Allright, so 2009 was definitely a crazy year. It’s the year that The305.com finally was able to break the mold and start getting some notoriety. I put a lot of work into the site. I got a lot accomplished. Got the Readers Choice award for “Miami’s Best Website” in the Miami New Times. MTV news did a feature on the site, as well as my photography work. XXL named us as part of their 100 top hip-hop websites list. And I put together tons of stories and posts on an “almost” daily basis and I enjoyed every minute of it. The year was good. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t make a living off The305.com, its only a side project I do. But its not easy and its extremely time consuming. But I love doing it – not only because I enjoy posting news about music, fashion and entertainment. But because I love Miami. If I could do The305.com fulltime I would and when the site gets to that point, it will be that much better, but in the meantime, take what you can get, lol. Nah but seriously, to the thousands of daily visitors we get a day, thank you for the support. Thank you for your readership and for continuing to log on daily. 2010. Happy New Year!

And now here’s a recap of my 2009 shortlist for Best Of The 305.

Click below on the link and a new page will open with the pick for that category.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

HONEY OF THE YEAR

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR BY AN ARTIST

REMIX OF THE YEAR

DJ OF THE YEAR

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

BEST NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

RECORDING STUDIO OF THE YEAR

RECORD COMPANY OF THE YEAR

CLUB PROMOTERS OF THE YEAR

THE305.COM STORY OF THE YEAR

THE305.COM STORY OF THE YEAR THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE WOMEN

THE305.COM MOST CONTROVERSIAL POST OF THE YEAR

FUNNIEST POST OF THE YEAR

BEST NEW COMPANY OF THE YEAR

SNEAKER RELEASE DATE OF THE YEAR

BEST NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR

BEST LOCAL HIP-HOP EVENT OF THE YEAR

BEST LOCAL TWITTER ACCOUNT OF THE YEAR

OUTTA TOWNERS OF THE YEAR

MORNING SHOW OF THE YEAR

Pitbull
2009 Artist Of The Year
The coveted ‘Artist Of The Year’ title. There were a couple ways that we could’ve gone with this, but it seemed that one artist stood out from the bunch. He went from overturning a terrible situation with the downfall and bankruptcy of TVT Records that after a long fight finally left him as a free agent as an independent artist. He released a couple records and videos independently towards the beginning of the year, which to the surprise of many sold hundreds of thousands (and then millions) of iTunes and ringtone downloads. Then the year passed on and a new deal with RCA/Polo Grounds was on the table which opened the opportunities to release his summer smash “Hotel Room Service”, along with his August 2009 album, Rebelution. And to end the year off with a bang, YouTube announced that Pitbull’s “Calle Ocho” music video was the most watched music videos of the year with over 80 Million views and counting. Above all, I think Pitbull has finally reached a point of his career where he has found his niche and is capitalizing on it so well. So all that combined with a non-stop touring schedule (nationally and internationally), Pitbull is this year’s Artist Of The Year on The305.com. And oh yeah, the man got the Key To City Of Miami. Good lord. All in one year. Much continued success, Pit.

Amber Rose
2009 Honey Of The Year
First of all..Amber, if you’re reading this, WE NEED to do an interview with you on The305.com asap the next time you’re in Miami! Holla…

Allright, so yeah, Amber Rose…where do I start?. The way we came up with Honey Of The Year was strictly by numbers. Who brought the most viewers and unique visits on to The305.com. hands down…Amber Rose. We first posted about Amber back in February of 2009 and since then, you all could not get enough of her. Out of all the honeys we’ve posted on a daily basis, Amber has without a doubt received the most comments and has brought the most visitors on to The305.com – more than any other model. I’m sure a certain producer-rapper had a little something to do with her getting a little more recognition, but that does not discount the fact that Amber has had a hell of a year and that she’s just amazingly beautiful. And genuinely beautiful from bald head to toe. She started out the top of the year appearing in Smooth Magazine And around June, she signed a contract with Ford Models, the exclusive modeling agency to some of the world’s most beautiful faces, and since then she’s appeared in countless magazines, including most recently in Vibe. Amber has been able to stay in the spotlight yet fallback at times – so its been a good balance. Just based off numbers alone, the days with the highest traffic on The305.com have all been somehow tied to Amber Rose. Plus, I know Amber LOVES Miami. She’s been spotted here numerous times throughout the year. Rosa Acosta was definitely a close second, but Amber just came up victorious.

See also: Most Contoversial Post

Rick Ross – Deeper Than Rap
2009 Album Of The Year
A lot of controversy surrounded this album and a lot of beef surrounded it as well, but musically speaking, Rick Ross had one of the better albums in 2009 with Deeper Than Rap. And out of Miami-based releases, it seemed that this nod had to go to Ross. Even though most of the songs leaked one by one on many hip-hop blogs, it didn’t stop this release from scoring 158,000 copies in its first week of sales. Aside from the smooth lyrics constructed by Ross song after the song, the quality of the production chosen for the album was a definite win. Beats were provided by The Inkredibles, Justice League, and The Runners to name a few. The 50-Cent jabbing “Mafia Music” was the first song released, which was then followed by the lead single (and the Special Ed inspired) “Magnificent”. But the gem of the album seemed to lay on the epic existence of “Maybach Music 2” that featured T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. The beat alone has garnered “instrumental of the year” mentions from tons of industry insiders and upcoming emcees alike. Overall, the package was just all there for this release. A solid body of work which to my opinion, is Rick Ross’ best album to date.

Flo Rida – Right Round
2009 Single Of The Year
You cannot deny the impact that Flo Rida has made on digital sales. And you can’t deny that “Right Round” was the song of the year, especially being that Flo is from Miami – that solidifies it even more so. It sold over 636,000 downloads in its first week out and proceeded to sell millions more in the weeks that followed. The record was produced by Dr. Luke and Timbaland – and featured the all-too-recognizable sample of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round”. The song was no doubt a major factor in Flo-Rida getting a “Best Rap Album” Grammy nomination at the 2010 Grammy Awards that air this February.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR – Rick Ross “All I Really Want” (Directed by Gil Green for 305 Films)
2009 Video Of The Year
When I got word that Rick Ross tapped Gil Green and the 305 Films crew to film a video in Colombia with The Dream – I knew it was gonna be a movie! And it was. The obviously big-budget video production that ended up being “All I Really Want”, the second single off Rick Ross’ album Deeper Than Rap, was a real feel good video just showing a lot of sides of having fun and a lot and I mean a lot of females. Non English speaking and incredibly sexy Colombian females. We got tuns of behind the scenes courtesy of Derick G (who took the photo above) and the final product was as great as we expected it to be. When given the proper budget, Gil Green and 305 Films can definitely work magic.

Ghostwridah – 305s & Heartbreaks
2009 Mixtape Of The Year By An Artist
There are so many mixtapes that come out nowadays that its hard to stand out from the pack anymore. But one exception had to be this here mixtape by Ghostwridah called 305’s & Heartbreaks. What caught my attention at first was the obvious plays towards being an interpretation of Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreaks album. But what caught me off guard was that it was Ghostwridah putting his own spin and his own personality into various tracks from Kanye’s most recent album. Packed with original choruses and added live instrumentation and recreations, this mixtape almost sounded like a true album. Plus an original song called “Celebrate Lyfe” was thrown in there as a bonus – a refreshing one at that. 305’s & Heartbreaks is a dope concept mixtape based off a concept album – if that makes any sense. And the quality of the recordings along with the supplemental hints of production was just the icing on the cake.

Download the mixtape by clicking here.

D-Shep & Veronica V “Miami State Of Mind”
2009 Best Remix Of The Year
This is really one of those tracks you either love or you hate. So by now we’re all tired of hearing Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind.” A couple months back an artist by the name of D-Shep decided to make a remix of the song themed around Miami and titled it “Miami State Of Mind”. I’m not gonna lie, the title and the concept wasn’t at all groundbreaking. But the song came out great and the 305-styled lyrics brought in the point of the song without question. If you’re at all mad that I picked this as “Remix Of The Year”, honestly, you shoulda’ probably thought of doing this particular remix first and beating D-Shep to it. He just nailed it and the timing was perfect.And it doesn’t hurt that its actually put together well.

Click here to listen to it.

DJ Entice
2009 DJ Of The Year
DJ Entice has branded himself as one of WEDR’s star on-air talents. With stints as the official DJ for the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes football teams, Entice has  gone from being a mainstay on the Drive At 5 mix to positioning himself as one of Miami’s top tastemakers. And now, within the last year he has become the official DJ for Flo-Rida, a gig that has taken him worldwide and has placed him on numerous nationally televised talk shows providing support for Flo’s performances. And we hear that Entice has a great hand on the production side of things. If 2009 is any indication, there’s no reason why 2010 won’t crown DJ Entice again as DJ Of The Year.

More info: www.twitter.com/DJEntice

Photo Credit: NLPG Images

Jim Jonsin
2009 Producer Of The Year
Jim Jonsin is an amazing talent and has a long history in Miami. Over the last decade or so, he’s been able to take his keen ear in production and make timeless backdrops for some of the biggest hits of the last few years. He started off the year very strongly in February 2009 by picking up a Grammy for his production work on Lil Wayne’s smash hit “Lollipop”, which he co-wrote produced. In 2009, he has worked with the likes of Fat Joe, Flo Rida, Slim Thug, Twista, Lloyd, The Game, and Mario to name a few. More prominently he’s worked a lot with Pitbull as of late, as well as Atlanta based B.O.B., who is signed under Jim’s record company, Rebel Rock. 2010 looks very bright for Jim Jonsin and with his extensive track-record, we had to make Jim Jonsin the 2009 producer of the year.

Jigg
2009 Best New Artist Of The Year
Its amazing to see all of the new talent that is coming out of Miami and one those artists in the forefront has got to be Jigg. He’s been putting out music for a couple years now, but 2009 is really the time that Jigg started to shine on a broader scale. His flow is uncanny and he pretty much murks any beat he touches. Jigg released a couple test singles, including the strip-club friendly “Peek-A-Boo” as well as a long stream of freestyles and remixes – and everything has been impressive. To the point, that I made it a goal of mine to co-sign Jigg in every way I could until this man gets the record deal and/or the situation that he deserves. Talent never should go to waste, and he has it. However, its all in Jigg’s hands. Its all on him to take what he built in 2009 and use it to take over the industry in 2010.

More info: www.twitter.com/jigg305

Circle House Studios in North Miami
2009 Recording Studio Of The Year
If you’ve ever been to circle house, you know that its not just a recording studio – its an experience. Located in the heart of North Miami, Circle House Studios has been a mainstay in conversations for artists who need to record and mix their music in a professional, yet relaxing environment. And it doesn’t get any better than the “at-home” feeling that Circle house proves its clients with. They have multiple recording rooms and facilities that surely cater to every artists’ needs and wants. And just in the last year alone, Circle House has provided its facilities to artists like Pitbull, Nas & Damian Marley, Adrienne Baillon, Flo-Rida, Usher, Ne-Yo, Inner Circle, Trina, Jagged Edge, Busta Rhymes and tons more. In 2010, look out for many more projects with Circle House on its credits as well as expanded facilities, including a full spa on its premises. And one thing that Circle House stresses is that independents and local independents are always welcomed.

Poe Boy Music Group
2009 Record Company Of The Year
Poe Boy records celebrated their ten-year anniversary in 2009. Without a doubt, E-Class (pictured above), Big Chuck and the rest of the Poe Boy Music Group family is somehow responsible and/or affiliated for a lot of the talent that has come out of Miami in recent memory. Their top achievement has to be all that they’ve been able to accomplish with Flo-Rida. He has the top selling single of the decade with “Low”, an honor that was revealed weeks ago. And in 2009, Flo-Rida’s “Right Round” was one of the biggest records of the year – with the accompanying album releasing this past March as well. Atop of that, their roster has grown with a solid base of talented artists like Billy Blue, Brianna, Mista Mac and Brisco specifically, who released his Revenge mixtape – one that was received well in the streets and online. And on the flipside, Poe Boy also released the “Live From The 305:” compilation which featured nothing but local South Florida artists on it in a pledge to showcase the talent that Miami has and that often goes overlooked. So without a doubt, Poe Boy has grown into an amazing entertainment company that will surely continue their reign into the new decade.

More info: www.poeboymusicgroup.com

The 400 Club
2009 Club Promoters Of The Year
The 400 Club. I can tell you that whenever I have people from out of town coming in that ask which clubs to hit up, I usually make sure they hit up any parties that are put together and headed by the wonderful promotional collective known as the 400 club. The 400 Club is a group of South Florida based tastemakers that put their name behind multiple parties a week – and they make their parties one of the most talked about in town week after week. And even with small setbacks here and there, like the closing and re-branding of the club formerly known as The Fifth to what’s know known as Play – they still move strong and hold solidified events. One of my highlights definitely have to be when they had brought Drake in for his “first” appearance and performance in Miami during one of their Friday nights, which is coincidently what the photo above is from. Tag all of what I just wrote with the fact that they have a great online marketing strategy and an impressive stock of in-house video and photo productions of all of their events – they are the company that is setting the bar for 2010.

More info: www.400life.com

Team Drake post with Miss Shakur & Rosa Acosta
2009 Story Of The Year
Well, I’m gonna tell you right now that if I did not spend my July 4th weekend invested into making the Team Drake post, The305.com will not be where it is today. As much as I hate to say it, this was the post that really put The305.com in the spotlight. Our story on the girls of Team Drake got linked everywhere and got duplicated/copied/jacked everywhere. And I really do mean…everywhere. A couple people even tried to steal the idea and claim it as their own, but you cannot front that The305.com fathered this concept – however stupid and/or juvenile it might’ve been. And to a lot of people, this was the first time they saw or heard of what was to become the amazing vixen Rosa Acosta. And weeks later, we actually scored an interview with her…again, one of her first interviews before she really took off. So yeah, the Girls Of Team Drake post was really that influential to putting the site in the forefront to a lot of people. SO without a doubt, I had to make this “the” story of the year for 2009. Shouts out to Shakur by the way, pictured above, as well as the rest of the Team Drake honeys…

Click here to read the original article.

Black History Month Air Force 1’s
2009 Story Of The Year That Doesn’t Involve Women
This story was really special because I got to work directly with Nike on this story. Nike gave me the exclusive details on this sneaker and the story behind the Black History Month AF1 series is that much more important. Plus, Nike got the chance to do a local contest at Booker T. Washington Senior High and awarded a couple pairs of the sneakers to a few lucky students. I had the chance to photograph the sneakers and exclusive access to publish the story first. All the major sneaker sites picked up the story and reposted it all over the place. Even Kanye posted it on his blog, but Kanye’s people had the nerve to “erase” my logo/watermark and not give me credit for the story.

What’s also crazy is that I was given one of these as a gift. I decided then to NEVER wear it, its too special of a sneaker. I did however bring it out a few times to display at a couple booths I had at a few sneaker events and no lie, I’ve had numerous offers from people trying to buy the sneakers from me. Three people offered about $2,500 and one guy even went as high as $4,000. This was right when they came out so who knows how serious these offers were, but at the end of the day, I was NOT going to sell these and I never will. So this is definitely the story of the year…that doesn’t involve women of course.

Click here to read the original article.

Amber Rose’s White/Black debate
2009 Most Controversial Post Of The Year
Ever since Amber Rose made it into the limelight and more so, was introduced to many as Kanye West’s girlfriend – a lot of people have used the opportunity to pull the ole’ race card. Damn near 100 approved comments and dozens of deleted ones that were deleted because they were a bit over-the-top, the most controversial post of the year has to be the Amber Rose Smooth Magazine spread post. I can’t even describe it, just click here to read the comments.

Click here to read the original article.

DJ Khaled’s Mcdonalds commercial
2009 Funniest Post Of The Year
Basically, if you’re a listener of radio station 99 Jamz in the Miami area, then you’ve noticed that DJ Khaled does local commercial spots for McDonald’s. So I posted the “McCafe” spot he did. This is the post that almost never happened because I didn’t want to at all downplay Khaled or make it seem like I was making fun of him – which I wasn’t…its just too hilarious. But I posted it because you know, its public radio, so I would assume he’s comfortable with it because it is being played on the air. Plus, if anything it shows that he’s getting that corporate money. So either way, this is another one of these posts that got reposted everywhere. Everyone from Jimmy Fallon, MTV, WorldStarHipHop and so many other websites reposted this story. And the comments on The305 and everywhere else have been brutal. Some funny, but mostly brutal. But regardless of the obnoxious comments, you can’t help but see the humor in these commercials.

Click here to read the original article

Last Rights, Inc
2009 Best New Company Of The Year
Miami-based Last Rights Inc is more than a clothing company, it’s a lifestyle. The brand, while it has been in the making for a couple years, really came onto the scene in January/February of 2009 with the release of their first collection. Their first lookbook featured a captivating series of photos with local rapper Brisco – photographed by celebrity photographer Jared Ryder, who is also part of the Last Rights family. What took a lot of people by storm were their shockingly creative designs and a particular shirt dubbed the “Mac 10” shirt that played off our local Miami Dolphins team logo. The entire collection could not be produced fast enough, it just kept flying off shelves. With praises from tons of media outlets, along with Karmaloop.com – Last Rights continued on as one of the top new clothing lines of the year. Towards the second half of the year, they continued to ride their momentum by releasing their  Winter collection which has been received with open arms by many this holiday season. Not only that, but Last Rights has branched out by spearheading several events and art exhibitions – continuing to dive into other facets beyond fashion. It seems that they accomplished so much more in a year than most new companies tend to do in five. And simply, that’s why they deserve some kind of recognition as the top local start-up business of the year.

More info: www.lastrightsinc.com

The Nike Air Yeezy on April 4th, 2009
2009 Best Sneaker Release Date Of The Year
Not to be confused with “Sneaker Of The Year”, because to me hands down, that would have to be the Jordan XI Space Jams. This is referring to the actual “release” surrounding a sneaker and that would have to be the release surrounding the Nike Air Yeezy’s. The Air Yeezy’s had the streets going crazy. Even some celebrities couldn’t get themselves a pair. The hype surrounding the Yeezy’s started in early 2008 when Kanye was spotted wearing these futuristic looking shoes at a Grammy performance. So when the first of the three colorways were slated for release in Spring of 2009, everyone was finding out how and where they can get their pairs. The first colorway, the Zen Gray, was released on April 4, 2009. Sneaker shops around the country had countless people sleeping outside of their stores for days. And locally, Shoe Gallery, Soles Inc and Simon’s – all geared up for the release of the Yeezy’s. While many of the people who released a pair, turned around and resold them for two to three times their $220 retail price tag – having them on your feet was a bonafied symbol of exclusivity.

LIV @ The Fountainebleau
2009 Best Nightclub Of The Year
If there was one spot that put together exclusive and in-demand parties week-after-week, it was LIV. Many of the year’s best parties went down at LIV. All of the celebrities flocked to LIV to party it up. Lil Wayne is a regular. Jennifer Lopez is as well. Without a doubt, LIV is and was “the” go-to spot for 2009. That is of course if you were able to get into the actual club.

More info: www.livnightclub.com

Sneakerpimps @ The Moore Building
2009 Best Local Hip-Hop Event Of The Year
Sneakers have become more and more of a uncontrollable phenomenon as of late. With limited releases happening every other week, it seems that everyone and their moms has become a newfound sneakerhead. And when Sneakerpimps decided to make Miami a stop on their national tour, many people were filled with you. Not only was it a full on sneaker exhibition of tons of rare and custom sneakers, but it had numerous installations and art demonstrations. Plus, with performances by The Clipse and The Cool Kids, you could not go wrong. Oh and the legendary DJ Clark Kent provided the sounds for the evening. The night was definitely one to remember. Highlight of the night had to be when Clark Kent was calling out Big Boi for rockin’ fake sneakers . Showing that no matter who you are, celeb or not, – if you rock fake kicks, you will get called out. We got full coverage of the event via photos and video. Click here to view our coverage.



Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson
2009 Best Local Twitter Account Of The Year
Do we really need to give you justification for this one? I mean Chad highhandedly made Twitter “the” go-to spot for thousands of users – NFL fans and non-NFL fans alike. Chad Ochocinco (of the Cincinnati Bengals) is one of the most interesting people in sports. Admit it, his child pleez’s, his NFL commissioner bashings and his random “lunch is on me” roll calls in different cities – are all classic acts of foolishness that made his Twitter account one of the funnest to stalk follow. Oh yeah, and he’s from Miami if you didn’t know.

Follow Chad on Twitter: www.twitter.com/OGOchOCinco

The Kardashians
2009 Outta Towners Of The Year
You either hate them or you love them. And in Kim’s case, if you’re a longtime reader of the blog, then you know that I LOVE HER. I love her and her amazingly perfect body. Well, as you may or may not know, the Kardashians opened up a Miami Beach extension of their fashion boutique DASH, located on 8th and Washington – on South Beach. You know, they did a big ole’ “reality” show that revolved around the start-up and upkeep process of their new Miami venture. Khloe even got to host a little show on Y100 – and a little bit of cocaine couldn’t stop her from getting fired. Its Miami, the cocaine capitol.  So you know, the Kardashians really did take over Miami for a few months. Again, for a “few” months, and after those few months were done, and E! got the footage they needed, they went right back outta’ town again with the quickness. Other than Kim, who came back occasionally to host various events with her fine ass – as well attend the Saints vs. Dolphins game that her boyfriend Reggie Bush played in. So yeah, we look forward to atleast one more year of Kim coming through our town to party and host events.

The Rickey Smiley Morning Show
2009 Morning Show Of The Year
Allright, I know its not a locally based show, its syndicated – but you can’t deny all the good things The Rickey Smiley Show has going for itself. Its nationally syndicated, all in while having a couple of the most vibrant radio personalities in one room broadcasting every morning across the nation and locally on WEDR, 99 Jamz. Sure, the little pre-recorded “traffic drops” get a little corny after a while, but The Rickey Smiley Show is hands down one of the funniest urban radio shows in the country. More so, one of the funniest radio shows period. The hyena laughs. The goat sound effects. The paternity tests. The daily colours. The praise breaks. The church announcements. And good lord, you cannot find a radio segment/bit more consistent than Darius’ daily excuse of why he’s not at work. They nail it everyday. Shout out to Rickey and crew, we look forward to continuing to listen to you in The305 for many years to come.

More info: www.rickeysmileymorningshow.com

Rick Ross must be feeling great right now as he has made the many Best of 2009 lists for his album Deeper Than Rap. One specifically that will probably make him feel good about himself is the New York Times giving Rick Ross the #3 slot for Best Album Of The Year. And that’s not just hip-hop, that compared to all albums released in 2009. Here’s what they wrote:

3. RICK ROSS “Deeper Than Rap” (Maybach Music/Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam) - Hip-hop as erotic art: the Miami rapper Rick Ross made the year’s most sumptuous-sounding record, all croaky rhymes about drug money and the women who love it, plangent keys helicoptered in from the ’70s and ’80s, and swelling choruses that cleanse all sins. It’s a rap album that sounds rich, a reminder of how it once was.

They also named his song “Cigar Music”, which features Masspike Miles, as one of the songs of the year. However, that list was not numbered.

Click below for a full round up of both lists

Words courtesy of Miami New Times - Instead of being his usual self and throwing thousands of dollars into the faces of dozens of concertgoers and setting off a stampede of people trying to score randomly floating benjamins – Plies brought a lucky fan onstage and promised to pay for her college tuition for any college in the country. Her choice? University of Miami. The lucky girl of choice was 18-year-old Khambrea Johnkins, who plans to study Nursing at UM. Plies called her after and made her promise that she would study hard. Plies ironically, attended Miami University, yes the one in Ohio – as well as University Of South Florida in Tampa. Video after the break…

As I did with other Miami related releases, here are the first week sales for Young Money’s new album We Are Young Money.

Young Money’s first week sales are…