Benga Diary of an Afro Warrior (Tempa) South London dubstep veteran Benga operates on several (next) levels when he plants himself in front of a synthesizer keyboard and a hard drive of edited drum patterns. The producer’s Diary of an Afro Warrior, in its array of divergent sonics, speaks to…
In case you didn’t already know, Senator Barack Obama is here in South Florida today. He’s got two separate speaking engagements, but the one I’m most excited for is his speech at 4p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center where the Spam All-Stars are actually opening up for him. Yes, you read…
Since it’s a very chill Thursday morning and we could all use a few laughs, CrossFade is glad to present 10 of the dorkiest and funniest moments in the history of melanin-challenged rap: 1. Here’s a dorky guy who can impersonate LL Cool J, Mystikal and Digital Underground:…
The Nylon Summer Tour With Switches, the Virgins, Be Your Own Pet, and She Wants Revenge Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Better Than: Seeing Switches, the Virgins, or Be Your Own Pet in the future at whatever bigger venues to which they will graduate. The Review: Everyone seems…
Alicia Keys listened as I nervously explained why her song, “Like You’ll Never See Me Again ” makes me cry. From Alicia’s reaction, it sounds like she really cares about me. So my next question for Alicia is, will you marry me? var so = new SWFObject(“http://media.miaminewtimes.com/players/vvmMiniPlayer.swf?audioFile=http://media.miaminewtimes.com/2186624.0.mp3&autoPlay=no”, “theSWF”, “91”, “32”,…
“I’ve always seen myself opening and running a hip-hop college or a hip-hop school of some sort,” says Miami MC Brimstone127. Now the tireless preserver of hip-hop history is one step closer to his goal — and local heads of legal age are going to be jealous they’re no longer…
Vic Kingsley These Frequencies (self-released) www.myspace.com/kingsleyofmiami This “Vic Kingsley” seems to be a Mr. Vic Garcia, backed by Messrs. Luke Moellman, Jon Draper, and Ethan Carlson on various capacities, organic and otherwise. This 11-tracker is another solid calling card for the boys over at Dungeon Studios, and is, for all…
Sunday afternoon marks the latest installment in an informal series of in-store performances at Sweat Records. It’s a nice change of pace in (gasp) daytime activities. Taking the store’s cozy stage this time is brand-spanking-new local quartet Avondale, purveyor of sweater-warm and comfy, acoustic-guitar-driven pop. The backbone of the group…
In case you didn’t already know, the mayor of Miami is not always Manny Diaz. Although Diaz is a nice fellow and knows a lot about politics, he can handle only so much authority and essentially presides over the city from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. But as nighttime approaches,…
Let’s see … a show at Churchill’s, a MySpage page headline that reads, “Fuck it up for the kids!” and a band name involving the word destroy. It’s a safe bet that Tuesday’s extravaganza at the premier rock dive in Little Haiti should include plenty of true punk-rock rowdiness, some…
Alicia Keys has finally learned how to breathe. Coming off seven years of heavy international touring, an ever-increasing number of film roles, and high-level charity work, the 27-year-old seems tranquil, just before launching on a high-profile arena tour with fellow crooner Ne-Yo. Perhaps it’s the Zen-like calm she’s acquired after…
On a recent Sunday, instead of trying out my awesome new driver at the golf course, I’m trying to herd the Heavy Pets into making just a little sense for the sake of a phone interview. Because, man, are they wasted. So stoned that their manager, Alex, handles half the…
It’s Tuesday night in Miami Beach and the pan-Latin popsters of Feneiva are in the middle of a well-attended live set at Jazid. Over cool Brazilian beats and electric guitar licks, long-and-sandy-haired singer Fabian Hernandez gets the crowd moving with a fresh blend of funk, rock, and assorted breezy tropical…
Not one to forget the eight years he lived in Miami, New York rapper Nickel is holding two CD-release parties, one here and one up there. The occasion is his debut LP, The Journey of Plato the Orphan, 65 minutes of head-jerking beats and nervously clever flows hammering out a…
In this week’s issue of the Miami New Times, for my Suicide Blonde column I spoke with JWL B and Shunda K of the Tampa-based electro-rap group Yo Majesty. Click here to read my explanation of why they’re one of the most punk rock things out there right now. But…
I miss Franz Ferdinand. Yes, unfortunately the Scottish quartet has continually suffered massive overexposure of all its singles. But that’s because you absolutely cannot fail with top-notch, hooky, angular U.K. rock that works as well on a dance floor as on a concert stage. Luckily, to fill in that gap…
Critical Miami recently pointed out Pitchfork Media’s pretty unforgiving review of Trilla. Yes, that’s a decimal point — on Pitchfork’s sort of infamous 10-point scale, I’ve never understood how reviewers arrive at the exact number. Why is it a 2.4, and not a 2.6 or a 2.3? Is there some…
Logan Fazio Erykah Badu and the Roots Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Better than: Listening to Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” on the radio for the umpteenth time. You never know what you’re going to get when you see the Roots concert. The band has roughly 14 years…
It seemed like this trial would never happen, but as of yesterday, R Kelly’s child pornography trial finally began in Chicago. The famous R&B singer has managed to delay this trial numerous times to the point where the 14-year-old girl he’s accused of performing lewd sex acts on camera with…
2008 Keeps on getting better for Rick Ross. MTV recently dropped their “Hottest MC’s in the Game” list and it’s already causing a stir. There are a few questionable picks on the list and I’m not sure if I agree with any of it based on the order. If you…
Sayre Berman Duran Duran Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton Monday, May 19, 2008 Better Than: Just about every other show in the last six months by a band existing for more than fifteen years. The Review:Last night Duran Duran, now at some 28 years and running, managed to achieve nearly…
Last Friday night, the gossip hounds at CNN were going on and on about actress/troublemaker Lindsay Lohan. There’s nothing new with that–except the talk was all about her cameo in the new N.E.R.D. video for “Everybody Nose.” According to the folks on CNN, the song is all about partying and…
