Throwback Tuesdays: Slum Village “Climax”

This one takes me back to the last year that Slum Village was still together as a group and promoting videos for Fantastic Vol 2. Jay Dee was already working on Common’s Like Water For Chocolate album and doing beats for a slew of other hip-hop heavyweights but Slum as…

StreetWorks – NE 28th Street and NE 2nd Ave

Photos by Elvis Ramirez On my way to lunch one day, I passed by this piece on NE 28th Street and NE 2nd Avenue. I didn’t think much of it because it looked like it was part of the buildings décor. I decided to take a closer look and I…

Letters from the Issue of February 21, 2008

In the Zone Sarnoff’s vision is narrow: Regarding Francisco Alvarado’s February 14 article “Combat Zone”: I wonder if my district’s commissioner, Marc Sarnoff, would consider his aide, Ryan Alexander, for the job of constructing a timed security fence that would exclude ordinary middle-class revelers from patronizing Coconut Grove bars after…

Long Live El Rey

It’s hard at first to pinpoint what makes mustached local musical sensation José El Rey so damn appealing. Perhaps it’s his music, a low-fi version of classic Miami bass and freestyle, the soundtrack to the youth of all twenty- and thirtysomethings who grew up in this town. No matter how…

Mad Cobra Wants you to “Flex”

So Mad Cobra didn’t really have much of a career outside of this track, but for a short while this tune ran dancehalls around the globe. Since it’s throwback day, don’t be afraid to sing along to this one. — Jonathan Cunningham…

Throwback Tuesdays: MC Lyte “Cappucino”

MC Lyte will probably always remain one of the most underrated MC’s of all time. Of any gender–not just because she’s female but rather hip-hop enthusiasts tend to forget about her too easily. But what a lot of critics and award shows never acknowledged was that during the ’80’s and…

StreetWorks – North Miami Ave and NW 34th Terrace

Being anywhere near I-95 in the afternoon is a guaranteed way to get a headache. So I decided to be adventurous and take North Miami Avenue as an alternate route home, it’s a congested route but at least my wheels turn more than once an hour. While, I stared at…

Punks Have Hearts Too

The words punk rock love song might seem like a contradiction in terms, but those who have spent any time in punk’s prickly embrace know better. Beneath the trappings of a costume, beneath the pent-up aggressive energy, there’s usually a big softy who just wants a big ol’ hug. And…

Letters from the Issue of February 14, 2008

Whole Lotta Sharing Goin’ On He’s been whacked: In response to Isaiah Thompson’s January 31 story, “Share the F**king Road”: I have been a bike rider in Miami Beach for the past seven years and have had many accidents. 1) In 2002, a bus on Collins Avenue threw me off…

Subterranean Homesick Blues

It’s Throwback Tuesdays here at CrossFade and we’re going way back with some vintage Bobby Dylan. This was always one of my favorite early music videos and its great to see the original bald head slick AKA Allen Ginsberg in the background enjoying a cameo. — Jonathan Cunningham…

Letters from the Issue of February 7, 2008

Move Over, Motorists! Chicken, egg, and spoke: Thanks for Isaiah Thompson’s article about cycling in Miami, “Share the F***ing Road” (January 31). Eric Tullberg is rapidly becoming one of my heroes. Thompson hit the nail on the head with the cyclist who said that, a short while ago, he was…

In Flames

Last Friday the crowd at Churchill’s included hesher types, bikers in Motörhead jackets, crusty bicycle people wearing shorts and stitched-up leather fanny packs, and a gaggle of of-the-moment local artists. Then there was the guy my companion pointed out: “Surprise! There’s someone in a Star Wars shirt.” In short, it…

Greatest Show on Earth

The first time I tried absinthe, I didn’t feel compelled to hack off my ear. Nor did I see any green fairies. In fact the only things I remember are sugar, a lighter, a shot glass, and the booze hitting my lips. That’s it. Well, that and the flush of…

Streetworks – NW 36th Street and 5th Ave.

Rather than dealing with people on Biscayne Boulevard who don’t know how to merge, I chose to go down NW 36th Street. As I was reaching the light at NW 5th Avenue, the dude in front of me slammed on the brakes. After holding back a few expletives and regaining…

Fat Joe Looking as Sexy as Ever

Ok, maybe not. You hate to see the part-time Miami resident in such an uncompromising photo but this is just too funny to pass up. I don’t know where this shot came from or if it’s even real but it is NOT a good look for Joey Crack. But I…

Letters from the Issue of January 31, 2008

Dissin’ Cousins Give this man a polygraph!: Congratulations to Miami New Times and Francisco Alvarado for having the courage to print the truth about my first cousin, Chris Korge (“Hillary’s Money Man,” January 24). I will be more than happy to take a lie detector test concerning the events that…

Reasons to Believe

I don’t care about his feathered hair. I don’t care about his unfortunate fascination, in the Seventies and Eighties, with puff sleeves. Or his continuing fascination with white suits. Or the fact that, with some teenage parenting, he could technically be old enough to be my grandfather. I love Rod…

Bambi Bump-Off

Three skulls lay in the dust beneath silvery buttonwood leaves. Two were covered in rotting flesh. One had been severed by a hacksaw. That was December. A month prior, a truck driver had swerved off the road to eviscerate an endangered key deer, spreading her organs over 30 yards of…

StreetWorks – Wynwood Art District

As I walked from gallery to gallery during this year’s first Wynwood art walk, I noticed a lot of graffiti but assumed most of it was there as part of an exhibition. But this one on NW 2nd Avenue and 24th Street was far from most of the galleries and…

Codepink Stink

First there was the menacing claim broadcast on Spanish-language television that “someone might crack your head like a coconut.” Next came three death threats. Finally, as the peace loonies recently piloted their Dodge Ram pickup onto SW Eighth Street, an angry crowd composed mostly of Cuban exiles — spitting and…

Letters from the Issue of January 24, 2008

Heroes All So proud: Thanks so much for Janine Zeitlin’s “Frogmen” (January 17); it’s such an amazing article. I’m so proud of my father, Andy Pruna, for being one of the heroes in this article. I read this great story to my kids so they could hear the truth about…