​The never-ending awards show season reaches its apex next week when Univision beams the Premio Lo Nuestro to millions of families all across the Americas.

On Thursday, February 16, the Spanish-language network will honor a cross-section of Latin music artists at the American Airlines Arena. Among them, Miami's own Pitbull, who's up for a pair of Urbano awards including both album and artist of the year.

While we would've preferred locking down an interview with Armando Christian Perez for this piece, getting the Dr. Pepper spokesman on the phone is incredibly difficult. So here's Plan B, our arbitrary Premio Lo Nuestro predictions.
More >>

​Every musician dreams of making it big.

Of course, it doesn't usually work out that way -- unless you're Miami-based electro duo GTA.

Matthew Toth and Julio Mejia, AKA Van Toth and JWLS respectively, have been working together for only about a year and half. But already, their work has been featured by EDM giants and Laidback Luke has made himself their mentor.

We here at Crossfade recently caught up with Toth to get the skinny.
More >>

​C'mon, y'all!

For many shining moons, Boise Bob and his Backyard Band have been rockin', rollin', and ramblin' down from Hallandale to Little Haiti's Churchill's Pub for late nights full o' hootin', hollerin', and gobblin' "Possum Meat."

And let's not forget ... Anytime you were broke and busted, Bob and his buddies Tex Merlot, Owen Cash, Darnell Hotdog, and Rufus Bacongrease never hesitated to share their supply of High Life, did they?

So now that our favorite "Swamp Song"-ing cowpoke is sick and struggling. It's time to pay back that beer debt. With interest.
More >>

​Last time we checked, ANR's Brian Robertson and Michael-John Hancock said they were busy recording an album.

So when 10K Islands' Will Suter emailed us about the band's upcoming show at Mamushka's, we asked for an update on Robertson and Hancock's doings.

"[They've] added [a] live drummer, Luke Moellman, to the mix for their last run of shows around CMJ this past fall," Suter says via email. And Moellman, according to Suter, will be a bit more involved in the recording process for ANR's follow-up to 2010's Stay Kids.
More >>

​Whenever O'Grime's L.Rey and Nikolais Javan ain't too busy playing video games and enjoying domework, they're cranking out absurd and amazing rap vids dedicated to stuff like strippers ass-smashing Nachos Supreme, the handsomeness of Miami Heat center Udonis Haslem, or "#Planking On Yo Bitch."

And their latest shot of audio-visual swaggishness? A 145-second clip created in honor of "Kush Smoke & Pussy."
More >>

​Miami's So Sound Recordings was among Crossfade's Five Best Electronic Music Labels in 2011.

But what we didn't point out about DJ-producer Jazzy Eyewear's beloved imprint was the eclecticism of its catalog.

Sure, the label focuses on house and electronica. But there's also plenty of traditional dance songcraft, from disco to pop-rock. And no So Sound artist embodies that more than local singer-producer Fra Nefarious.
More >>

¡Mayday!'s Bernz.

​The rap game is all about grind. Just ask local six-dude rap crew ¡Mayday!

After scoring a deal with Kansas City spitter Tech N9ne's Strange Music label last year, Bernz, Wrekonize, Plex Luthor, Gianni Ca$h, L.T. Hopkins, and Nonymous took off with their new boss on the All 6's and 7's tour. They played 82 shows in just 12 weeks. As Bernz says, "Just grinding every day."

Yet despite that insane road sked, the ¡Mayday! dudes still found a way to start pounding out tracks for upcoming album Take Me to Your Leader (street date March 27), the follow-up to 2009's Stuck on Island and the band's debut slab for the Strange imprint.

Yesterday, Crossfade talked to Bernz about Tech N9ne, the Strange Music family, post-apocalyptic visions, the new album, and stayin' on that grind.
More >>

"Been stuck on this island ... And now we're back."

​No doubt, those ¡Mayday! homies ain't afraid to hustle.

As we here at Crossfade reported last Thursday, the 305's raddest hip-hop collective is already prepping for Tech N9ne's Hostile Takeover tour, an insane sked of 90 shows in 99 days with Machine Gun Kelly, Krizz Kaliko, Prozak, and Stevie Stone.

But apparently, three solid months of road work is no big thang. So while Bernz, Wrekonize, Plex Luthor, Gianni Ca$h, Mr. L.T. Hopkins, and Nonymous are frantically packing their bags full of clean clothes, killer shades, and "emergency music supplies," they're also slamming together the final tracks for Take Me to Your Leader, their debut album on Tech's Strange Music label.
More >>

​When Crossfade read this week's edition of Luke's Gospel, entitled "2 Live Crew Is Reuniting Because Our Fans Want To Shake That Booty," we got, like, "Me So Horny!"-level excited.
More >>

O'Grime: Miami's crown princes of swag.

​With the first month of 2012 dead and gone, it's time to take a survey of up-and-coming South Florida music and maybe try to predict what the rest of the year has in store.

This is not a best-of list. Nor is it a complete appraisal of South Florida's expansive nightlife sphere and its million microscenes. There's an emphasis on acts and promoters who operate along the Biscayne Corridor because that's our back yard. We look at cutting-edge, contemporary-minded bands and bookings from folks fresh on the scene as well as a few local music veterans finally on the cusp of blowing up.

And we emphasize newness because children are the future.
More >>