Everybody knows what Memorial Day weekend is all about by now: hip-hop, hip-hop, and more hip-hop. Celebrity seekers will be out in full force, and no-name rappers and DJs will ply you with business cards, e-mail addresses, and mix CDs. But alcohol, entry into nightclubs, and VIP tables near your…

In a post-Joss Stone world, can’tneverdidnothin’ is primed to bring Nikka Costa’s brand of blue-eyed funk to the masses. It’s carefully orchestrated and expertly jammed out, from multiple appearances by Lenny Kravitz, Questlove, and urban session man James Poyser to sundry raunchy licks, hard funk, and wise-girl vibes. Only the…

Chuck D. once said, “Move as a team, never move alone.” And it’s true, at least in hip-hop culture. Rap fans are obsessed with crews, and when a major star’s career is jumping off, his whole camp usually gets to go along for the ride. How else do you explain…

Every month or so for the past year and a half, Radamas Maldonado has thrown a Sunday-night networking party at his house in Miami Lakes. He purchases several hundred dollars’ worth of alcohol and food and invites all of his friends in the Miami hip-hop industry. DJ Radamas has a…

Dino Felipe and Nick Forte bring their respective geektronica pedigrees to Shaggy Black. The hyperactive Felipe is known in these parts as a solo artist and one-half of the freestyle/electro throwback Finesse and Runway, and counts himself part of other obscure combos such as Fukktron and Old Bombs. Like Felipe,…

Charissa “DJ Rap” Saverio is a familiar face in Miami; not only did she live here for a time, but also she usually plays at crobar a few times a year, in addition to appearing during Winter Music Conference. One of a handful of stars to emerge from England during…

In an industry that marginalizes jocks who can’t bang it out, throw it down, or pump it up, Kaskade’s steady rise on the American DJ scene is a welcome surprise. The San Francisco producer has capitalized on the success of his critically acclaimed album In the Moment, one of the…

Weezer hasn’t changed much over the past decade. Since the self-titled Blue Album and “Undone (The Sweater Song)” brought the group to prominence, leader Rivers Cuomo has specialized in articulating teenage tumult and all of its attendant longings, lusts, and awkwardness. Often mistaken to be the travails of a geek…

What is Autolux? Technically it’s an indie-rock trio out of Los Angeles. (However its three members may very well argue they are a “pop” group, much the same way concept-oriented bands such as Pink Floyd and The Who called themselves “pop” bands, with the quote marks.) But the music it…

It was 9:00 on a mid-April morning in Miramar, and the Levinson Jewelers Theater in the Clear Channel Communications building was overrun with females. They were squealing with delight at Pretty Ricky as the fledgling boy band weaved through a performance of “Grind on Me.” Who is Pretty Ricky? If…

Richard Vasquez Sundays, Raleigh Hotel Richard Vasquez began DJ’ing nearly three decades ago in New York when, as a young man, he helped create the original house sound alongside other pioneers such as the late, legendary Larry Levan. But his musical history in Miami, which has encompassed guest spots at…

Before it was supplanted by the asinine 93 Rock (WHDR-FM), Party 93.1 (WPYM-FM) was one of South Florida’s most distinctive radio stations and one of only a handful of dance stations in the country. Like its successor, Party 93.1 was often criticized. Electronic music fans trashed it for pandering to…

Churchill’s Pub can be a hit-or-miss proposition. The venue is so willing to book new and unproven rock bands that its shows sometimes turn into amateur hour — at annoyingly high decibels. But the upcoming show headlined by one-time local stars The Stop Motion is a must-see. Backing them up…

Mick Collins is one of Detroit’s unsung musical heroes. In the Eighties his band the Gories brought back garage rock to Motortown, resurrecting maximum R&B (as in rhythm and blues, not rap and bullshit) for the benefit of the White Stripes, the Von Bondies, and other better-known young’uns who followed…

Looking to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday, in a city of Cuban, Caribbean, and South American people? Take yourself out to Under One Beat, a party with a lineup as diverse as this city’s cultural makeup. The bands range from IDM stalwart Phoenecia to rapper Seven Star to…

It seems a lifetime ago when Madlib unveiled his Quasimoto creation on The Unseen. Since that 2000 classic, the prolific LA musician has replicated its bugged-out, nearly psychedelic jazz-soul sounds on countless recordings, including last year’s acclaimed collaboration with MF Doom as Madvillain. The long-awaited The Further Adventures of Lord…

Matt Cash Thursdays, the District; Saturdays, Poplife Poplife is more than a dance-a-thon for lovers of all things indie-rock; it’s a party fueled by several music specialists who double as DJs. One of them is Matt Cash, who started spinning at Vice when it was at Soho Lounge and then…

Since the mid-Nineties, when record labels discovered that mix compilations were the best way to capitalize on world-renowned DJs who weren’t prolific musicians (or, in many cases, didn’t produce records at all), nightclub owners have used their venues’ names to create brand-name discs, from the top-notch Fabric series to the…

Since its opening last month, the folks at Sweat Records have worked hard at living up to the expectations surrounding them, inviting local DJs and performers to play amid its CD racks and thrift-store couches. Their first full-fledged show — following an Infiltrate showcase during Winter Music Conference — is…

British producer Andrea Parker exemplifies the best of dark wave: mysterious, beguiling, and seductive. Her tracks are edgy and Gothic, but mindful of the dance floor, enveloped by bass frequencies that rumble and hiss like clouds of smoke. Parker is an electro producer with artistic ties to Miami, issuing records…