With hip-hop increasingly a boys-only drug cartel, it’s not surprising that the top urban hit makers are increasingly females in the R&B genre. Like Alicia Keys on her recent chart-topper As I Am, Mary J. Blige plays things safe on her own new blockbuster CD, Growing Pains. The album functions…
The release in 1987 of Pato Banton’s Never Give In was, in retrospect, something of a watershed moment. Though it may not have been immediately recognized as being so, it turns out that Never Give In marked the beginning of the contemporary era of reggae. After the 1981 death of…
A brilliant South African warrior and king in the 18th Century, the legendary Shaka Zulu was one of the great unifiers of his nation. He was also a strong-willed, vengeful man who was ultimately murdered by his own half-brothers, one of whom succeeded him to the throne. Now, in this…
Just when you thought Snoop Dogg didn’t have any creativity left. I don’t know why this song gets stuck in your head so easily. Even though Snoop’s T-Pain approach gets annoying after a while, the video makes it all worth it. — Jonathan Cunningham…
Miami native and one-time TVT Recording artist Jacki-O had a tough last few years. She garnered some national attention with her 2003 single “Nookie,” and “All Grown Up” became the official ring entry music for Stephanie McMahon in the WWE. But a couple years after that, things took a nosedive…
I don’t care about his feathered hair. I don’t care about his unfortunate fascination, in the Seventies and Eighties, with puff sleeves. Or his continuing fascination with white suits. Or the fact that, with some teenage parenting, he could technically be old enough to be my grandfather. I love Rod…
Speaking of Hialeah (since the blog post below is on the self-professed king of Hialeah freestyle), the city’s favorite punk band Guajiro is playing a series of shows in Puerto Rico next month. Anybody that’s visiting the island around that time and looking for some good tunes should check out…
If you haven’t seen Jose El Rey perform around town yet … you’re missing out. How to describe the legend? He doesn’t really sing, he doesn’t really rap…. He just kind of is, over some tinny 808 freestyle beats. He makes ladies want him and guys want to be him…
So if you’ve ever visited the ice-cold city of Toronto, you’ll know that when it comes to music and culture, it’s one of the biggest melting pots North America has to offer. With relaxed immigration and a stronger currency than the U.S. (ahem), Toronto isn’t a bad city in which…
Here’s a fun video from the group Vampire Weekend that’s sure to stick in your head or at least make you tap your feet. The group is out of New York if you can’t already tell by their clanky style of up-top indie rock and they’ve got a sound that…
Arsis, in classical music parlance, most commonly refers to the up-beat, or unstressed parts of a measure. The term seems an odd choice of name for a technical death metal outfit whose lyrics focus on death, defilement, and the destruction of the sacred, and whose pummeling assault leaves no room…
By ANDY VIHSTADT Geek Squad “This milkshake won’t bring anyone to the yard,” thinks Chad to himself. N.E.R.D. will be releasing N.3.R.D. sometime this spring. After an unfinished version of “Everyone Nose” was leaked, the group decided to post the final studio mix on its blog. The song brings the…
Well, technically it’s now the “15th Annual Caribbean Fest,” but everybody knows it’s all about the Marleys. And this year, it looks like they’re getting it together musically. While the first few years were mostly reggae, and mostly Marley, things got a little scattered in the meantime. This led to…
David Allan Coe Saturday, January 26 Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: An awkward car trip with the ghost of a country legend. Saturday was the first time I’d seen David Allan Coe since a show he did in Fort Worth, at Billy Bob’s Texas. It was his first gig…
Hate Eternal, 3 Inches of Blood, and the Black Dahlia Murder Wednesday, January 23, 2008 The Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Better Than:Oh, making offerings to false metal gods? The Review:It’s always a reassuring sign when, after driving almost an hour in torrential rain, one is greeted at a venue’s entrance…
I’m not sure how a band like UB40 can start having irreconcilable differences after almost 30 years of reggae bliss, but British band, UB40 is parting ways with its lead singer, Ali Campbell. According to this story, Campbell says he’s been upset with the band’s management for awhile and couldn’t…
On November 13, 2004, a jolt of anguish ran through the hip-hop nation: Russell Jones was dead. The rapper known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard (but also Ason Unique, Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, etc.), one of the most beloved members of Wu-Tang Clan, was found dead in Wu-Tang’s Manhattan recording…
Exodus founder, leader, and mainstay Gary Holt laughs out loud at the suggestion that the album cover of the band’s landmark 1985 debut, Bonded by Blood, contains a veiled caricature reference to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. A familiar and cherished site to metalheads of a certain generation (read: You’re getting…
Generally speaking, ’80s icons haven’t fared well over the years in the looks department. The combination of cocaine, groupies, and incidents that may or may not have involved farm animals are usually to blame. The only exception to the “What the Hell Happened to Him — He Used to Be…
Chances are, if you’re familiar with New Orleans rockers Mute Math, it’s for one of two reasons. You’ve either seen their shot-entirely-in-reverse video for “Typical,” an internet phenomenon that’s had the same career-bolstering effect for the band as that treadmill video did for OK Go, or it’s because Mute Math’s…
So if you’ve ever visited the ice-cold city of Toronto, you’ll know that when it comes to music and culture, it’s one of the biggest melting pots North America has to offer. With relaxed immigration and a stronger currency than the U.S. (ahem), Toronto isn’t a bad city in which…
Reflecting on the now-routine practice of record labels releasing old albums with bonus material, British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock says, “Graham Greene didn’t have to keep coming up with bonus tracks every time they reprinted the book Brighton Rock.” It’s a good point. But if Hitchcock harbors any reservations about bonus…
