Loving the New Weezy/Yeezy Collaboration

Scrolling the Weezy files doesn’t always lead to stellar tracks. He’s got plenty of home runs, too many triples, a decent amount of doubles, and straight up strikes out that don’t even come close to a single on the windiest day. But check this track out between Kanye and Lil…

Remy Ma Gets 8 Years in Prison

The verdict is in and New York rapper Remy Ma has been sentenced to 8 years in a federal prison for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion after shooting her friend, Makeda Barnes Joseph, last July in a dispute over money. Remy Ma accused her girlfriend of stealing $3,000 from…

Teddy Pendegrass Live 1979

We hear at the New Times camp are die fans of all things old school. So as I came across this stellar footage of Teddy P doing his thing (while still walking I might add) from 1979, it seemed appropriate to share it with the blogosphere. He’s undeniably looking good…

Mindless Self Indulgence Tonight at Revolution

There’s absolutely no reason for Mindless Self Indulgence to be around in 2008. For starters, their aggressive, quasi-industrial sound – on paper, at least – is long past its sell-by date. Furthermore, they’ve been up and down the indie-major-indie label rollercoaster and should now be experiencing their inevitable decline into…

Young Jeezy

A couple of years ago, Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy was seen as the last great Southern hope. He had the hood respect of T.I. and garnered the admiration of practically every drug dealer in North America. It’s not that he’s overly gangster or that his rhymes aren’t crisp. He’s plenty…

SunFest Shows Fantasma’s Still Alive

Anyone who just made it through all five days of SunFest can attest that this was the long-time festival’s best lineup in years. There was enough talent on all three stages each day to make fans dizzy. Compared to last year’s lineup, which featured only a handful of top acts…

Fly Paper

Yo, correct me if I’m wrong, but there used to be a time in hip-hop where fashion sense was a requirement. Fedoras, rope chains, and sneakers were once as much a part of the everyday streetwear of b-boys as originality and style. Hoodies and Timberlands eventually became the genre’s attire…

Black Finger

When it comes to blending straight-ahead rock with Americana and bluegrass twang, there’s no other group locally that does it better than Black Finger. These guys have the feel of a band that could have starred in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, but instead of ripping off the Soggy Bottom…

Politically Incorrect

Within hip-hop circles, it’s well-known that M1 and his partner Stic.Man of Dead Prez veer way left of center when it comes to politics. The highly Afrocentric activists/rappers are the most militant group to emerge within hip-hop in the past two decades; consider them the perfect cross between Public Enemy…

Is Amy Winehouse Smoking Crack Again?

That’s the question British police are asking her and according to this storyfrom MTV, as of today she’s being detained for the second time in as many weeks by authorities. This time, it’s over a video that’s been circulating the blogosphere for several months that clearly shows Winehouse smoking crack…

Video 50 Cent Gets His Chained Snatched in Angola

I won’t give much credit to the guy holding the video camera. As a head’s up, whoever captured this footage is moving around so much that you might get a headache. But hang in there If you’re into the spectacle of 50 touring Africa…then watch the whole thing. It’s really…

Last Night: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND BANK ATLANTIC CENTER FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008 Better than: Watching Steven Van Zandt on reruns of “The Sopranos.” The lines between rock ‘n’ roll show and revival meeting were effectively blurred beyond distinction Friday night as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band…

Last Night: BB King at the BankAtlantic Center

B.B. King and Joe Bonamassa at the BankAtlantic Center Saturday, May 3, 2008 Better Than: When you ask your baby for water and she brings you gasoline. At 82, the good news is that B.B. King can still play and sing with aplomb. The bad news is that he’d rather…

Weakest. YouTube Remix. Ever

The video with Latarian Milton, the 7-year-old badass/hood rat enthusiasts that stole his mother’s SUV in Palm Beach Gardens is definitely making the rounds of the blogosphere right now. So there’s no surprise that a remix of the footage has surfaced on YouTube set to music. Initially, that sounds cool…

Last Night: Carlos Santana at Hard Rock Live

Sayre Berman Carlos Santana and Derek Trucks Hard Rock Live Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Better Than: Sitting home and watching the speeches of Rev. Jeremiah Wright loop constantly on every channel. There are three sure things at a Santana show: 1) Carlos will display the highest level of improvisational virtuosity;…

Ozomatli

Los Angeles is a city known for its musical potpourris. There are over a hundred ethnicities represented in the city, so it makes sense that Ozomatli’s latest effort, Don’t Mess With the Dragon, is a fusion of Spanish rock, hip-hop, reggaetón, reggae, and funk, the perfect crossover release from the…

Robert Randolph

When it comes to making sacred steel music, folks here in Florida take the genre seriously. If you’re not familiar with sacred steel, its main instruments are pedal and lap steel guitar (which are played while sitting down) and it’s typically associated with gospel and Southern-style rock. It’s soulful and…

Kid Rock

From rockers like the MC5, Alice Cooper, and the White Stripes, to hip-hop artists like Eminem and Slum Village, to electronic gurus such as Juan Atkins and DJ Godfather, Detroit has produced a kaleidoscope of artists who have achieved worldwide acclaim. There’s no shortage of topnotch musicians in that city,…

Estelle Shows Us How to Shine

If there’s one thing music journalists have learned over time, it’s that whenever a breakthrough, buzz-laden artist from across the pond shows up in your town for a debut performance, you pay attention. It doesn’t matter which side of the Atlantic the artists cross from or even what style of…

What Time Is It?

In the early 1980s, black music was undergoing a serious metamorphosis. There was less home for the funky sounds of the ’70s and a new style of popular music needed to be created. Prince and his sexy synthed-out R&B was like the yin to Michael Jackson’s yang, and if you…

D.C. Rapper Proverb Responds to Jay-Z Diss Track

How intriguing are the NBA playoffs this year? Every night, brand new drama unfolds. It’s more like a soap opera with athletes than anything and the latest clap-back diss song aimed at rapper Jay-Z proves that. If you’re late to the party…Washington Wizards star DeShawn Stevenson and LeBron James don’t…

The Bridge Wars Remembered

Since it’s Throwback Tuesdays, I’m in the mood to take it wayyyy back to the Bridge Wars of the mid ’80s in the dawn of hip-hop’s golden years. This originally was a battle of the boroughs. Queens rappers MC Shan and Marley Marl came out with a track called “The…