I recently wrote two stories on Miami New Times’ Crossfade section, which I will be a contributor for starting tomorrow and beyond. For now check out these two recent articles I wrote. Click below to read.

A review of Ghostwridah’s “Red Bottoms”, produced by Don Cannon

A review of QuESt’s How Thoughtful mixtape

Let me know what you think…

- Dro

So as you may have heard by now, VIBE magazine has shut down its print and online operations. RapRadar did alot of the breaking of this story. You know, I expected this to happen, but not so soon. I thought they had atleast another year or two left. Unfortunately they didn’t. The entire staff was huddled up for an afternoon meeting and they were all given the bad news. Fortunately, atleast the last issue with The Dream and Christina Milian on the cover, will still come out and will be th final VIBE to hit the newsstands. Oh yeah and this T.I. cover pictured on the right, is actually a cover that was shot down here in Miami Beach at The Shore Club hotel.

Well, shortly after the announcement, Quincy Jones had a thing or two to say about the downfall of the magazine he started and founded back in 1993. He said he’s in talks to buyback the magazine and make it exclusively online and in the midst of telling Reuters this, he took a couple shots at a couple newspapers, including the Herald. Here’s what he said:

“Print and all that stuff is over, we gotta remember that. The Chicago Tribune, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the Miami Herald. They’re over the same way as the record business. We have got to get into this century”

Wow, not a good look. Spotted that over at the New Times. Oh yeah and the last point I wanted to make. Like seriously, Quincy’s daughter, Rashida Jones (of The Office fame) is hot. Like really hot. Yeah…that’s all I got. Click here for the results Google Images gathers up. Chuuuurch!

305 Honey fah sho. I honestly have never heard of her till yesterday when I happened to see an interview she did with Missbehave Magazine that popped up on my RSS (click here to read it). Well, she’s definitely good looking. And she most definitely just posed for Playboy Mexico. If you’re into getting into something that’s not hip-hop, definitely check out one of her nights. Check her out on her myspace: www.myspace.com/tamarasky. More photos of her, including her some of the Playboy photos – by clicking below after the jump

Wow. So I was cruising through UpNUpDaily’s blog site and ran into these sneak peak photos that David from UpnUp took of the new jewelry pieces that Dade Wear will be releasing in the coming weeks. All I can say is, “wow”. I’m seriously getting a few of these. Officially copped.

In the next  week or two, we’ll have more info on when and where you can pick these up.

According to 24hourhiphop, there’s an apparent campaign against Curtis brewing in the coming weeks.  This is definitely news to me, but hey, I’m just reporting it. Here’s what 24HH says in their rumors section:

“….This one is laughable. I am hearing from my down south connect that several Miami artists are not feeling the way 50 Cent has been destroying their two hometown heroes. Like it or not Rick Ross and DJ Khaled are the biggest stars in Miami at this point and they are the face of that city. Pitbull already made kind of a statement with his track “Defend Dade” featuring none other than DJ Khaled. However I am hearing that the city is getting organized to go on a more full blown attack on Curtis and The Unit.

Word is everybody who’s somebody down there is about to start riding on Fif’. Trick, Pitbull, Cool And Dre, and anybody else who has been making noise and has any affiliations with Ross or Khaled, which is basically every artist in the city you’ve ever heard of or are going to hear from in the next 5 years or so. I am hearing that Ross did not initiate this plan but is riding with it to the fullest of course. From what I am hearing we should be hearing something by next week.

I gotta say if this is true, this is not a good idea. Getting a whole city to go at 1 guy? That makes it look like 50 really is the monster he claims to be if it takes all them to tackle 1 man right? Also besides that, have we not learned from others mistakes? 50 Cent is not the one. He DESTROYS people for fun. Not disses or battle raps, he DESTROYS. Why put yourself in the way of the cannon like that right? There’s a lot of talent in Miami and I personally think Ross is one of the best rappers in the game right now so hopefully him and his city can move on and make the right decision….”

Miami New Times recently gave us a shout out in an article they did about graffiti artist “MERK” who passed away last week. Click here to read it

If you’ve ever been curious about Robert “Iceberg Slim” Beck, or even if you’ve heard the name tossed around in your favorite rapper’s songs – read up on the man who was via Wikipedia. Click below to read his bio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Slim

Michael Madd is definitely the guy that you all need to look up to and aspire to be. When it comes to events, he knows what the fuck he’s doing. If you’ve ever got one of his email blasts, then you know what’s up. He’s the only one that can send a 5 page email that would normally be considered spam, and yet EVERYONE reads it. Well, now Michael Madd steps into the word of video blogging. I know he shot this with his phone, but at times it looks like this cat is straight up putting his life in danger, but he does it proper – being, that its his first video blog. And he starts off the video entry with a quick shout to MIA magazine (yes, M.I.A. as in Miami). He’s on the cover of the latest issue with other “tastemakers” in the nightclub game including Louis Oliver, J Little and others. Peep the cover below…

Pictures from State Of The Art at White Room in Downtown Miami, courtesy of Artofficial. Glad to hear the event went well. See pictures by clicking below

So last February, hip-hop forums chatted up about a “grape-flavored” Anti-Energy drink called Drank. I thought it was a joke then but apparently its the real deal. I saw Perez Hilton make a post about it so I thought I should share with my fellow 305′ers. Anyways, I don’t know what to make of this, but I’m pretty sure its something that originated from Houston. Drank’s company motto is “Slow Your Roll With Drank”.

So pretty much its Drank A.K.A. Lean In A Can B.K.A. Sizzurup In A Small Aluminum Container

Description of Drank: “…We Have Combined Rose Hips, Melatonin And Valerian Root With A Great Tasting Beverage To Create The Industry’s First “Relaxed Lifestyle Beverage” These Ingredients Have The Ability To Relax Your Body, Mind, And Soul, So When Life Comes At You Fast, Just Remember To “Slow Your Roll” With DRANK…”

And you can buy it here for 5 dollars a can and in various bundles also…

http://drank.ecrater.com/

UPDATE 6/09: We previously reported that it may be a joke, but apparently its the real deal. Our bads.

Flo Rida in the new issue of Blender magazine

He definitely does need to put on his shirt on a little more often. But hey, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to please the female fanbase. Plus, he’s getting plugged up in Blender, which is a pretty mainstream magazine. Issue is in stores now!

Image Scan is courtesy of: http://blogs.sohh.com/ya_heard/2008/05/damn_suge_knigh.html

Sweat Records is hands-down one of the most important lifelines that exists for Miami’s music and indie scene.

Rag*Trade is a second hand store located in the Design District, which according to the shop’s myspace page is “the best of thrifting and high-end shopping in one cozy unique space”.

Well, Sweat Records just bought them. It was announced a couple days ago. We wish Lolo lots of luck with the new venture and this only adds to the already-great notoriety that Sweat Records has achieved. Props!

Read more at http://sweatrecordsmiami.blogspot.com/2008/05/major-announcement.html