Music

From an early age, Busdriver was weened on rap and what he calls “heavy jazz.” His father wrote the 1985 Def Jam biopic Krush Groove. Busdriver emerged as a rap contender when he was “rapping a lot” on the school bus with his friends, he says. His lyrics, inspired by the L.A. riots in 1992, pushed boundaries from the outset. And he was inducted into the famed open-mike workshop Project Blowed at the tender age of 16.

Casey Stephens, AKA DJ Merlyn, is quick to remember at least eight Miami raves busted by police in the underground days of the ’90s. It didn’t matter if the party was permitted, says Merlyn, who has been a staple in the dance music scene since the beginning.

It already feels like the dog days of summer, but you wouldn’t know that by the amount of music packed into the week. Tuesday, the California rockers of Rooney will bring plenty of West Coast vibes to Gramps. Thursday, Lower Dens, along with Ex Reyes and Nick León, will headline Red Bull Sound Select’s last Miami concert at 1306.

This past Friday, the same day it was announced Metallica scored its 12th number one album on the Billboard charts with last year’s platinum-selling Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, the L.A.-based four-piece brought its spectacle of a show to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium that was as impressive as the fact that people still buy albums versus simply streaming.

McCartney’s electrifying stage presence and willingness to please made his Miami show a hit.

Brian Shimkovitz, one of the world’s foremost scholars and treasure hunters of West African popular music, will DJ at Gramps July 9.

Over the past ten years, STRFKR’s Josh Hodges has subtly fostered a cult following, but it’s unclear whether this was deliberate. In 2008, Hodges began what was then known as Starfucker in Portland, Oregon. He intended it to be a fun, loose, creative outlet removed from the more serious stylings of his band Sexton Blake.

It’s the day after the Fourth of July, and we hope your eardrums are still intact after all the fireworks. From punk to reggae, salsa, and jazz, we’re here to take you on a journey of sonic delight seven days a week. Check out our guide to live music in Miami:

Cultural icons never die. As generation after generation outgrows teenybopper fixations and digs deeper into record store bins, the timeless work of beloved artists is renewed era after era and time after time. But immortality comes at a cost, and its price is often caricature. Prince’s death and the subsequent outpouring of tribute showed us that the seminal genius of a generation, who spent decades bending genres in the studio, in the end became frozen in amber as the Purple One in a studded latex jacket and ruffled shirt.

By some quirk of the calendar, the architects of two of rock’s greatest bands will perform in Miami the same week. July 7, we get former Beatle Paul McCartney, and six days later, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd arrives. As one rock legend after another slips from this mortal coil, these are must-attend shows.

The Lauderhill rapper ended a national tour with a ridiculous, chaotic homecoming show.

It’s Independence Day week, and Miami’s music calendar is loaded. Today, Electric Karnival promises to bring Caribbean riddims and electronic beats together with a lineup that includes Walshy Fire, Bunji Garlin, Brenmar, Ape Drums, and many others. Tonight, Heart and Space will go head-to-head with sets by Chus & Ceballos and Sasha, respectively.

Local nonprofit PAXy brings Wake Up Miami! performances to the Government Center station Monday mornings from July through December.