Henry Stone, king of the record business, passed away peacefully August 7, 2014, in Miami. Throughout almost 80 years of wildly prolific musical activity, the 93-year-old had a hand in every aspect of the music business and was a true pioneer of independent manufacturing, promotion, and distribution. In the 1970s,…
We here at Crossfade are proud to introduce our new DJ podcast series today. Each month, we will be showcasing exclusive new mixes by those who call the 305 home — from local nightclub residents to up-and-coming talent. The first installment in our series comes courtesy of Miami clubland mainstay…
Click here for Blowfly’s Indiegogo campaign page. Clarence Reid and his alter ego Blowfly have released hundreds of songs and albums since starting a recording and songwriting career in Miami in the early ’60s. From straight ahead pop hits like Betty Wright’s “Cleanup Woman,” to groundbreaking classics like “Rapp Dirty,”…
They say music tames the savage beast, but in this concrete jungle, it takes more than a little mood music to unwind. Carolina Villalba, 25, is attacking the nerves of the Miami scene at both ends. Not only does she inspire crowds to let loose as one half of booty…
“Pretty” Tony Butler’s Music Specialists Inc. may be Florida’s first black-owned, million-record-selling independent record label. With Butler’s confidence in his ear for hits, he launched a studio in the heart of Liberty City and took on the recording industry. At its peak, the company owned its own pressing plant and…
Miami is a melting pot of cultures, and there’s no band that represents the various background of the 305 better than Suenalo. After four years without releasing an album, Suenalo dropped Keep It Groovin’, their fourth, in February of this year. Now, the band is busy promoting it with…
Y’all ready for this? Dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun. One of the most recognizable sports anthems in modern American sports history, 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready for This” first arrived in this country in 1991, and nobody would play it on the radio. Techno was virtually unheard of in…
King of Diamonds has sorta become hallowed ground for anybody in the hip-hop game. Just about every major rapper, from Drake to Lil Wayne to Rick Ross, have dropped verses about the highly successful strip club catering to a predominantly African-American clientele. Floyd “Money” Mayweather practically has a second home…
Whose house? DZA’s House. That’s what the crowds are screamin’ over on the Bardot dance floor when the Peachfuzz don takes to the decks. His new Saturday night get-down floods the carpet on a monthly basis with old school funk disco, nu school groove house, and just enough remixed throwbacks…
Better Than: Getting caught in the rain while out and about on a Sunday night. Even though Grand Central recently announced that the Miami venue would no longer allow smoking inside, last night the room was filled with a peculiar kind of smoke. It didn’t smell like cigarettes, but it…
Bass parties were invented when people started stretching animal skins, beating them with sticks, and dancing around the fire back in the Flintstones days. In Miami during the 1980s, that beat became electronic and it was called bass music. The style has spawned global phenomenons, like Gucci Crew’s Cabbage Patch…
Fans of the Hunger Games, rejoice! Katniss and her ilk finally have a voice to match their revolutionary rage. It was recently announced that mysterious mistress of the Billboard charts Lorde will preside and curate over The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack, as well as provide the lead…
When people talk about Miami, there’s a lot of things that come to mind. But jazz is not usually among them. The 305 is definitely more popular for its late-night dance spots and beach bars than its jazz clubs. For many, it may come as a surprise to learn that…
Miami is the undisputed world heavyweight champion of bass, and the globe’s leading progenitor of trunk rattle, rear-view shake, and total body thump. The genre is a direct descendent of Pretty Tony’s freestyle productions, and Henry Stone’s earlier indie R&B Pop. It’s the single hardest electronic boom in the universe,…
The days of dancing in smoky rooms are over, Miami. Or at least in the case that you’re dancing at Grand Central. The downtown concert venue has announced it will no longer allow cigarette smoking inside its hallowed halls. A recent rash of complaints about the smoke-friendly policy convinced management…
Some men like to get on social media and complain about how easy it is to succeed as a female DJ. It’s as if having tits means you must have special powers, although the implication is actually that women don’t have to be good to land gigs. Wow, fellas, listen…
Doin’ it for the Vine is goin from the cell phone to the strip club. That’s thanks to a new club track by Uncle Luke and Pretty Tony, whose work out of a Liberty City studio called Music Specialists Incorporated in the 1980s and ’90s took the sounds of Miami…
Los Treces already has a fairly full plate, playing in punk band Die Trying, which recently finished a rather successful tour, and helping Nayra Serrano with Idle Hands, a booking/promotion entity that continues to bring live music to a post-Dave Daniels Churchill’s Pub. He’s also the club’s current man in…
“After eight years in business, the iconic Finnegan’s River is closing its doors to make room for a high rise condominium.” That’s how one of Brickell’s best bars officially broke the news of its closure via an email sent to New Times. Sunday will mark the end of an era…
A $1 million settlement. That’s what Miami Latin pop singer Katherine Alexander is seeking from Jesus Salas, her former manager and a Spanish Broadcasting Systems Spanish Broadcasting Systems executive vice president. Last week, Alexander filed a lawsuit against Salas accusing him of rape, sodomy, death threats, and stealing the earnings…
Still haven’t watched Blackfish, the documentary shaming Orlando’s SeaWorld as one of the cruelest keepers of orcas and other fishy friends? Well, surely, all of your couch-activist friends have related how damning it is, that it will make you cry, and how you’ll never want to go to an animal…
South Florida has long been a creative refuge for varied musical genres that have grown with little outside influence and a decidedly Floridian twist. This can be seen in our punk rock, metal, rap, and jazz. Another of the better aspects of Miami’s music scene has always been the relative…
