silence of a sore loser? Was the disappointment so overwhelming that I couldn’t find the gumption to pick up my USB microphone, push record on Sound Studio and say, “In this edition of the…