Earlier this year, thesmokinggun.com took a look at popular R&B singer Akon’s bio, then exposed him as a potential phony. By unearthing police documents, the website showed that the Senegalese-American star behind hits like “Locked Up” and “Don’t Matter” greatly exaggerated his arrest record and incarceration time. So on his…
South Florida bands must have a preoccupation with auto interiors. How else to explain the striking similarity in the handles of two bands that reside in such close proximity — Boca’s Dashboard Confessional and Miami’s Dashboard Saints? No matter; both have made names for themselves, although admittedly the latter has…
For a lot of people, it’s easy to assume that most Christian hip-hop is the same. You can expect lots of shoutouts to Jesus, no cursing, and average skills that rarely sound as good as “the real thing.” But realistically, hip-hop was never vulgar to begin with, and as long…
Who let these guys on TV all in one night? No clue, but they deserve a gold star for making the evening boob tube schedule just a little bit more full of major LOLs. First up tonight, if you get Mun2 (actually, relatively few people do, so check your cable…
Last week, we introduced you to Crossfade’s latest weekly guest columnist, Brooklyn, the day manager and occasional night-time gatekeeper at the Vagabond. To read a longer introduction about who he is, click here to check out last week’s premiere installment of Miami According to Brooklyn.To the person who left that…
Yesterday I was hanging in the studio with Jim Jonsin, the local producer extraordinaire who produced two of the biggest hip-hop tracks of the year, Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” and T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.” We were basically chopping it up about music, the industry, his upcoming five Grammy nominations, his production…
It’s been well-documented that rapper DMX is having possibly the worst year of his life. At last count, he’d been arrested seven times in 2008 alone for charges that range from identity theft and animal cruelty to drug possession and failure to appear in court. As of this afternoon, DMX…
After much Internet gossip and rumor-mongering, the folks behind Langerado announced they would release the first phase of the festival’s 2009 lineup yesterday morning. That didn’t happen, with a delay as organizers “finalized last-minute details.” Still, this morning they’ve come forward with a few names, several of which will be…
Listen up: With all of the hush-hush hullabaloo around Langerado’s revamped location and lineup in 2009, there’s going to be a lot of attention on the festival and its new incarnation. So wouldn’t you, member of a fledgling local band, want to get in on the action? Of course you…
South Florida’s favorite reggae sound system, Black Chiney is at again. They just released a brand new free mix project full of the hottest tracks coming out of Jamaica at the moment. But in typical Black Chiney fashion, the songs are mashed up with solid hip-hop tracks at just the…
Curtis Mayfield’s voice is like a salve. No matter what you’re ailing from, sometimes listening to Curtis can be a cure-all. On a day like today, where motivation to keep moving forward is limited, here’s an oldie-but-goodie from one of soul music’s greatest singers. –Jonathan Cunningham…
As half of Skinny Puppy, Nivek Ogre (or just Ogre, or Kevin Ogilvie) created, in the Eighties, a much-imitated, arresting blend of industrial and hard rock, belched forth amid bewildering onstage theatrics. A showman from the beginning, Ogre quickly used his theater of the horrifically absurd as a platform to…
Miami’s favorite Latin – rock – cumbia – whatever mash-up band, Locos Por Juana, has finally got its due from the awards gods. The Locos have finally scored their first Grammy nomination, in the category of Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, for La Verdad. Note that this is in…
Hah! Ultra is sounding better and better! Looks like the organizers have also flip-flopped their booking M.O. this year. Since the festival’s expansion into a two-day affair, things have generally gone more experimental the first night, with the classic dance music titans taking over the second day and night. Not…
So if you didn’t attend any of the art fairs this past weekend, you missed out on plenty of visual stimulation. This year, Scope definitely was my favorite fair, not only because the work for sale was superb, but their commitment to inviting local artists and musicians to take part…
Prefuse 73 with Eliot Lipp and PG 13Sunday, December 7, 2008Heathrow Lounge, Miami BeachBetter Than: Any of the usual Sunday night mainstream hip-hop club nights. One of the many cool things about Art Basel is all the cool music acts that it brings down to our sandy shores. Case in…
MSTRKRFT with Pauly Crush and Jessica Who?Saturday, December 6, 2008Heathrow Lounge, Miami BeachBetter Than: Ninety percent of the other Basel parties during the week.Art Basel brought plenty of musical performances during the week. Unfortunately, most of them were invite-only or secret parties no one knew about. But Saturday night, Heathrow…
Art Damage with Panda Bear and No Age Friday, December 5Karu & Y, Downtown Miami Better Than: Everything happening that night on the planet Earth if you happen to take Pitchfork or College radio charts as the gospel. The Review: The rumors of a No Age/Panda Bear double bill during…
Billboard unveiled this morning the very first phase of the lineup for the 2009 Ultra Music Festival, and it’s actually time to get excited. As the festival has expanded in size, its organizers have made laudable stabs at taking the lineup into the new dance-music frontiers of the 21st century…
If you are into dazzling, disjointed hip-hop beats, then you have probably heard of a whiz kid and producer that goes by the name of Prefuse 73. Born in Miami, but raised in Atlanta, Prefuse 73 (born Scott Herren) also records under various monikers like Savath & Savalas and Delarosa…
This past spring’s Taste of Chaos tour arrived in South Florida smack in the middle of Winter Music Conference, on a weekday, and at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami, no less — awkward timing and location all around. (Not that the WMC/Taste of Chaos tours overlap, haha, just…
Matt & KimNodzz and Matt & KimThe Converse/Kill Your Idols space at the Marcy Building, the Design District, MiamiThe Gossip After DarkO.H.W.O.W., MiamiThursday, Dec. 4Better Than: Anything else you could have been doing for free, without a guest list hassle, last night.The Review:Well, as Basel’s getting on, and my brain…
