Subject: Hip-Hop and Rap

• Saturday Night: Sneaker Pimps, featuring the Cool Kids and the Clipse, at the Moore Building

  Pusha T of the Clipse playing to the crowd at Sneaker Pimps in Miami on Saturday.Sneaker PimpsLive Performances by the Cool Kids and ClipseSaturday, May 30, 2009The Moore Building, MiamiBetter than: A backpack full of factory-fresh, limited edition kicks.Outside the Moore Building, footwear fetishists of all kinds tip-toed past rain- and flyer-flooded gutters, queuing up at the corner of NE 2nd Ave. and 40th Street for the Miami edition of Sneaker Pimps. There were Lil Wayne wannabes, Asian hip-

  June 2, 2009

• Last Night: Talib Kweli, David Banner, and B.O.B. at Revolution

  October 17, 2008

• Throwback Tuesday's--Lil Wayne "Stuntin' Like My Daddy"

  October 21, 2008

• E-40 to Perform at Sobe Live Tonight, First 200 People in Free

  Hyphy as a "movement," per se, may have disappeared as quickly as the driver of a ghost-ridden whip. But in the fallout after the thiz high finally wore off, the Yay Area's most talented bona fide MCs have survived. And the man to come out closest to the top so far has been E-40, he of the staccato, decisive flow and unmistakable Northern California accent. Riding high on the underground success of his 2006 single "Tell Me When To Go," the chubby-cheeked MC then coasted into a series of collab

  November 20, 2008

• Throwback Tuesdays: MC Breed "Ain't No Future in Yo Frontin'"

  Over the weekend, the hip-hop community was hit with sad news. Early '90s rapper MC Breed died in his sleep, only two months after being released from an Atlanta hospital for kidney failure. He was just 36 years old. The official cause of death is still pending. It's a death that caught a lot of people off guard who didn't know that MC Breed (born Eric Breed) was even sick. The Flint, Michigan native was popular in the early '90s due to his landmark singles, "Ain't No Future in Yo Frontin'"

  November 25, 2008

• Breaking News: Rapper DMX Arrested Today at Scott Storch's House

  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 (born Earl Simmons) has been arrested once again, this time at the home of record producer Scott Storch. On Friday, December 5th, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona issued a 5,000 reward to any

  December 9, 2008

• Video of the Day: Trick Daddy, Lil Jon, and Twista--"Let's Go"

  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 methods, and all sorts of stuff. He's definitely a cool guy. So I asked him what beat he thought really propelled his career in the right direction and he mentioned "Let's Go,"

  December 10, 2008

• Q&A With T-Pain, Performing at AAA on Sunday

  Many of today's hip-hop personalities and R&B royalty would have fans believe they've got the genuine Midas touch, but few in recent years can truly back that claim up. The Tallahassee-born T-Pain, however, is one of these chosen few. It's no wonder Akon snatched him up for his own imprint, Konvict Muzik, upon hearing his rendition of the impresario's single, "Locked Up," back in 2005.  Since then Pain has put singles on the Top 40 almost faster than Billboard can get to print, thanks

  December 11, 2008

• Last Night: Rick Ross, Flo Rida, Busta Rhymes, Jazmine Sullivan and More at Cafe Iguana

  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 like Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy, Rihanna, Katy Perry, etc. Just three days later, South Florida's favorite pop station for the people, Power 96, held their own impressive holiday jam titled,

  December 17, 2008

• Top Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

  A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end lists should be subtitled "Ten More Albums You've Never Heard of and Will Never, Ever Hear," plenty. Technology has made the world smaller, and in response, we've found smaller and smaller worlds to inhabit. Think o

  December 22, 2008

• The Top 10 Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

  Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously absurd record or two in 2008. Here are the most preposterous rap songs of 2008. RICK ROSS, FEATURING T-PAIN "The Boss" (Def Jam) Though Rick Ross claimed on his debut album, Port of Miami, to know Manuel Noriega,

  December 22, 2008

• Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

  You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern black man, and gender barriers were hurdled by an Arkansan and an Alaskan.Democracy has a few awesome new dance moves rolling into the Obama presidency, and it'll be a feast for

  December 24, 2008

• JK Citizen Rocks Hip-Hop

  "Hip-Roc" rapper JK Citizen has a message "We tryina bring back music, we trying take it to a different level." You may have seen his "Rock The Vote" video on YouTube, over 150,000 people have, but JK Citizen is just getting started.After the jump, see the transcript of the Crossfade interview.

  January 7, 2009

• Go S.E.E. the Notorious One

  Finally, the movie on Notorious B.I.G. hits theaters today and it seems that the anticipation for the film's release is running high. Notorious actors have been hitting the talk show circuit, Lil' Kim is up in arms about how she was portrayed, Diddy is being all dramatic on YouTube, and people are just excited to get a peek in to the life of a legend.Big was undoubtedly one of the best to ever grab the mic and whether that type of hip-hop is dead or not, his gargantuan presence can still be fel

  January 16, 2009

• Slick Rick to Perform at Louis Next Tuesday

  Courtesy of the Opium GroupIt's been just over 20 years since a one-eyed rapper from the unlikely London neighborhood of South Wimbledon released what would become one of the most pivotal hip-hip albums of all-time. Entitled The Adventures of Slick Rick and featuring the cautionary "A Children's Story," the LP not only highlighted the talents of the very same man who first struck paydirt alongside Doug E. Fresh in 1985's "La Di Da," it served as the launch pad for one stellar career. Well, it wo

  January 23, 2009

• So Two Rappers and a Video Chick Walk Into A Gay Bar... Which Turned Out To Be Space

  via Wikimedia CommonsWhy is it that rappers get into the craziest shenanigans on South Beach? Monday we recounted the magical story of N.O.R.E. and the angry Fatburger encounter. Today let us tell you the tale of Diddy, Xzibit, Superhead and the SoBe Gay Bar. It should be noted, that this is all according to a recent radio interview by Mr. Zibit. A couple years ago Xzibit, noted car improvement television program host and sometimes rapper, was celebrating the commencement of a new

  February 25, 2009

• Yo Dawg, We Heard You Hate Bloggers Blogging About Blog Memes...

  ...So We Made A Blog Post About Bloggers Blogging About Blogs Memes, So You Can Be Upset While You're Upset. via someone with a lot of time on there hands on the internet. To survive in the media today, you really have to find your niche. That is why Riptide is aggressively covering the phenomenon of a rapper creating some sort of controversy in Miami, only to get in a Twitter fight with noted bloggers. First we had N.O.R.E. who got arrested at a South Beach Fatburger, only to get in some sort o

  March 2, 2009

• Hey, Young World

  January 22, 2009

• Biggie, Small

  January 15, 2009

• Vibin' with Miami Trio Basic Vocab

  January 15, 2009

• Inked and Loud

  Miami Tattoo Expo features sounds besides buzzing needles.

  January 8, 2009

• Top Hip-Hop Albums of 2008

  January 1, 2009

• Top Pop Singles of 2008

  January 1, 2009

• The 10 Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

  December 25, 2008

• Best Local Music Albums of 2008

  December 25, 2008

• Lil Wayne

  December 11, 2008

• Renaissance Man

  Q-Tip re-emerges with his first solo record in nine years.

  November 20, 2008

• Head Spins: DJ Self Born

  From South Side to South Beach.

  November 20, 2008

• Kevin Rudolf Is Cash Money's First Rock Act

  And it doesn't hurt that Lil Wayne is on the "gangsta emo" guy's debut single.

  October 30, 2008

• Head Spins: DJ Miner

  Bella Rose's weekend warrior.

  October 16, 2008

• Q&A: UB The Underboss, A.K.A. The Apex, Drops A Book Of Knowledge

  UB The Underboss is a South Florida hip-hop veteran and new media pioneer. I asked him 10 questions via e-mail and got back so much information I can't even call this an interview, it's the Underboss Book Of Knowledge. Check out Urban Medero's 20 years worth of insight on hip-hop culture and check him out on RapReport.com

  April 15, 2009

• Prunk TV with Shonie and Drew Sidora

  Def Jam is calling her the "next Mary J. Blige." At the same time, they are telling her to lose some weight for an upcoming video shoot. Her name is Shonie, and we met up over the weekend at Slip N Slide headquarters. Slip N Slide's VP, Julian "Ju-Boy" Booth was hanging out, we talked about Trick Daddy for a minute, and then I went to Publix with Shonie. She had to buy food for the strict new diet that some Def Jam nutritionist put her on. Sheesh...Def Jam should be telling Rick Ross to lose som

  May 11, 2009

• The Rick Ross/50 Cent Beef Is Overrated

  May 7, 2009

• Head Spins: DJ NVS Styles

  May 7, 2009

• Jim Jonsin Is on Top of Hip-Hop

  May 21, 2009

• A Club Guide to Memorial Day Weekend 2009

  May 21, 2009

• The Name Says It All

  May 21, 2009

• VIDEO: Birdman & Lil Wayne "Always Strapped" Video Shoot Behind The Scenes

  Here's exclusive behind the scenes footage from the Birdman & Lil Wayne feat. Mack Maine video shoot for their song "Always Strapped." The song is forthcoming on Birdman's new album, Priceless. Footage shot by the "how is he everywhere at once" hip-hop photographer Derick G. Enjoy

  June 5, 2009

• Destinee From Miami's THC Crew Talks Hip-Hop, The Music Business, and Rockin Shows

  image via Destinee"If you plan to be successful in ANYTHING you do, be prepared to live for it, breathe it, and die for it, if need be."Destinee aka Maiden Dade aka Rita N. is a Dade County Hip Hop impresario, performer, recording artist and member of the THC Crew.Crossfade recently spoke to her by email about culture, technology and the music business. All you entrepreneurs out there take note. Destinee is a focused business woman who is in the game to win it. Here's what she had to say. "

  June 9, 2009

• Jazzy Jeff

  July 9, 2009

• Unsigned Musicians, Here's Your Chance: All Access Music Conference August 8

  All Access Music ConferenceAttention all unsigned hip-hop artists, producers, and songwriters: your big break is finally here. Maybe.The All Access Music Conference will come on the weekend of August 8 to the Eden Roc Hotel (4525 Collins Ave., Miami Beach). This two-day event will allow Miami's unsung heroes to showcase their talents to a panel of hip-hop execs, which will include those who made names like Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim, T.I, and Method Man big in the music industry.The AAMC was crea

  July 21, 2009

• Keith Sweat

  July 23, 2009

• Dog Days of Summer

  August 6, 2009

• Riding with Poseidon

  August 20, 2009

• Bonus Free Music: New Mixtape From Shonie, Hosted by Slip N Slide DJ 5053

  ​You may remember rising local R&B queen Shonie from an episode of Prunk TV here on Crossfade from last May. Since then, she's been working on material for her upcoming debut album, to be released on Slip N Slide and Def Jam, for now titled Passionate... Pieces of Me. Recently, she scored some YouTube heat with a female-perspective response to Jeremiih's "Birthday Sex," Capitalizing on the Internet traction, Shonie's released a new mixtape, What the Game's Been Missing. It's hosted by DJ 5

  August 25, 2009

• Top Ten Thursdays: The Top Ten Greatest Rappers Alive (Let the Haterade Rain....)

  via lilwayne-online.comDid Weezy make the cut?​Self-proclaimed "greatest rapper alive" Lil Wayne performs Sunday at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. That boast had serious clout when Tha Carter III dropped last year. But with Weezy's ruinous rock album Rebirth in delay hell -- latest news has it coming out in November -- it's time to reassess the "greatest rapper alive" title. By that, we mean the best rapper right now, and offer a top ten tally (in no particular order) after the jump.Lil'

  September 3, 2009

• Stargaze on Earth at LIV

  September 10, 2009

• Q&A With Termanology, Performing at PS14 Tomorrow Night

  To understand up-and-coming MC Termanology's commitment to the golden age of hip-hop, just take a look at the production credits on his new album, Time Machine. It's enough to make you cry: the Alchemist, Large Professor, Pete Rock, and even the untouchable DJ Premier all lend beats to this sophomore effort. And of course, the Puerto-Rican-extracted MC didn't get to work with top talent out of nowhere.As a teenager in his heavily Latin hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts, he started his climb

  September 10, 2009

• Lil Jon talks Crunk Rock, Pitbull, and fine wine

  September 24, 2009

• Brand Nubian

  October 1, 2009