“Miami bass is the ghetto-style hip-hop that came out of Miami in the ’80s,” says DJ Jerry Pulles. From 1989 to 1994, he drove a van loaded with speakers and records from Miami Lakes to Hialeah to Carol City, playing house parties for his friends from American High. Later, he…
America loves dance music, and bass music is especially beloved by thousands, probably millions, of happy beat freaks, from Miami to New York and Los Angeles. Now, we can’t really say 12th Planet is the man responsible for the current bass trend in the U.S., but we can say he…
If you’re old enough to recall the mid ’80s, you can probably recognize the sounds of Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music” and “Lookout Weekend” in an instant. The freestyle hits were the teen anthems of their day, ubiquitous soundtracks at roller rinks and mall parking lots. Younger listeners may…
Too $hort is an independent hip hop pioneer who made his first million on cassette tapes. The East Oakland pimp is famous for dirty sex raps, and has put out a new album almost every year since 1987. He’s also a ghetto reality rapper in the style of Melle Mel…
“I’m working to be more visible in the food world,” a hungry Coolio admits. “What I really want to do right now is get a signature restaurant in one of the Vegas casinos.” He’s not joking. “We can start off really small, I don’t care. I just want more people…
Even though she is currently in Spain on vacation, Metric’s Emily Haines can hardly hide her exuberance about visiting Miami again. Talking over the phone, Haines notes a couple of rather unforgettable connections between her and the Magic City. One revolves around a past Metric performance, and the other is…
Deborah Wesoff Lopez’s music career got off to a brilliant start. As Debbie Deb, her first single, “When I Hear Music,” recorded with Miami electro legend “Pretty” Tony Butler when she was just 17, helped define the aesthetic of the burgeoning freestyle genre in the mid-’80s. And her dreamy 1985…
Florida has been getting a bad rap lately. And though it might seem at times like we’re a lost cause, that assessment isn’t entirely fair. We’re actually a global cultural force that spawned Major Lazer, one of dance music’s most inspiring and original outfits. Members Diplo and Walshy Fire are…
How many rappers are there with multiple number-ones and college degrees? How many rappers stay pure amid the media circus, refusing to change who they are physically or morally? How many rappers are immediately embraced by the biggest names in the industry while spitting cold, hard truths? On second thought,…
One of the standout tracks on Metric’s latest entry into their 15-year oeuvre, Synthetica, features vocals by a figure who helped lay the foundation of modern alternative rock, Lou Reed. On “The Wanderlust,” a song that arrives close to album’s end, the breathy alto of vocalist Emily Haines gives way…
Before Marilyn Manson painted a stripe across his face, before Lady Gaga turned sonic sex into a catchy summer anthem, and before Johnny Depp donned a pirate hat, Adam Ant was Adam Ant. Even today, this influential ’80s mad man who once led Adam and the Ants continues to be…
Sure, weekends are great. But when you throw in Gin Blossoms, Tracy Morgan, Bret Michaels, and cocktails, you’re in for the Ultimate Miami Weekend at Magic City Casino. Going down November 7 through 9, the 305’s most talented will compete against one another for the title of Miami’s Ultimate Band,…
Flo Rida is a Florida boy who’s basically made a career of ripping off dance music instant classics, and Diplo is a Florida boy who’s made a career spawning them. So far, the two haven’t really crossed paths. But it seems that’s all changed in the time it takes to…
“The best day of the year.” Yesterday, it was Miami Beach rapper Kat Dahlia’s 23rd birthday. And that’s what she tweeted 14 hours and 27 minutes before being busted by Miami Beach Police. The misdemeanor charge: “DUI” and “Resisting [Arrest] W/O Violence.” See also: -Five Rappers Dumb Enough to Get…
The Bawse is a former officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. Of course, though, he usually plays the role of gangsta thug drug dealer who “got a chopper in the car.” Hence the professional moniker, Rick Ross, a name lifted from an infamous Cali crack peddler. But on a…
His name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., though he’s better known by his stage moniker, Coolio. And in just a few days, the Grammy-winning pop culture icon will defy the odds for a 28th straight year. Coolio turns 50 on August 1. “I grew up during a time when the…
It must be something in the air, but Miami is definitely one crazy city. I mean, where else in the world would you find some of the most bizarre crimes, strangest laws (well, Florida in general), or a celeb-studded party going down at a megaclub on a Tuesday night? Only…
Trina is Da Baddest Bitch. And that’s the way it’s been ever since her career first took off in the late ’90s. But it’s a decade and a half later. And the 34 year old’s got some stiff competition, what with all these bodacious youngins hitting the charts. In an…
Even though she is currently in Spain, enjoying vacation time, Metric’s Emily Haines can hardly hide her exuberance about visiting Miami again. Talking over the phone, Haines notes a couple of rather unforgettable connections between her and the Magic City. One revolves around a past Metric performance and the other…
Living in one of the world’s most popular party cities has its perks. Sure, you get herds of tourists who stop in the middle of the street to gaze at the reflection of the blinding sun off perfectly tanned, sweaty beach bods … But you also get a slew of…
“Can you read my mind? Read my mind.” That’s Emily Haines talking. She’s the moodily magnetic singer for Canadian indie-pop crew Metric. And if you’ve been blessed with telepathy (or even just, uh, read this blog’s headline), then you already know … Ms. Haines, Metric, the Fillmore Miami Beach, and…
Dr. George Clinton, the Godfather of Funk, “stand[s] in support of the spirit of the ‘boycott Florida’ movement” launched by Stevie Wonder in protest of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case. But he also lives in the Sunshine State. So, as the Parliament/Funkadelic founder and his management team…
