Black Lips Shore Club, Miami Beach Thursday, December 5, 2013 It’s fair to say that Art Basel Miami Beach has come under critical siege at times for its supposed devolution from world-class art festival to glorified party. However, while plenty of people critiquing Basel are, in fact, too cool for…
At 22 years old, Ben Wash is hoping to become a music mogul and electronic music heavyweight. He’s so committed to his craft, he moved from his native Greenville, South Carolina, to Miami in order to gain wider exposure. And with his label King Head Records, he’s well on his…
Photo by Morgan ColemanCheck out Crossfade’s full 30-photo slideshow of Kendrick Lamar at Mana Production Village. Last night, I tweeted at Kanye West for the first time ever. Did I think he’d read the tweet? No, duh. But I did want to document that my feet hurt a lot, and…
Colombian native and former South Florida resident Rafael Martinez has been involved with some of the most electrifying bands in metal since leaving Miami in the mid ’90s to pursue further training and education at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Few will remember his recorded local music ventures…
Alabama Shakes Fillmore Miami Beach Wednesday, December 4, 2013 Better Than: An abbreviated Kendrick Lamar set, a weird party not thrown by Lady Gaga on North Beach, drinking warm beer in Wynwood. As the rest of South Beach clamored about to secret parties, cramped galleries, and other Basel diversions, the…
Wolf Eyes is one of the most iconic bands from the early- to mid-2000s explosion of noise music that reverberated (deafeningly) across North America. While the genre is the cumulative product of often disparate scenes, this Michigan unit — consisting of Nate Young, longtime collaborator John Olson, and a shape-shifting…
What’s that boom-bap? Just the thump of golden-era rap legends De La Soul, Wu-Tang mic mangler Ghostface Killah, and fiddle-wielding hip-hop duo Black Violin rolling up to The Stage Miami for three straight days of real beats and even realer rhymes, all in honor of Art Basel Miami Beach week…
Back in 2011, we here at Crossfade included Terre Thaemlitz, AKA DJ Sprinkles, on our list of the World’s Least Douchey DJs. It was a nod to her longstanding work as an educator and activist promoting awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Like many others, we’d first gotten…
Hip-hop and rap are seven years removed from Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push,” the song that might’ve truly introduced skateboarding to the genre’s mainstream, even though the effect probably wasn’t as sweeping as it was when Lil Wayne donned some Vans and skinny jeans. Today, there’s Black Dave, a 21-year-old Bronx…
Anyone who says they want to see Kanye West and not hear a rant is a straight-up liar. Rants are part of the package, and we ain’t about getting stiffed. That being said, Kanye’s words are always being taken out of context. And we want to make sure you get…
It is an interesting time for the Alabama Shakes. Riding high on the success of a nearly universally lauded debut full-length album, Boys & Girls, the group has undoubtedly earned a rep as one of the most exciting bands dwelling within the increasingly overrun world of roots and Americana music…
Once a year, art aficionados and music junkies alike swarm the streets of the Magic City for Art Basel Miami Beach week. You know, that enormous arty party when the entire city becomes a wonderland filled with work from some of the world’s most talented creatives? And sure, art may…
Yeezus Tour Kanye West With Kendrick Lamar American Airlines Arena, Miami Friday, November 29, 2013 Better Than: Church, and all that Catholic guilt. It’s been five years since Kanye West’s last solo headlining tour. But in that half-decade, he’s gone from simple hip-hop prophet to full-on god. Last night’s Yeezus…
“There’s this sense of very lonely sensuality. And of course, the obvious paradox of being so connected, but so alone,” says French DJ-producer Joakim of his latest, as-yet untitled full-length project, a follow-up to last June’s pair of downtempo electro-pop tracks, “Heartbeats” and “Another Light,” and his first LP since…
They say you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and we think some people are underappreciating Kanye West. That’s right — it’s not a popular opinion, but we actually believe Yeezus has done more for hip-hop than any other living artist, and possibly even any rapper of all…
“USA, who’s coming to the Where We Are 2014 Stadium Tour?” That’s right, Directioners … Your Brit boy toys Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson have just revealed their North American tour dates. So far, there are only 21 scheduled One Direction shows, starting with…
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis With Big K.R.I.T. and Talib Kweli American Airlines Arena, Miami Sunday, November 24, 2013 Better Than: We could have ever expected. A great man once said, “If you want to be an active participant in hip-hop culture, you have to get off the couch, go to…
It’s Thanksgiving week! That means endless buffets of turkey (or lechón) and pumpkin pie, never-ending family gatherings with cousins you never knew you had, and Southern Comfort hangovers. And if you’re in need of an escape from hearing your Abuela Marta constantly ask you when you’re finally gonna get hitched,…
Janelle Monáe With Roman GianArthur Fillmore Miami Beach Saturday, November 23, 2013 Better Than: James Brown reincarnated as a woman. Janelle Monáe’s set began with four roadies dressed in matching white pants, lab coats, bowties, and glasses clustered in front of the stage, seeming to be in the middle of…
“Radically different from what’s happening on the beach.” That’s the ballsy tagline for the inaugural, newly announced Look Alive Fest. And we here at Crossfade can only respond, “Whoa! Yeah! No shit!” Curatorially slammed together by Miami’s Spilt Milk Projects, Brooklyn’s Ad Hoc, and Wynwood’s Gramps, these “two nights of…
They say James Brown was the “hardest working man in show business,” but German house producer Thomas Gold can probably relate. He’s been on the road pretty much constantly throughout 2013. Whenever he’s not rocking parties from here to the Grecian islands, Asia, or Tomorrowland, he’s snuggled up with his…
Art Basel Miami Beach week isn’t just about paint on a canvas, graffiti on a wall, or a sculpture in the park. It’s also about the drop of the boom-bap beat from the most significant art form of the last half-century, hip-hop. Starting in the late 1980s and early 90s,…
