Take a tour of the “wall of fame” over at local nightclub, Sobe Live. Micha Porat discusses some of their most memorable photos that hang up on their wall that’s right by the entrance of the club.

Camera & Editing by DRO (www.davidrosario.com)

Phresh James is a Miami based rapper. Born and raised in Carol City. He brings a different approach to the music that comes out of the “305”. His smooth sounds and laid back tunes definitely set him apart from his peers. Watch as we dicuss a little bit about his background, his fashion sense and upcoming projects.

More info: twitter.com/phresh_james

In what has to be my favorite and most meaningful interview I’ve ever done, I recently got a chance to talk with New York City based and famed hip-hop photographer Jonathan Mannion. I mean, if you’re a fan of hip-hop then I can tell you that YOU HAVE seen his work at some point or another. And me, as a photographer in a similar realm, speaking to him and interviewing him was definitely an honor and a great experience for me.

Jonathan is working with Tanqueray and is contributing to a campaign and website called WeResistSimple.com. Basically it’s an online platform (a blog of sorts) that is giving artists like him and other celebrities an outlet to speak their mind and speak their thoughts.

Well, I caught up with Jonathan to discuss the new blog site and campaign. Then of course, we also got to know him a little better – as well asked him a few other questions like his involvement with Miami and Miami based artists like Trina, Trick Daddy and Rick Ross. And we even slid in a The Carter IV question. Read below….an interview with photographer Jonathan Mannion.

Camera work and editing by DRO – www.davidrosario.com

Allright, so here’s a behind-the-scenes video I shot a couple weeks back for UK based artist Nathan. Its for his single called “Caught Me Slippin’” and featured Flo-Rida. The video had a seemingly retro theme throughout and was directed by Malcolm R. Jones. The video also featured a couple cameos like Shanell artist on Young Money, Michael Madd and LOTS of beautiful ladies, including Karelix, former Miami Heat dancer and member of the Fly Khicks dance crew.

Nathan’s video hasn’t released yet, but here’s the behind the scenes that’ll give you a good idea of what its going to look like. Shouts out to Randy, Shameka and the entire Monalis 360 staff.

For more info: www.nathanofficial.com

Pitbull “Maldito Alcohol” (BTS) – Hopefully the first of many of these that I do for The305.com. Here’s a video I put together of the behind-the-scenes and making of Pitbull’s video for “Maldito Alcohol”, which is one of the singles for his spanish album Armando, due out sometime in 2010. We started the day off in Studio 27 – located in Wynwood, and then we wrapped up the shoot over at Mia Lounge in Downtown Miami. Press Play and make sure you check out the always beautiful, 305 Honey, Sagia!!!And a big shout out to director of the video David Rousseau with CreativeSeen for allowing me on set. Thank you!

Camera and editing by DRO – www.davidrosario.com

And click here to see the photos/stills I posted last week.

Photo Direction & Editing by DRO (www.davidrosario.com)

Its amazing to see the eclectic vibe of the new generation of artists coming out of Miami. Jovi Rockwell is no exception – she is the epidemy of being versatile. She sings. She deejays. And, she raps. Born in Kingston, Jamaica – Jovi Rockwell lives in Miami and spends her time working between The305 and the island of Jamaica. I recently caught up with Jovi in Downtown Miami for a new installment of our The305.com Artist Series video interviews. We talked about her early life. The difference between living in Miami and living in Jamaica. A little bit about her influence. And of course, we talked about her new Psycho Therapy which is out now and available for download by clicking here. Enjoy.

More info on Jovi Rockwell, over at myspace.com/jovirockwell and twitter.com/jovi_rockwell.

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BONUS FOOTAGE: Catch extra bonus footage from this interview where Jovi talks about a memorable tour story in Europe. Click below to see it.

Allright, so its been a long time in the making, but here’s the first video in our “Artist Series” of video interviews. This first one features local R&B singer Adela. Her music is a blend of soft melodies with soulful beats provided by her longtime collaborator and producer, StreetRunner. She recently released a single by the name of “No Other Love”. You can purchase it on iTunes by clicking here.

We caught up with Adela over at Mix Studios, a state-of-the-art facility that just opened not too long ago. We talk about various topics, including family, fashion, music and tons more. Be sure to check out the outtakes at the very end of the clip. We definitely had a blast putting this together and look forward to more interviews in our “Artist Series” with local South Florida artists. Click here to watch the HD version.

Camera/Editing by DRO
Camera assistance by Phillip Riggs

Photo by Tara Inc Photography

We recently caught up with Adrian “Drop” Santalla (left) and Phenom (right), of Miami-based production team Drop Dead Beats. They have had production placements through a span of genres and have engineering credits in a diverse list of projects as well. Having worked with artists like Pitbull, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Gloria Estefan and Trina to name a few – and in 2010, they will surely take the industry by storm. Most recently they produced “Triumph” for Pitbull’s newest album Rebelution – a song that got picked up and licensed by ESPN, as well as NBC’s The Office. Read on as we dive into their humble beginnings, their musical direction and even end it off with a little bit of music industry talk. Click below to read more….

We recently caught up with Charles Reed for a quick interview. Charles Reed is the man behind “Jook With Me” (listen here). We discussed a couple things. 10 things to be specific. Read below…

Rosa Acosta in Miami | Exclusive Interview
brought to you by The305.com & DerickG.com
Since Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” video premiered earlier this month. Everybody has been talking about the girls featured on Team Drake. We here at The305.com featured a little tribute to The Girls Of Team Drake with a post that went everywhere. And the girl that everybody could not stop talking about was Dominican beauty, Rosa Acosta. You know, she was the one doing all the fancy “stretching”.

Well, Rosa Acosta recently made a trip down to Miami this past weekend and of course we had to make a couple phone calls to make sure we had an interview with her before she left town. So The305.Com, along with DerickG.com, bring you the exclusive “Rosa Acosta In Miami” interview. Shot at her hotel’s pool area 10 stories up, overlooking the city of Miami skyline.

She talks a little bit about her Smooth Magazine issue in stores now (which is just a preview to her Smooth Girl appearance next month), a little bit about what she’s looking for in a guy. And a whole bunch of other things. Press play and be amazed.

Check more of Rosa on www.RosaAcosta.Com, which will relaunch with a brand new look next week.

A break from the norm, Miami-based group, DMG, fuses hip-hop with a mix of all genres to become one of the brightest up-and-comers that are coming out of the city. Members, Q and Kalli just shot their first music video and are preparing the final touches for their debut album Left Field. Their mixtape, entitled Revenge Of The Nerds Volume 1, should be out for the public to hear, later this summer. In the meantime, read on as we discuss a couple things as well as what a live DMG show really brings…

On August 22nd, Miami-based entertainment blog site, iBlog126.Com will be celebrating their One-Year Anniversary. Its been an interesting year for founders Napps and Prima-Bloggerina. They’ve put in countless hours a day and sometimes posting like 20 stories in one day on the blog. Which in blog-terms, as easy as it might sound, takes up an insane amount of work. And its good to see that they’ve weathered the storms and kept up with iBlog on a consistent basis and will hopefully bring many more yearly anniversaries to celebrate. We invited the crew over to our office to take a couple photos (photo-booth style) and to talk and discuss a variety of things including Myspace Stalker stories, where the “126″ suffix comes from, and their opinion on what it takes to be a blogger. Read below…

Photo by DRO (DavidRosario.Com)

Da Bottom clothing represents not only a brand with its roots implanted in the South Florida area (hence the name), but it also signifies a movement of creative fashion ideas in starting from a “bottom” point that are all working their way up to worldwide recognition. Young entrepreneurs by the name of Toib “T” Olarinde and Courtney “Six” Taylor are the owners and founders of Da Bottom Clothing, which they started on January 1, 2008. Their brand is fresh, edgy with a touch of artistic thought put into each design. This week they’re getting ready for two appearances – one in Miami (Okay Player WMC show) and the other in New York (DunkXchange). We got a chance to catch up with them and learn a little bit about the brand and how it came about…

Photo Credit: TITS Brand

If you’ve shopped at Karmaloop.Com, then you’ve seen Kelly Karloff. She’s easily the main reason why most guys go back to Karmaloop on a regular basis. Well, after many requests from you all, we got a chance to interview Miss Kelly Starr (aka Miss KarmaLoop) and get to know Kelly a little better. She discusses her ideal man, her shirt collabo with T.I.T.S. brand (which 50 Cent was spotted wearing recently) and…how she got started over at KarmaLoop. Enjoy…

This weekend on Saturday February 21st, one of the only hip-hop gaming events out in existence will take place in Downtown Miami – Community Vibes IV, presented by GamerTagRadio.Com. Its going to be held at Club Ecco, a brand new venue located in the heart of the Magic City (click here to view the flyer) and its FREE – plus, they will have tons and tons of free giveaways. We got a chance to talk with Godfree and Pete, the hosts of GamerTag Radio to talk about the upcoming event and a couple other things. Read below…

This April, Teairra Mari will make a return to the limelight with her new album At That Point. Its her first album release since her departure from Jay-Z’s Rocafella Records a couple years back. She has since, grown from being a teenager trying to find herself – to being a woman who knows exactly what she wants. Teairra is living in Los Angeles now, but does find herself coming to Miami every so often for business and…for pleasure. And I don’t mean “pleasure” as in Pleasure P – she assures us that they’re really good friends. Her first single, “Hunt For You”, actually features him. We got a chance to catch up with Teairra after the Super Bowl events for a couple minutes to see what she’s been up to…

Whether he’s working on a wall, a canvas, or in the digital realm, Dekal’s pieces jump out at you. Sometimes they tell stories of betrayal or illustrate just how heavy the world can weigh on your mind, but when Dekal’s not busy telling stories, he’s showing you the world in a new light. A light that he’s meticulously crafted over the years and is uniquely his own.

As you’ll discover, Dekal is not one to hold his tongue, but why should he? His work is raising the bar for South Florida’s emerging art scene and in the end, we’re better off for it.

We got a chance to talk to Immortal Technique, who performs on August 2nd at Rock The Bells Miami. Find out what the craziest rumor he ever heard about himself was and also find out what he’s going to bring to the table during his set at Rock The Bells.

Photos by Eye Candy Exotic. Interview by DRO – Maria Milian is a South Florida based model out of Miramar, Florida. She’s half Armenian and half Spanish. Just recently, we found out that she was going to be featured as the next Eye Candy of The Month for XXL Magazine for September…and we had to interview her to get the details. And trust me, I saw some of the pictures, and they are real dope! So read on as we discuss the new XXL issue she’s in, as well as get to know her a little better and get to know what kind of guys she’s into! Read below.

Interview By DRO – DJ Clark Kent. He’s a legend in his own right. He discovered the greatest rapper alive…Jay-Z. He’s worked with hip-hop royalty including Biggie. And he’s Foxy Brown’s cousin. Oh yeah, plus he’s a major sneakerhead if you haven’t caught on. Read on as he we met up with him at Miami’s ultimate sneaker destination..Shoe Gallery. Clark discusses his latest 112 Pack with Nike, his relationship with Mi Gente Clothing and also lets us know exactly what Clark Knows!!!

Story By Yahnilet Colon and Photos By David Rosario

Spend an hour with the fellas at Ocho Placas and it becomes obvious why the tattoo shop radiates creative vibes. The four artists’ personalities are reflected on the Eighth Street shop’s walls, lined with encased hand paintings, masks and drawings. Religious symbols easily find their place alongside women’s figures, but there isn’t even a hint of the typical frames with tattoo designs found at other Miami spots. That’s exactly how owner Jose Carrera wants it – far from typical.

MURK’D is a monthly event showcasing the best in Miami’s local music and art scenes. One month they focus on performances, and the next month they focus on art. This month, the art focus will fall into place via the aptly themed “Live Fast, Die Fresh” show going down this Thursday May 29, 2008 at PS14 in Downtown Miami.  According to one of the show’s organizers, Parable, they wanted to “bring a gallery show to a music venue and incorporate the live music element while having art available and accessible.” Besides the traditional art pieces that tend to appear at an art show; you can expect easily affordable pieces via the cleverly conceived “Art Fleamarket.” Read on as Parable dives into the inner-workings of what makes “Murk’d” and a couple words by one of the night’s featured artists, PointTooSicks. And check out a few of the featured pieces of artwork from the show at the bottom of this article.   

Originally Published on April 5, 2005

Rudi Goblin is 1/3 of Illiterats, ½ of The Mighty Mouths, part of the Parallax crew, one of the Flipside Kings (Breaking crew), and a member of D-Projects’ theater group. He just released his mixtape entitled Goulash Greens, which features members of his extended family and is currently in an upcoming theater production called Scratch and Burn. I got together with this dimensional emcee to see what makes him tick.

Written By STRUCK & Photography By DRO (www.davidrosario.com)

Story & Photos By David Rosario

Without even being in business for 5 months, you had the “The Best Barbershop In Miami” moniker attached to the newly-found Chop Shop Barbershop. It’s a tagline used by many of Chop Shop’s satisfied customers that have made sure to keep the barbershop’s name heavy in the streets. So what makes Chop Shop the unique phenomenon that many claim it is? It’s the result of a themed interior design that simply separates Chop Shop from every other barbershop in Miami, and probably the rest of the United States, even.

Story & Photos By David Rosario with Contributions By Jorge Larrea

In the frontlines of Coconut Grove and Little Havana, you can find lifestyle boutique Invazion tightly knit into its corner store location off of US-1. To label the establishment as unique is simply an undeserved understatement. The floor-hugging red couch, the stacked inventory and the larger-than-life windows are just some of the elements that create the distinction between Invazion, and any other urban boutique.