In 1975 George Clinton made the album he still considers to be his career breakthrough: Chocolate City, with his band Parliament. Chocolate City’s classic title song was not only an obvious precursor to hip-hop (with Clinton smoothly talking over a repetitive rhythm track), but it also was an alternative state-of-the-union…
Sizzla Be I Strong (VP) That Sizzla can lick a riddim like no one else was evident as early as 1994’s Black and Comely, his first album that saw him do lyrical battle alongside singer Mikey General. Turning out the biblically weighted “Song of Solomon” with the coarse, spine-tingling chant…
One of South Beach’s prime spots for clublife will finally see some action in the form of Level (1235 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). But don’t worry: Just because the massive joint is partly owned by the same folks who run Fort Lauderdale’s World Mardi Gras, it doesn’t mean every Billy…
Watching as the imbroglio surrounding Los Van Van’s Miami concert played out on local television last month, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba felt as though he had tuned in to a rerun of old news. “I feel sorry that they had to have that disagreeable experience,” sighs Rubalcaba, who was performing…
Two years ago the career of rapper Eve Jihan Jeffers appeared to be on the cusp of something great. Jeffers, now age twenty, started performing when she was still a teenager; she had put in her time competing in high school talent shows, and was paying her dues playing local…
Major record labels are still pissed off about digital distribution. The concern that free, nearly perfect copies of songs would be scattered all over the world led to a concerted effort this past summer by the Big Five record companies, audio conglomerates, and electronics firms to make music “secure.” The…
Handsome Boy Modeling School So … How’s Your Girl? (Tommy Boy) Bring it on, man. All you gotta do in true-blue hip-hop circles is utter the sequined names Prince Paul and Dan the Automator in the same sentence and you’ll get some wide-eyed gawkers going giddy. Were it only for…
Three years is a pretty good run for a club in transient South Beach, especially if the club features live music. That’s what Jazid (1342 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) does, and that’s how long the place has been at it. And it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. Every…
The only way a guy as ugly as Blaine Cartwright could get two women to kiss each other in front of him every night is by paying for it — or by being a rock star. He’s the latter, at least according to patrons of juke joints across the United…
The rhythms of Haiti remain unknown to many in America, even in Miami. But one new band from the island nation would like to change that. Jacky Ambroise, founder of Strings (which also includes guitarists Phillipe Augustin and Ralph Blanchard), describes his trio’s sound as a mix of troubadour music,…
The year 1999 was originally pegged to be the point when rock officially was pronounced dead. All Detroit was supposed to be remembered for was launching white rapper Eminem, while Woodstock’s attempt at countercultural revivalism left little more than a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Every hard-rock act worth its…
It was the most unlikely reunion — and, perhaps, a most empty one, because it would lead to absolutely nothing at all except more hard feelings, more regret, and more pain. There they were only last April at the San Francisco Film Festival, together for the first time since their…
Various Artists Bob Marley: Chant Down Babylon (Island/Def Jam) They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but it can still be fun to fiddle. In the case of the Stephen Marley-conceived-and-produced Bob Marley: Chant Down Babylon, the fiddling may not improve on the perfection of his father’s music,…
In the living room of David Font’s Little Haiti house, a poster of Kali, the Hindu god of destruction, hangs above a music stand that displays the centerfold of a reclining Michael Jackson from the album Thriller. Idol meets icon; sacred meets pop. Inside Font’s production room, an Akai sampler/sequencer…
In Northern India instrumental music has traditionally been considered a male domain. Fathers pass on both their technical prowess and their acquired lore to their sons or closest male relatives. Until recently, women have been left out of the loop. “The one instrument where females have made some inroads is…
Hell’s Kitchen is a neighborhood in flux. Despite the recent arrival of Starbucks and gleaming new office towers fulfilling Mayor Giuliani’s Disneyfied vision of New York City, Hell’s Kitchen still retains plenty of eclectic grit. So it seems fitting that the DJs known as Ming & FS have called the…
Eric Dolphy The Illinois Concert (Blue Note) “When you hear music, after it’s over, it’s gone in the air. You can never capture it again.” The vitality of Eric Dolphy’s own music disproves his most famous quote. Little-known and never-before-released sessions by Dolphy have continued to emerge since his death…
Clubland has some treats for trick week. Perhaps the most provocative gathering is the Beach Witch Project, taking place Sunday in the Botanical Gardens behind Miami Beach’s convention center. That’s where club staples Alan Roth, Sean Saladino, and Michael Tronn, along with Ocean Drive magazine, will try to re-create the…
Along with Amos Milburn’s “Chicken Shack Boogie” and Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody,” Koko Taylor’s “Wang Dang Doodle” is among the greatest party records every committed to wax. A huge R&B hit for the Chicago-based singer back in 1966, “Wang Dang Doodle” is a vivid, almost surreal snapshot of a particularly…
Marc Ribot is best known for contributing a singular guitar racket to several Eighties-era Tom Waits albums put out by a major label, Island Records. In the years since, though, the record industry has grown so conservative that it’s now something of a surprise when a Goliath firm signs anyone…
The Drug Czars perform at 9:00 p.m on Friday, October 22, at FuBar, 909 E Cypress Creek, Fort Lauderdale. Also appearing are the Crumbs, Corky, and Man Scouts of America. Tickets are $4 to $6. For more information call 954-776-0660…
