After bubbling in hip-hop’s underground for several years with many buzz-worthy songs and mixtapes, Wale proves he’s more than just a one-dimensional sneaker MC on his major label debut, Attention Deficit. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Wale “Attention Deficit” (2009)
10 11 2009Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Allido, Attention: Deficit, Chillin, Gucci Mane, Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Pretty Girls, Roc Nation, UCB, Wale, World Tour
Categories : Music
Review: Mr. Hudson “Straight No Chaser” (2009)
21 10 2009
With soaring Bono-like arena vocals and ’80s electropop and rock production sprinkled in with alternative hip-hop sounds, Mr. Hudson’s Straight No Chaser, his sophomore release and first for Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint, is a solid introduction to the British musician for American audiences. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, Straight No Chaser, Supernova, There Will Be Tears, White Lies
Categories : Music
Review: Kid Cudi “Man On The Moon: The End Of Day” (2009)
16 09 2009
Kid Cudi is depressed. The skinny jeans-wearing Cleveland rapper and singer is all doom and gloom on his debut solo album, the brilliant Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, a psychedelic trip into the mind of a 20-something going through his quarter-life crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Common, Day & Nite, Day 'N' Nite, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Lady Gaga, Make Her Say, Man on the Moon, Man On The Moon: The End of Day, Pokerface
Categories : Music
Review: Jay-Z “The Blueprint 3″ (2009)
9 09 2009
Jay-Z has nothing left to prove in hip-hop, or even music. And he spends much of his time on The Blueprint 3, his 11th studio album, making sure we know that.
Jay-Z’s raps have been on a decline for years, and as with most of his albums, The Blueprint 3 is a mixed bag of innovative and uninspired, although as usual, the good outweighs the bad. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Blueprint 3, D.O.A., Death of Auto-Tune, Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Run This Town
Categories : Music
Concert review: Incubus
17 08 2009From The Miami Herald’s blog, Miami Music Matters
In its first South Florida performance in almost two years, California-based alt-rock group Incubus blasted through a 90 minute set of its biggest hits, fan-favorite album cuts, and a few rarities, despite less than stellar sound.
The first show at Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami since a multi-million dollar makeover, the venue’s sound was flat and low — not ideal for a rock and roll show. The band’s songs, which are known for transitioning from whisper-quiet to in-your-face loud, were overly equalized, lessening the impact of the the music’s dynamic range and singer Brandon Boyd’s soaring vocals. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: Bayfront Park, Brandon Boyd, Incubus, Let's Go Crazy, Miami, Mike Einziger, Monuments & Melodies, Monuments and Melodies, Prince
Categories : Music
Slaughterhouse “Slaughterhouse” (2009)
17 08 2009
From the August 17, 2009 issue of The Miami Herald (web / print)
What do you do when you’re an extremely talented artist who was on the verge of superstardom, but instead fell victim to music industry politics and settled for a small, loyal Internet-based audience? Start a supergroup with three other underdogs, of course. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Crooked I, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Miami Herald, Royce Da 5'9", Slaughterhouse, The One
Categories : Music
Blitz The Ambassador “Stereotype” (2009)
17 08 2009
From the August 17, 2009 issue of The Miami Herald (web / print)
Jazz-based hip-hop has been around for more than 20 years. Whether it was the sample-based sounds of Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest, or the live instrumentation of The Roots, jazz music figured prominently in the development of hip-hop music and culture. But while modern rap trends favor drum machines and synthesizers, Blitz The Ambassador’s Stereotype is out to kill preconceived notions about the genre. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Blitz The Ambassador, Breathe, Miami Herald, Optiks, Stereotype
Categories : Music
