Rodrigo Sanchez really wants you to like heavy metal. “Sometimes people don’t even have a minute for metal,” the guitarist notes. “They think it’s too loud, or whatever stupid thing they think.” As half of Rodrigo y Gabriela — the dynamic Mexican duo who became international world-music superstars with their…
Last year Jacksonville quintet Black Kids released a free four-song EP full of electro-tinged dance songs addressing themes of incest and gender ambiguity. Girls went wild — well, bloggers did anyway — and somehow the group got signed to Columbia Records. The band’s debut full-length, Partie Traumatic, contains all the…
Since his classic debut, Illmatic, Nas has been mostly coasting on his charm, gift for public relations, and skills as an MC. But on Untitled, he’s clearly hoping that by name-dropping big issues (reparations, single motherhood, media control) and dazzling you with his acrobatic flow (“I’m over they heads/Like a…
David Bowie undoubtedly has been through some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, from the Thin White Duke to an oddly mottled chameleon colored by postindustrial dissonance, Bowie and his personas have inspired many and outlasted far more. Now Rapster Records/!K7 strives to find out if Bowie’s songs can…
At age 95, Mississippi Delta-born pianist Pinetop Perkins is still an active performer and one who is still able to hit his piano’s keys with amazing dexterity. The proof is in this beauty of a blues CD, on which the veteran shares the spotlight with an array of friends and…
If you’re a lover of reggae music, you’ll be happy to know that local station WDJA-AM 1420 (Based out of Delray Beach, has recently switched it’s format to 95% Caribbean music. The station, which previously existed as a banking and financial talk radio is under new management and they’re giving…
So in continuation with yesterday’s post, today we bring you our sit down with Tallahassee duo Dead Prez. They chat to videographer Jacob Katel about “the white man,” Al Sharpton and throw a rhyme or two our way. Check it out! – Jose D. Duran…
In May, we posited that southern hip-hop and Fox News share much in common. Possessing both an anti-intellectual streak and a populist one, they’re beloved by red-staters and hated on by the coastal elites, be they liberals, hipsters, Ghostface or Nas. The piece concluded: If you’re still not convinced that…
Local turnable deity Craze will be stopping by The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) for its weekly Thursday night Money Shot party on August 14. Freshly off of Kanye West’s Glow In The Dark tour (or How I Completely Ripped Off Daft Punk’s Live Show and Called It My…
I just got word late yesterday that rapper/actor Common is booking shows in support of his upcoming album, Invincible Summer, and will be in Miami on Friday, September 5 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. That’s good news as the Fillmore is an intimate enough venue that true Common fans should…
Today, a former prison guard (who won’t admit it) gives back to his old ‘hood in Miami, spacey nu-prog rockers touch down in Ft. Lauderdale, and two top-notch weekly events keep on keeping on. — Arielle Castillo *This is really more of a free daytime charity event, but if you…
Rock the Bells came and went, but we still have plenty of extra goodies to share with you, including some sit-down discussions with some of the performers that videographer Jacob Katel was able to document. In the first video, New Times catches up with Georgia MCs B.o.B. and Playboy Tre’…
Tonight looks good for those who like, well, beats. Beyond a regular open mike, tonight’s picks involve hip-hop, reggae, and the blues. — Arielle Castillo *Up-and-coming Broward County MC Swazy Styles travels south across the county line to hit Flavour, in Coconut Grove. Nice to know this underused performance space…
Justin Namon Nas performs at Rock the Bells at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. Click here to view the full slide show. Last Night: Rock the Bells 2008 featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Method Man & Redman, Mos Def, etc. Saturday, August 2, 2008 Bayfront Park, Downtown Miami Better…
Sayre Berman Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington performs with the band during the Projekt Revolution tour stop at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Click here to view the full slide show. Projekt Revolution with Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery and more Friday, August 1, 2008 Cruzan Ampitheatre,…
The Cool Kids The Bake Sale EP (Chocolate Industries) With frivolous brag lines and clean, minimal beats, the Cool Kids urinate willfully all over the idea of crack narratives and trigger-happy posturing, and are relishing every step of the way. At the pace of a pregnant snail, these two Chicago…
Metro Station, the Maine, Boys Like Girls, and Good Charlotte Thursday, June 31 Mizner Park Amphitheatre Better than: partying like a preteen Music events at Boca Raton’s Mizner Park are always surreal, with all those MILFs and Lolitas milling about. But last night, Tempe, Arizona rockers the Maine actually gave…
If you’re planning to attend the Rock the Bells concert tomorrow and want to know who’s playing when, we’ve got you covered. The name that’s most noticeably missing from this list is Santogold. Honestly, she was probably the person that I’m most excited to see live. And I’m bummed that…
There is only one word that could describe last weekend: Boring. It was so boring, personally I went to bed most nights by 1 a.m. Come on Miami! I know we are at the height of the low season, but that doesn’t mean we have to get lazy. Unfortunately, things…
When you hear the phrase guitar god, you most likely think of a young, long-haired, tight-trousered fellow playing shrieking guitar leads at a thousand notes per minute. You probably don’t think of a quiet, balding, middle-age man holding thousands of people enraptured with a few sparse, bent notes. Yet Marc…
Venezuelan-born composer and guitarist Aquiles Báez has been known for confusing audiences. “For jazz fans, I am too folkloric, while for those into folk, I am too academic,” he writes in the liner notes of La Patilla, his latest release on Cacao Música. “I believe that my music is as…
The passing years can be unkind to rebels. You survive booze, bad marriages, and car crashes, only to have the march of time leave its muddy bootprint on your shining legacy. Still, George Michael has gotten off lightly: He merely lost his American audience. On the surface, calling the British…
