Miami-based Tiempo Libre is in high demand these days. The band of Cuban immigrants is popping up everywhere across South Florida, playing for high school students in Boca Raton one moment, then grooving in South Beach jazz clubs the next. We’re not saying the impending death of Fidel Castro has…
There’s no worse feeling as a music writer than having a local band blow up right under your nose and gain national acclaim without your hearing a word about them. It’s not a common occurrence, but when it happens, all you can do is dust yourself off, swallow that lump…
It was the afternoon of Mardi Gras on Hollywood Beach, and despite the city’s dogged efforts to produce an authentic Bourbon Street experience, I couldn’t help feeling that something wasn’t jiving. Heavyweight Louisiana musicians like Allen Toussaint (the man who wrote “Lady Marmalade”), Brian Stoltz (longtime member of the Funky…
The name of artsy reggae band Dubconscious suggests everything audiences can expect to hear in concert. The well-traveled eight-piece group is known for its experimental dub sets and progressive lyrics that are fun to dance to and good for the spirit. There is a slight hippie vibe to the band…
Jamaican singer Richie Spice is approaching dancehall music from a vastly different angle than most of his peers do. Despite growing up in the rough parish of St. Andrews, Spice’s smooth vocals and delicate songwriting is in stark contrast to most of the soundbwoy fi dead shit-talk proliferating throughout the…
On his previous album, Joyful Rebellion, Canadian rapper k-os shouted defensive lyrics like “Hip-hop is not dead/it’s the mind of the MC.” That particular rhyme got him in trouble with critics who saw the Toronto-based lyricist as a preachy preacher’s kid proselytizing the masses. And k-os actually is a preacher’s…
It was after 2 in the morning when I stumbled into Asti’s Lounge, an obscure, dimly lighted club in Sunrise, expecting to see a wicked dancehall performance. Bass Odyssey, a heralded Jamaican DJ crew known for its worldwide sound-clash victories and flamboyant stage presence, was the night’s headliner. I’d seen…
Jared Cole is working hard to defy classifications. The part-time promoter and barfly has recently released a debut album, Virginiahead, that careens from emo to folk, rock, and post-punk, all with a DIY lo-fi sound. Much of the album centers on basement electronic tinkering and acoustic guitar work that supports…
Dub poetry isn’t the kind of literary genre you’d expect to thrive in public libraries. But in honor of Black History Month, the Broward County Library showcases the dubbed-out poetry of Miami-Dade police officer Malachi Smith, who, when he’s not out catching perps, is a local expert on all things…
Slick Rick graced our cover just a few weeks ago in our lengthy anatomy of his legal troubles (“Slick Trouble,” Julia Reischel, January 11). But hey, he’s not just fighting deportation — he still performs, and he’s coming our way. The thumbnail: Back in the mid-1980s, the British-born, eye-patch-wearing MC…
Miami-based singer/producer Wibby White should learn how to quit when he’s ahead. The track arrangement on his newest album, The Trendsetter… starts out strong and can easily fool a listener into thinking he just copped an innovative CD. The album’s lead single, “Enjoy Yourself,” is a damned good blend of…
New Orleans-based singer/producer Allen Toussaint is a walking monument to the Big Easy’s musical history. He’s worked as a session player with most of New Orleans’ major heavyweights (the Meters, LaBelle, the Neville Brothers, and Dr. John) and got his start playing backup to Fats Domino in the 1960s. He’s…
Here’s a hip-hop artist who knows how to poke fun at himself. Lex One doesn’t seem to take life seriously on No Respect for Pedestrians, the shit-talking, party-rocking album from this Hollywood-based MC. The music here is reminiscent of early ’80s comedy-style hip-hop from Biz Markie or Kool Keith —…
It’s the seven-year mark for Naked Evolution, downtown Fort Lauderdale’s wildest revolving dancehall reggae party, and to celebrate the milestone, promoters are bringing in South Florida’s marquee “sound system.” That’s Jamaican talk for a roaming reggae party of epic proportions, and supplying the sounds will be the Miami-based Black Chiney…
The king of lover’s rock is tired of freezing his ass off. It’s week five of a grueling eight-week North American tour, and Jamaican singer Beres Hammond has absolutely had it with nontropical weather. Detroit was frigid. Toronto was freezing. And if you even get him started on Montreal, all…
Patti Austin recently dropped a hundred pounds from her famously plump frame and has gone from a size 26 to an almost petite size 6. Can you say gastric bypass surgery? It’s a big change for the singer/songwriter known mostly for her buttery smooth voice on songs like her 1982…
It’s hard to believe it was only a year ago that beat-maker J Dilla passed away from complications due to lupus. At the time, he’d just released his instrumental project, Donuts, arguably the best album of his career, on his 32nd birthday. He died three days later. Naturally, the album…
Orlando isn’t necessarily known for hip-hop. Though definitely the breakbeat capital of the state, O-Town doesn’t get much credit for anything else. So it’s good to know a hip-hop crew like Sol.illaquists of Sound exists. If you are not familiar with Sol.illa, think De La Soul-style wordplay with the stage…
Queens-bred, Broward-based lyricist Dynas has put out an impressive limited-edition mixtape, Street Skriptures, that unabashedly “borrows” beats and vocals from other producers. Corporate attorneys would call such an act theft, but hey, this is hip-hop. Jacking beats is a 25-year-old habit within the genre, and on Street Skriptures, Dynas does…
It’s good finally to hear an LP from Cali-via-Detroit hip-hop darling Ta’Raach, who has been stuck in “next to blow up” status for, well, the bulk of his life. While rapping under the name Lacks in the late ’90s, he helped start a makeshift group called the Breakfast Club with…
James Cotton cut his teeth playing mouth harp with Sonny Boy Williamson at the tender age of 9 in the Mississippi Delta. His blues harmonica has influenced rock legends such as Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. To get a sense of how much mileage Cotton has under his belt,…
The Postmarks make music that, at times, is part Burt Bacharach, part Beach Boys, and part folk rock. That’s an odd blend in 2007, but this emo-pop trio knows how to bring it together. The Postmarks have appeared in this rag before and have raised their profile since we last…
