Have you ever told a dirty joke so well it eventually wound up owning you? It began innocently enough — a light-hearted anecdote whose punch line you could scarcely make it to without laughing. What it morphed into was a narrative monster out of your control, one you were asked…
Many kids grow up dreaming of pop stardom, and in Miami it’s no different. But for some, the route to the business leads them straight into our region’s fertile Latin music scene, where young aspiring pop singers are groomed from childhood to become the future stars of the Spanish-speaking world…
Local band Map of the Universe hit the South Florida scene in late 2005, after Ed Artigas and Ivan Marchena’s band (acclaimed local act Bling Bling) called it quits. Along with drummer Johnny Calderin, they started gigging all over the tri-county area, spreading some righteous hooks and melodies while releasing…
Dem natty dreads who first rocked it steady in Spanish Town, Jamaica, probably never imagined their music could translate out of patois and back into the language of their country’s original colonizers. Pero sabes que, bredren? Putumayo’s new Latin Reggae compilation proves the genre has wound its way all over…
Though some believe Lupe Fiasco is too smart for mainstream rap, that’s not exactly true. Most of the lyrics on his sophomore release, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, are pretty basic, cliché stuff, right down to the CD’s opening monologue: “They thought it was cool to tear down the projects and…
For a guy who’s been credited as the godfather of “cosmic country,” Gram Parsons hasn’t exactly been well represented when it comes to concert recordings. This goes for his solo work as well as the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, two of the most influential ensembles of which he…
A couple of weeks ago, we posted video here at CrossFade of South Florida’s mixtape king, DJ GQ chilling in the studio with his friend DMX. The video ended up all over YouTube, and every other viral video website and essentially played on the fact that DMX looked like he…
MSNBC is reporting that Jay-Z is resigning as president of Def Jam records at the end of this year. He took over post three years ago when former boss Lyor Cohen left the position to become the chief executive at Warner Music Group. Yesterday’s move isn’t surprising (his artists have…
Okay, I admit to reading this on Perez Hilton first, but the Miami Herald’s also got the whole scoop. In a nutshell, Mr. 305 got caught driving drunk early this morning. The story kinda deserves LOLz, though, for how ultimately Miami it is. First, he didn’t get busted on South…
South Florida’s favorite jam band, the Heavy Pets are rocking a show tonight with Suenalo. For more on the Heavy Pets, check out this recent feature on the band, but if you really want to learn more about them, check ’em out this evening at the Culture Room in Fort…
I often forget to check up on Vice’s online TV venture, VBS.TV, and that’s just as well, because then I would really never get anything done at the computer. Why? Original mini shows that are informative and entertaining, but without relying on a bunch of slick professional “hip” gimmickry. Actually,…
I’m sure I’m late in the game on discovering this one, but Trent Reznor has proved once again that, love him or hate him, he’s always been a forward thinker. Newly freed from the shackles of his contact with Interscope, he’s launched a new site at remix.nin.com. It’s a platform…
The books published by Vice, the infamous free monthly magazine that has been a weathervane of trashy cool, are always smirkingly entertaining, and at the very least practical. My best friend keeps a copy of Vice Do’s and Don’ts on top of her toilet tank. Not because it’s shitty, but…
Every year around the office, it’s the same old pickle: What do you buy for the Secret Santa gift exchange? You don’t want to go supercheap, because somehow everyone always figures out you were the jackass who bought the stupid Bush-isms desk calendar. But you also don’t want to spend…
Field reports on reactions to the Flaming Lips’ 1997 experimental album Zaireeka are all over the Internet. “We conquered the boombox aisle in the electronics section at Sears; the manager gave us the heave-ho during the encircling drum solo in ‘March of the Rotten Vegetables,'” reports one message board missive…
Unclassifiable when they began making records, Manhattan Transfer were the Dresden Dolls of their day, sort of. The band was formed through a series of happy accidents — group founder Tim Hauser meeting the outfit’s first soprano, Laurel Masse, as a fare in the cab he was driving. The swing/a…
It’s hard to find anyone with a subtler touch on the keys than Maryland-born Cyrus Chestnut, who draws from both modern and traditional jazz, while also flirting with R&B and gospel. Such eclecticism has found him performing alongside the likes of Vanessa Williams, Wynton Marsalis, and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni…
They’ll be rinsin’ the night away once again at Laundry Bar this Friday. Romford, England-based A-Sides — a.k.a. Jason Cambridge — headlines this drum ‘n’ bass night. One of the most prolific artists of the genre, he’s been producing music since 1990 and has released over 500 tracks to date,…
What a crazy few months it’s been for Beenie Man. These days, it seems like every time Beenie’s name is in the press, it’s pertaining to his personal life instead of his music. He’s the center of a tax evasion scandal, one that alleges he owes the Jamaican government more…
A pint-size novelty act who made preteen girls swoon with his 2000 debut, Beware of Dog, Bow Wow has somehow evolved into an elder statesmen in the hip-pop genre. Now 20 years old, he has split with longtime producer Jermaine Dupri, and his sixth CD, Face Off — a collaboration…
Beanie Sigel’s rough and ready new CD, The Solution, stands in contrast to the latest from his mentor, Jay-Z. American Gangster saw Jay reminiscing about the days before he settled into his plush corporate lifestyle, but Sigel is still living hard. Having been acquitted of attempted murder and done a…
There was a time when covering Bob Dylan was downright easy. The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, the Turtles, and even William Shatner put their distinctive spins on the legend’s tunes. Those times, however, have a-changed. Witness this 2-CD soundtrack to the current Todd Haynes film; even though it assembles a who’s…
