Down south, between Pinecrest and Homestead, lies a place where boys don’t run, don’t cower, and certainly don’t cry when it comes time to stand their ground. They call this poverty-stricken, bleak community Perrine. Here, banging fists in the street is as common as the ice cream truck coming down…
Chad Pennington Is Great New Times’ story stinks: Michael Mooney’s November 27 Riptide article, “A Thanksgiving Ode to Meh-rino,” is horrible. Chad Pennington might be a mediocre quarterback in terms of arm strength and mobility, but in knowledge of the game, reading defenses, and leaderships skills, he is on the…
(Photo by Justin Namon)”Brooklyn,” as the current day manager of the Vagabond downtown is known, has done and seen it all around the South Florida music scene since arriving here from his native New York some 12 years ago. Younger types flitting around hipster nightlife know him as the improbably,…
With only two days to go until West Coast super DJ/Producer Madlib the Badkid, arrives in Miami for a show at Blacksheep Bar on December 4th, I’m personally excited to see how Miami reacts to him. There are times when he gets audiences like the one in the video above…
Plenty of songs have extolled the watery, nubile virtues of Miami, or even of Florida in general. But few — beyond those by hyper-local artists based here — have name-checked other specific locales in South Florida’s tri-county area. Which is why “West Palm Beach,” written by the folkie Bonnie “Prince”…
Free Weekly Controversy Cynical bastards: This letter is written in response to Francisco Alvarado’s tasteless “Letter to Barack Obama” (November 20, 2008). The article is characteristic of this newspaper’s history of petty mockery and character assassination, which has done nothing but tear our city at its seams. We do not…
James Melgar is a dark and handsome waiter in his early twenties. He is also a speed eater who has devoured 21 ears of sweet corn in eight minutes, modeled in New York, and done extra work in L.A. And he has been sucking down suds since he was 10…
Over the weekend, the hip-hop community was hit with sad news. Early ’90s rapper MC Breed died in his sleep, only two months after being released from an Atlanta hospital for kidney failure. He was just 36 years old. The official cause of death is still pending. It’s a death…
South Florida congressional leaders Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Kendrick Meek sure know how to live the good life when they are on the campaign trail. According to campaign financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the federal legislators spent big bucks entertaining staff and supporters at some of the…
Yesterday Banana Republican filled you in on the folks who made a buck ensuring Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, held onto their congressional seats. Today we look at the people who made a chunk of change on the failed campaigns of Democratic losers Joe Garcia, Raul…
It’s All About the Gay Issue Likes it: In response to Bob Norman’s November 13 piece in Riptide, “Fear of the Queer,” I’m an independent swing voter who went for Obama this year. I am white, straight, highly educated, married, family-oriented, and have a few gay friends who are couples…
While some people lament turntablism is a dying art, it has recently received a major boost via the nimble fingers of D.C.-based DJ Enferno. During summer and fall, the 2003 USA DMC champion has rocked crowds numbering into the tens of thousands across Europe and the States, hitting the front…
With the election season wrapped up, Banana Republican sifted through federal campaign financial reports, including those of Barack Obama and John McCain, to see who got paid. We begin with the companies that made money working for Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the three Cuban American Republicans who…
There’s something about the early music of Yo Majesty that will always have a soft spot in my heart. Back when this Tampa-based duo used to be a trio, Shunda K, Jwl B, and Shon B, were my favorite female MCs of 2007. They were butch, black, badass rappers who…
The mainstream media is starting to go through Dubya-induced withdrawal. How else can anyone explain why Sarah Palin, the VP candidate on the losing team, is still making headline news? Let’s face it the hokey ex-Guv from Texas provided us with endless fodder these past eight years that we’re scrambling…
Jeff McInnis: The Marsha Brady of Top Chef. Way to go Jeff McInnis! It only took a few minutes into last night’s season premiere of Top Chef to show us you are complete douche when you stated, “As far as my looks go, I always get a server or food…
Kimbo Didn’t Dive He fell: Bob Norman’s November 6 story, “Kimbo’s Slide,” is total bullshit. Why would Kimbo throw the fight? The guy was trying to build a rep for himself. He wouldn’t have taken a dive like that. These stories came out after Mike Tyson got knocked out by…
Melissa, a blonde in her late forties who looks like she’s been bitch-slapped by the sun, kneels in a pair of tight Swarovski crystal-studded jeans on a shiny dance floor. As a neon green disco light slices across her nipped (then tucked, Botoxed, and chemically peeled) face, she seductively tugs…
Surrounded by architectural plans and metaphysical tracts, Dharma, drummer and founder of the local band OrganicArma, can seem like he was beamed down from the mother ship. Everything about him is asymmetrical, pared down, and consciously futuristic. His stick-straight jet-black hair is long on one side and suddenly disappears, hedge-trimmer-style,…
Salman Rushdie will be in town to close up the Miami Book Fair, but his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi will be on television across the nation tonight hosting the season premier of “Top Chef: New York.” We’ve already introduced you to contestant Jeff McInnis, dubbed “hot chef of our dreams” in…
One of the daunting challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama is fixing the public school system where George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act has failed miserably, especially in Miami-Dade where some historically Black schools are in danger of being shut down. Our new Commander-In-Chief would be wise to heed…
So here’s a really cool music video that describes my Tuesday night almost perfectly. Middleweight hip-hop champ MURS is in town tonight playing a show at Churchill’s Pub and anybody that’s never seen the West Coast veteran live should consider going. He’s an indie hip-hop legend in the vein of…
