On their latest, Seventies-inspired disc Sin Verguenza (Shameless), Latin Grammy-winning band Bacilos continues to fashion traditional Latin and Caribbean rhythms together with ironic lyrics the way vintage clothing junkies combine kitsch paisley, polyester, bell-bottoms, and straw sombreros into eccentric ensembles. But unlike their last album’s title track, “Cara Luna,” this…
Sundays, crobar DJ Entice is a relative newcomer to the Miami club scene, but he’s coming up quickly. In the past two months alone, the precocious 22-year-old was named the official DJ for the Miami Dolphins during its home games, and has secured a residency at crobar alongside mixtape legend…
Negroni’s Trio is the product of Jose Negroni, a Puerto Rican pianist who has accompanied several leading Latin pop stars, including Chayanne and Jose Luis Rodriguez, and has served as creative manager for Sony Music Latin. On his trio’s major label debut, Piano/Bass/Drums, he plays melodies in a contemporary style,…
Fridays, Amika, Wednesdays, Cafeteria As Amika soars through the promotional skills of Tony Guerra, resident DJ Shawn Rudnick’s reputation as a top mixmaster grows in the local club scene. Rudnick spins a fun blend of deep French house that is both appealing and resonant, making him one of the few…
Wordsworth says he doesn’t like politics. Much of the Brooklyn MC’s career has been devoted to noncommercial hip-hop culture through his recordings with partner Punchline; memorable moments on A Tribe Called Quest’s The Love Movement and Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s Black Star album; and his involvement in creating the…
It is a little over a month before the November 2 national election, and I’ve been slammed by a hurricane of pop culture protest. As I write this column, my email system is clogged with announcements of tours, rallies, voter registration campaigns, and protest records. Every few days, I get…
During a recent CD release party for glitch punk Otto Von Schirach at I/O, a crazy-looking couple stood out from the crowd, seeming as if they just left the Greyhound bus station and happened to wander into the club on a whim. He’s clad in a neon-splashed tracksuit, fishnet muscle…
When legendary Brazilian rocker Rita Lee was admitted to a São Paulo hospital for exhaustion in July, her fans feared the worst. But she says the event was foreshadowed long ago. “During the Seventies, I wrote a song with [The Alchemist author] Paulo Coelho called öSuperestafa’ [öSuperstress’], so feeling exhausted…
Diplo’s view of music is undeniably assured and on point. Anyone who has had the opportunity to hear Hollertronix’s Never Scared mix CD, his collaboration with associate Low Budget, understands that this Philly DJ is making some of the most incredible and important “now” music available, using turntables to blend…
The lead single from producer Alchemist’s debut album, 1st Infantry, is the uncharacteristically formulaic “Hold You Down” featuring Prodigy, Illa Ghee, and Nina Sky. Musically, the song employs the same subtly grimy chords and percussion that have made Alchemist a favorite among New York’s most street-earnest MCs, but he also…
I-20, who lent his deep voice to Ludacris’s “Move Bitch” and Houston’s summery R&B hit “I Like That,” brings a similar brand of catchy, aggressive tunes to his debut, Self-Explanatory. Named after an interstate highway in his native Atlanta, I-20’s music is appropriately fast-paced, with concerns that range from breaking…
Hip-hop fans who can’t wait for Little Brother’s major-label debut on Atlantic next year should pick up Foreign Exchange’s Connected. The result of a collaboration, initiated by telephone, between Dutch producer Nicolay and Little Brother rapper/vocalist Phonte, it finds the latter riffing with various MC friends on real-talk issues over…
Toronto’s Kheaven Brereton challenges hip-hop conventions with his sophomore effort, Joyful Rebellion, just as he did on his 2002 debut, Exit. He sings as well as he raps (which he demonstrates on the hook of his breakout hit, “Superstar”), and handily flip-flops from reggae to rock, flowing beyond the looped…
The title track of Martin Luther’s sophomore album, Rebel Soul Music, is a dose of fun Eighties rock in the vein of ZZ Top, proving why he stands out from all the Andre 3000 wannabes the industry is currently throwing at us. Musically talented but not vocally gifted, Luther’s sincerity…
Deejay Anthony B set the dancehall ablaze in 1996 with the searing single “Fire Pon Rome,” which condemned several Jamaican leaders and was promptly banned from the island’s airwaves. He continues his lyrical denunciations on Untouchable, his first album for Miami’s Togetherness Records, addressing topics ranging from racial profiling (“Love…
Few tours live up to their billing as “show of the year,” so Usher’s concert raises considerable expectations. As the number one artist of the year, Mr. Raymond will be expected to deliver all of the flash, special effects, and dance routines typical of big-time stadium shows. Lots of fun,…
It’s been almost a year since Julieta Venegas released her hit album Sí, and the Mexican singer-songwriter-accordionist is still earning accolades for it, including an award for Best Rock Vocal Solo Album at the 2004 Latin Grammys. Now, she’s returning to Miami for a performance that will undoubtedly include breakout,…
Ain’t a damn thing changed about Brand Nubian, so step to the rear. Sadat X’s tangy treble is still shriller than the top cock’s. Grand Puba still gets busier than a undertaker. Lord Jamar shaved his locks, but the Nubian still spits fire like a Rastafarian. And don’t forget Alamo…
Three Degrees (www.3degreesglobal.com) is an online community that consists of house heads and other conoisseurs of “real” music. Far more exclusive than Cooljunkie or Clubplanet, you have to apply to join, and its membership currently stands at a relatively small, intimate 4000 members. Now, the Chicago website is expanding its…
The last presidential election convinced the nation that our fair state is populated by hanging-chad, clueless morons. We’ve fallen so out of favor that even P. Diddy mentioned during the VMAs that he’d work on getting electoral information to South Floridians. Thanks, we get the point. Now, the Punk Voter…
In a city that often feels that life is but a joke, Seven Star’s serious, studied commitment to hip-hop culture stands out. You can hear the weight of this burden in his sober, workmanlike My Mother and Father Were Astronauts, which doesn’t sound like most rap music you hear on…
When Josh Gabriel first met Dave Dresden, Gabriel thought Dresden was full of shit. It was March of 2001, and the Winter Music Conference was in full glittering swing. Gabriel was staying at the Royal Hotel in South Beach, where Leon Alexander of Hope Recordings was spinning records at a…
