Amos Larkins II invented Miami Bass production. As an in-house artist/producer/engineer for Henry Stone and Morris Levy’s Sunnyview Records label, he came up with regional and international hits on a signature style of party rap with sustained 808 kicks that dropped like no others. They became the prototype for a…
“Aren’t like half the guys in Miami basically Pitbull impersonators? I mean, the guy is truly nothing special, physically or musically.” Steve Vose, commenting on “Mr. 786” Is That Pitbull? Everyone wants to be Pit: Great idea taking a Pitbull impersonator to Dolphin Mall (“Mr. 786,” Kyle Swenson, July 31),…
There’s big money being made in the marijuana legalization movement. But none if it is going to benefit African-Americans, the people who have suffered the most because of marijuana prohibition. Even the New York Times, in an op-ed column calling for an end to America’s pot ban, admitted that marijuana…
Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke wants to know why African Americans are not invited to the pot party. There’s big money being made…
By the time Brazil and Croatia kicked off the World Cup, Boteco was bursting at the seams. Sweaty bodies in yellow and green jerseys were squeezed together inside the flag-draped Brazilian restaurant that thumped with samba. More were crammed on the covered patio, which opens onto Miami’s sometimes-slummy NE 79th…
Like it or not, Pharell Williams’ “Happy” is likely to be the top-selling single of 2014. And yes, its buoyant ’60s soul vibe and simple, positive message is modern pop perfection. But scanning the rest of this year’s biggest hits, one is struck by a consistent theme: All of these…
Miami Spice’s can’t miss menus have two things in common: value and creativity. They offer interesting ingredients in combinations that make you eager to learn more and share them with friends. They’re also a steal. You’re looking for good range of selections at restaurants where a single course can run…
Hit me! The new James Brown biopic Get On Up is gettin’ on up them screens today, and any soul-addict should hit the theaters, at least sneak in, to see Chadwick Boseman sweat his ass off while doing right by the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. All the great…
Another steamy summer, another Miami Spice. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is back with the oft-beloved, sometimes maligned dining deals that help fill restaurants during the slow summer months and give less well-to-do diners a way to eat in the city’s most lavish spots at a fraction of…
Last week, when Liberty City soul food restaurant Jumbo’s closed its doors, it was big news. The New York Times’ Frances Robles wrote a front-page story documenting how the joint went from discriminating against African-Americans to becoming a black Miami landmark. The Miami Herald and others followed. I, for one,…
Vets’ Neglect Every vet is different: The first part of your feature about a local vet who died of neglect at Miami’s VA hospital is very nicely written (“Hell on the Home Front, Part 1,” Michael E. Miller, July 24), but there’s more going on than the unfortunate death of…
David Bracha’s River Seafood & Oyster Bar will make its long awaited move out of Brickell sometime in 2015. Bracha, who also owns Oak Tavern in the Design District, has leased spaced on the ground floor of the rising Flagler on the River Apartment Towers being built by Argentine developer…
It’s hard being the Bawse. Just ask Rick Ross. Miami’s most famous rapper is no stranger to controversy. Between his 18-month stint as a correctional officer at the South Florida Reception Center and those “U.O.E.N.O.” lyrics about a molly sex assault, it’s pretty easy to throw hate in Ross’ direction…
Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke says good riddance to a restaurant that didn’t serve blacks. Last week, when Liberty City soul food restaurant…
Not long after sunset, downtown Miami is so deserted the click of a changing traffic light echoes like a gunshot. Once-bustling cafeterias and shops closed hours ago. In the inky darkness, steel shutters rattle in the wind. But then you turn a corner and a cool-yellow glow pours onto the…
New Times Broward Palm Beach is looking for a restaurant critic. The ideal candidate will have experience both reporting about food and writing long-form restaurant criticism…
Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…
It’s hard to believe 25 years have gone by since I put out 2 Live Crew’s As Nasty as They Wanna Be, the first album in history to be deemed legally obscene. Back then, I never imagined I’d be the only music artist to go to jail and take the…
Deadly Boating All too common: Unfortunately the deadly Fourth of July boating accident that killed four, like many of the boating fatalities you wrote about (“Blood on the Water,” Trevor Bach, July 17), is a combination of the most unlikely events happening at the same time. The boat that was…
Dewey LoSasso likes to have fun. At AQ by Acqualina, the stylish restaurant that opened in a towering, Venetian-style Sunny Isles Beach hotel-condo this past April, the mustached chef plays with dishes such as green eggs and ham. A 20-minute wait precedes a bubbling martini glass layered with sweet mascarpone…
Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke reminisces about the album that changed hip-hop. It’s hard to believe 25 years have gone by since I…
Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…
