With the recent demise of Grand Central, it’s easy to feel there’s a dearth of locations serving up local sounds in Miami. Thankfully, places like Bardot and Churchill’s still fill their bills with homegrown talent, but outside of the customary clubs, what else is out there? Thankfully, the A+E District,…
One of South Florida’s hottest hip-hop and Latin venues isn’t even in Dade County. To the north, sandwiched between the desolate wastelands we call Weston and Miramar, an odd little joint known as Cafe Iguana Pines has been giving people a reason to commute to Pembroke Pines for years. After some pricy…
Just about a year ago, Kent Jones was living out of Cool & Dre’s lavish North Miami studio when he dropped his Tours mixtape, which features the single “Don’t Mind.” A lot has changed in twelve months. As Jones crisscrossed the country, performing “Don’t Mind” at major shows like opening…
The world is fueled by contradictions. And one such contradiction is that the bright and sunny city of Miami is home to some extremely good dark and grimy music. It’s no secret that Florida witnessed the birth of many metal bands like Death, Obituary, and Morbid Angel just to name…
“Pony” by Ginuwine. “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. Pretty much anything by The Weeknd from his original trilogy of mixtapes. Sometimes, when it’s time to get our freak on, we need a soundtrack. Regardless of whether it’s a slow burner for some gentle baby-making or quick and dirty…
One of the most recent posts on Trick Daddy’s Twitter feed is a retweet of @SquashBeef305. The Tweet promotes a Miami conflict resolution hotline. “…The media promotes violence but not ?#StopTheViolence?. It’s up 2 us,” it reads. But this morning, nobody needed some conflict resolution counseling more than Trick, which…
While many aspiring musicians would kill to work in the studio with big names like Pitbull, Ricky Martin, and KC & The Sunshine Band, the two brothers who make up XAXO found it soul sucking. “We were producing, writing, engineering, vocal coaching, and working as a psychologist for all these…
The album cover to the self-titled debut EP by Miami-based Chase the Jaguar perfectly captures the duality that an urban city set in paradise frequently offers: palm trees and a soft, calming sunset with streaks of lingering blue and flamingo pink, all broken up by a giant, imposing, and often…
A John Lennon “Imagine” license plate greets you in the driveway of Joe Johnson’s home studio in Plantation. The common areas in the house are lightly sprinkled with Beatles memorabilia. A poster for the Beatles’ Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, Love, and an official print of Lennon’s “Dear Prudence” lyrics adorn…
Soda. Now close your eyes. What do you see? Chances are, floating in the tunnels of your subconscious, there’s either a red-and-white Coca-Cola bottle or a blue Pepsi can — maybe a Dr. Pepper for all you rebels out there. That’s no coincidence. It’s called brand association. You think of…
Two weeks ago, I went on an Instagram rant criticizing local hip-hop radio stations for not showing any love to Miami-based artists. You won’t hear any songs by up-and-coming underground MCs like Super Mario, Denzel Curry, Robb Bank$, and Yung Simmie by tuning into 99 Jamz or 103.5 the Beat…
One day after the tragedy in Orlando, a petition appeared on Change.org addressed to the mayors of Miami and Miami Beach and five of the cities’ commissioners. It asks for safety and security, and for metal detectors to be required at the entrance of Miami nightclubs. “Requiring local nightlife venues…
The blistering roads of Florida got even hotter this week, from the deep depths of Carol City all the way up to Orlando. After Pompano Beach’s Kodak Black dropped off his highly anticipated mixtape Lil Big Pac last week, Dade County kingpin Rick Ross and other rising Florida rappers like…
Miami-based producer Edward “Edsclusive” Davadi refuses to allow his newfound fame to disrupt his consistent work flow. Actually, “newfound fame” might be an understatement. He helped produce one of the biggest rap singles of the year, Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s “All The Way Up.” Inside Tone Zone Recording Studio…
By now you’re aware of this whole “vinyl resurgence” thing. An industry once thought to have been crushed by more advanced technology was suddenly deemed “cool again,” and, voila, the record survives, your local shop lives to see another day — sort of. Because while vinyl is still enjoying a…
DJ Fly Guy is currently working his ass off and simultaneously living the dream. This summer he was selected to be one of five DJs to travel the country to get crowds hyped for the Copa América Centenario, the centennial edition of the South American football tournament. For the 100th…
If you missed out on Iggy Pop’s concert at the Fillmore a couple months ago (we’re looking at you, horrible Miami selfie man) and are wondering what the late-era Iggy Pop live experience is all about, O Cinema is willing to fill you in. On June 16 at 9 p.m.,…
In the hours following yesterday’s tragedy at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, the internet was flooded with opinions. Many of them spoke with something resembling hope, looking towards the subsequent charity and unity shown by the collective Orlando community as lines to donate blood wrapped around the block. Some…
After DJ Khaled rocked the airwaves with his new Drake collaboration “For Free,” Miami’s other top artists like Rick Ross and Ace Hood followed suit by dropping major tracks this week. The Carol City native brought together the A-team of his Maybach Music Group for a track called “Make It…
“I don’t want to turn up anymore.” That’s what the headline said on Vice’s Thump. The picture running across the top of the screen showed Niko Javan, Miami’s king of hyphy psychedelia, posing devilishly before a gang of dancing Flaming Hot Cheetos bags, but below the turnt up imagery sat…
It’s crazy to think the world has been sans Prince for more than a month already, and yet, there’s still a constant stream of celebratory content honoring the legacy and the genius of the late musical icon. A star like Prince’s doesn’t fade fast. It will take decades, centuries maybe,…
Six days ago, the unstoppable DJ Khaled shared a short video of himself sitting on a throne next to an actual lion, asking someone behind the camera, “Did the Drake vocals get in yet?” They did, apparently, and then Khaled informed the camera that Major Key, his upcoming debut release…
