Critic's Notebook

From A for Asahd to X for XXXtentacion, here’s the best and worst this year in rap had to offer.

The South Florida music scene lost a key player this week. Harold Spector, better known as Hal or Boise Bob, passed away at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, from complications of undiagnosed cancer and a series of strokes. He was 63 years young. He is survived by his brother Nelson Spector and sister Judy Kryaninko.

After the breakup of his band Modernage and the long-distance logistics of Hunters of the Alps, Mario Garibaldi hasn’t totally soured on the band model, but he’s enjoying the freedom and flexibility that comes with a more condensed lineup.

Backed by a green screen and a beat, Super Deluxe streamed Alvarez’s rap for 26 hours on its website and Facebook Live.

X is awaiting trial on four charges, including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.

Last week, the Australian rock band with the unwieldy name of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard decided to make its latest album, Polygondwanaland, stand out from the pack of releases that flood streaming services every Friday. Instead of simply making the album available free to download, they entered the ten-song release into the public domain.

Miami is getting a new record label, WaxRomantix, courtesy of Stephanie Lima and Natalie Smallish, and they want to be everything to everyone, including artists and fans.

Wynwood’s transformation from industrial zone and Puerto Rican barrio to hip neighborhood written about in the New York Times travel section is almost complete. Residential buildings are going up, bars and restaurants dot the area, and national brands such as Warby Parker and Shinola have moved in.

A roundup of music-related organizations to support on Give Miami Day.

Many people find pleasure in the simple things: cooking, reading a book, relaxing at home, and hanging out with friends. It turns out that award-winning, globe-hopping rock bands find the same amount of joy, if not more, in such unpretentious normalcy.

South Florida rockabilly legend and beloved visual artist Larry Joe Miller passed away suddenly November 3.

South Florida remembers Scott “Daisy Berkowitz” Putesky on his passing. The founding member of Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids was a beloved musician who lost a four-year battle with cancer.

In a world of terrible raps, Pembroke Pines rapper Sam Stan gives listeners a breath of fresh air.

Self-titled after the Japanese philosophy of “Kaizen,” which translates to “change for the better,” Miami producer KAIXEN is always changing. On his debut album, Pecado, Julian Steven Munro experiments with a fusion of pop, electronic R&B, hip-hop, and indie rock that underscores his growth as both an artist and as a…

There are people who float in and out of the music scene. You kind of remember their backstory and you have an impression of their face, the sound of their voice, or their sound. Then there are those who take the scene and, with wet hands, grab it, slap it…

Miami’s favorite hip-hop uncle is getting overdue recognition. During the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, which will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 10, 2 Live Crew founder and Miami New Times columnist Luther Campbell will receive the cable network’s coveted lifetime achievement award for his influence in rap music.

If you’re a Cuban woman in Miami, maybe you heard Camila Cabello’s “Havana” for the first time and groaned. Or maybe you teared up when your mom said she could relate to the song’s chorus: “Havana, ooh na-na/Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh-na-na.”

Rick Sell, the mastermind behind the one-of-a-kind custom-guitar purveyor PureSalem, hasn’t always been an artisan. He spent 21 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department and then walked away to live his dream of creating custom axes for some of rock’s most notable innovators.

The modern hip-hop scene is coming full circle in South Florida. Organizations like Dope Entertainment have cultivated star-studded festival line-ups featuring Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky, and Lil Wayne at Rolling Loud. Artists like  XXXtentacion, Ski Mask, The Slump God, Lil Pump, and more garner headlines weekly on social media. And…

Tom Petty was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest Sunday night at his Malibu home. TMZ reported the 66-year-old’s death Monday afternoon and then rescinded that news after the Los Angeles Police Department said it could not confirm it. As a reminder of the musician’s greatness and his Florida roots, New Times is reposting the following story from 2014, when music writer David Rolland visited Tom Petty’s home:

Viniloversus, Jaialai, and other Venezuelan bands pursue musical careers in the U.S., as Los Amigos Invisibles did almost two decades ago.

Joey Image, onetime drummer for the iconic band the Misfits, needs a liver transplant.