Compton Rapper Buddy Brings “All the Good Vibes”

Earlier this year, J. Cole and his label Dreamville embarked on a project more than a decade in the making: “Revenge of the Dreamers III.” Conceived as a recording session for the ages, it would bring together a who’s who of hip-hop producers, rappers, singers, and other creatives in a studio in Atlanta…

The Queen of Disco, Gloria Gaynor, Performed My Nightlife Baptism

December 31, 1996, was a typically cold New Year’s Eve in Times Square. My friends and I were trapped in that glittery and dismal landscape while waiting for the ball to drop. As a teenager from Miami, I was dressed incredibly inappropriately in thin pants, slip-ons, and a borrowed coat…

Cher’s Greatest Talent: Turning Her Questionable Decisions Into Trends

Sonny & Cher’s 1965 song “I Got You Babe” blares each morning from the clock radio of Bill Murray’s character in the 1993 comedy classic “Groundhog Day.” Asked why he chose that song, writer Danny Rubin said that after several replays, “it would drive you crazy!” But wasn’t there always something also charming about the song?…

Drag Race Star Latrice Royale’s South Florida Roots Run Deep

Of all the performers in RuPaul’s Drag Race “herstory,” South Florida’s Latrice Royale is arguably one of the most legendary. But if not for a dare from one of her friends, the world might never have met the vivacious superstar. Although Timothy Wilcots was born in California, it was the Sunshine State that birthed Latrice Royale.

From Peaches to Hustler: The Past and Present of 1500 Sunrise Boulevard

Splashed across the sidewalk outside Hustler Hollywood is a long row of handprints and footprints in swaths of worn cement. A closer look reveals names belonging to visionaries. Iconic musicians such as Rick Springfield, Charlie Daniels, Peter Frampton, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent, and Jaco Pastorius have all left their mark on the stretch of pavement outside a store that now sells sex toys.

A Snoop by Any Other Name Would Sound as Swizzle

We live in uncertain times. But through all the ups and downs, one man has remained reliable, if only in his inconsistency. That man is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., better known as Snoop Dogg. Deliciously chill, Snoop answers to no one and nothing. His is a brand that has left a timeless legacy, defying shifts…