There’s no denying that Black Chiney is one of the best reggae sound systems in South Florida, possibly the country. They’re constantly traveling the world playing dancehall parties and spinning the hottest reggae songs. Although their schedule is hectic, every now and again, they pause long enough to release a…
Coffee House Gypsies is a pop-rock-tinged acoustic folksy coffeehouse band. Boasting a live set with covers to cover the ages, they also craft original compositions that fall into that Joan Baez/Jewel kind of feel. I like bookstores for books, and bars for drinking, but for the set that often enjoys…
Just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri, sits that city’s rough-and-tumble little brother, East St. Louis, Illinois. Despite decades of poverty and urban blight, any city would be proud to spawn the gritty, heartfelt soul of the East St. Louisans compiled on Chicago-based label the Numero Group’s Eccentric…
Kieran Hebden is an electronica performer better known as Four Tet; drummer Steve Reid is a veteran of 1960s and ’70s R&B and free jazz scenes. They initially seem like an unlikely pairing, but not when one considers the cross-pollination between jazz, electronica, and indie rock scenes over the past…
There’s no doubt that VP Records is the upper echelon music label when it comes to reggae worldwide. So at the end of the year, legions of reggae fans look forward to their Strictly the Best series, a sort of year-end list of all the hottest jams from the past…
‘Tis the season, ya’ll! And the Opium Group wants you to open your wallets, er, for charity of course! It goes without saying, we are all hurting a bit financially this season, but there still are a lot people worse off than you. So if aren’t aware already of all…
Pop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that’s true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The…
Rick Ross, Flo Rida, Brisco, Jazmine Sullivan, Busta Rhymes, and more. Tuesday, December 16, 2008Cafe IguanaBetter Than: Watching BET’s 106 & ParkPower 96 does not like to be showed up. Last weekend, much attention was paid to Y-100’s annual Jingle Ball concert, and their star studded line-up of pop acts…
To read past installments of Miami According to Brooklyn (and to find out who, exactly, guest columnist Brooklyn is), click here. I want to talk about the homeless in downtown around the clubs and how fucking annoying they are. I’m so sick and tired of the begging and everything else…
(Photo by Ivon David Rojas)The Herald reported yesterday a small item following up on this past April’s shooting at the now-defunct Studio A. A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 24-year-old alleged victim. The shooting took place on Sunday, April 14, during the…
Americans who still think of Latin music as mariachi bands and gyrating Ricky Martins and Shakiras might want to lend a closer ear to the genre. This country’s Hispanic population isn’t just growing, it’s growing more diverse. More and more unique musical styles are being gobbled up, and that should…
In the Nineties, Erick Lyle, then known as Iggy Scam, lived an enviable, punk-ethics-fueled life around South Florida that is near impossible to imagine today. He booked shows at a warehouse venue, the Junkyard, at the bottom of South Beach, and at one point squatted an entire floor of the…
Black Tide (photo via www.blacktidemusic.com)Here’s some good news for the kids who tried to see Escape the Fate’s almost-debut headlining performance in Miami, in fall of 2007 at the now-defunct Studio A. The band never made it due to van troubles, and the rest of the show went on without…
With the establishment of so-called alternative rock, the concept of a “guitar hero” is now passé, for better and worse. While tedious fretboard histrionics have (rightly) gone out of style, there should be room for hot-stuff six-string slingers matching flash with creativity. Blues music impacted less by trendiness and more…
I just came across this video today while I was on the Rappers I Know blog, and it’s of Miami’s DJ Craze doing his finals routine from the 1998 DMC championship. It’s hard to believe this video is already 10 years old and Craze definitely goes in during this six…
As far as DJs we’re dying to see, we’ll admit that Dim Mak/Cinespace founder Steve Aoki is pretty low on our list. It’s not that Aoki isn’t entertaining, he is, but at times he seems to be more about the showmanship than the music. But love him or hate him…
Like fellow Frenchman Laurent Garnier, house DJ Joachim Garraud cut his teeth at Paris nightclub Boy, ground zero for the country’s techno scene. Unlike most DJs, however, he came in with a fully rounded musical background, having spent seven years training at the French Academy of Music Percussion and Piano…
When Manu Chao released his landmark album, Clandestino, in 1998, it was regarded as an instant classic by most people who heard it. The 16-track disc was a funky underground pop album aimed right at the cultural left (and bourgeois right) of Spain, France, South America and Mexico all at…
For those that don’t already know, Plies’ highly anticipated second album of the year, Da Realist, is available in stores today. It’s not common for artists, especially rappers, to release multiple albums in one year, but Plies, who was born and raised in Fort Myers, seems determined to prove something…
If you’re in the up – to – 24 demographic, then you may have already heard of the Brooklyn indie-pop duo This Is Ivy League. Or, if not, you’ve almos definitely heard of the band in which its two members, Alex Suarez and Ryland Blackinton, play as their “day job”:…
Buggah D. Govanah, president of On Point Entertainment and Marketing is sick of bootleg rap shows with bad sound and no production value. He’s set out to change that through a benefit for Haiti that’s creating a platform for Caribbean artists and artists of Caribbean descent to get together on…
Holy Ghost Saturday, December 13, 2008 The Vagabond, Miami Better than: 100% of the godless ultra-commercial dance crap polluting the Beach. It’s past midnight and I’m at the Vagabond sipping my whiskey straight and waiting for Holy Ghost! to start their DJ set in the main room. It’s my first…
