From Bach to Bird to Biggie, Black Violin executes a unique and often brilliant juxtaposition of urban and classical styles. The two-man violin/viola hip-hop outfit of Wil B and Kev Marcus from Fort Lauderdale got a couple of big breaks early on, first in 2004 at the Billboard Music Awards…
In a day and age when rap metal is practically a dirty term, the Strange Noize Tour is still waving the flag high and proud. Organized and headlined by Orange County rap-rockers (Hed) P.E. and billed as “the biggest and most notorious underground rock and hip-hop festival,” past tours have…
Don’t let the name Bad Boy Bill fool you — this guy is nice on the turntables, which sometimes number six at a time. One of the world’s only house DJs to compete and place in the DMC DJ Championships, Bill is definitely a rare breed. Don’t expect any fancy…
Wiz KhalifaWith Numonics and Phresh JamesRevolution Live, Fort LauderdaleSunday, June 20, 2010 No, there were no fog machines running in Revolution during the Wiz Kalifah show, not a single one. No, the low-lying cloud settled on the sold-out crowd of skinny jeans, fitted hats, and colorful shoes was completely man-made…
Hailing from the same city as Girl Talk and the Steelers — which he’s affectionately dubbed “Pittsburgh, Pistol-Vania” — Wiz Khalifa hasn’t let being from a place not typically synonymous with hip-hop get in the way of his grind. In the past 12 months, he has released his second full-length…
The Hukilau, named after the traditional Hawaiian fishing village festivals of old, has been netting in Tiki-philes and Polynesian Pop enthusiasts from all over the world to the sunny shores of South Florida since 2003. Co-founder and Producer/Organizer Christie White aka Tiki Kaliki has been busting her ass for the…
MURS With Nocando and Sick Jacken Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Friday, May 28, 2010 Besides the occasional token underground-rapper-on-a-nu-metal-tour (a la P.O.S.) there isn’t much hip-hop going down at the Culture Room. It was a surprise to hear MURS would be making his only South Florida tour appearance there and…
At 53 years old, Afrika Bambaataa has truly earned the title “Grandfather/Godfather of Hip-Hop.” With a body of work spanning nearly four decades, this former Bronx street-gang warlord and founder of the Zulu Nation is one of three recognized originators of break-beat DJing and among the first performers to take…
Its refreshing to find an experimental white rapper with a verifiably authentic background in hip-hop. Former Jacksonville resident (now Seattle transplant), Astronautalis is one of the few genre-striding MCs who can claim as much lineage to ’90s golden-era rap like Nas or Lord Finesse as any appropriately reference-able indie group.Although…
