Welcome back, Gucci Mane. The Alabama-born, Atlanta-based trap rapper’s songs are full of street swagger and sordid tales, and his latest series of personal misfortunes back it all up as reality. While he finally scored a major deal with Warner Bros. last year, his celebration period would be short-lived. Late…

Hip-hop’s Barbie princess may be most recognized for her outrageous curves, her outspoken bisexuality, and of course her slightly sqeaky-voiced verse on the Young Money smash “Bedrock.” But what most ignore about this heiress to the Lil Kim throne is that behind all the girly-overdrive flash, 25-year-old Nicki Minaj can…

The mere mention of Capleton anywhere fans the Internet flames, as the reggae legend has been accused, on and off, of homophobia – or, rather, for refusing to co-sign on, or about-facing from, various anti-homophobia efforts in dancehall. His defenders, however, claim that he’s moved past all that and instead…

Born Calvin George Scott, Cocoa Tea hails from Kingston and carries on the island’s reggae tradition. The early/mid-’80s saw him flirting with early dancehall stylings on chilled-out songs like “I Lost My Sonia” and “Too Young.” But when dancehall veered into more aggressive, hip-hop-influenced territory, Cocoa Tea stayed put, and…

One of the biggest stars of current urban Jamaican music, Mr. Vegas was among young artists leading the charge in the ’90s to take dancehall in a more American-influenced direction. His smash hits fused sparse riddims with plenty of hip-hop swagger and R&B melodic flavor, and his recent synth-heavy singles…

Click here to view all the photos from the event.​Heineken Inspire Night OneWith the Hold Steady and Cold War KidsThe Moore Building, MiamiFriday, May 21, 2010Better Than: Paying for stuff.The Review:The Friday night kick-off to Heineken’s weekend-long Inspire events series was one hell of a party. It was a party-crasher’s…

While he tried to grow up and become just Cham, he’ll perhaps forever be known to fans as “Baby Cham.” It’s a sign of affection, though, because even though his studio albums are few and far between, Cham remains a popular live performer. He also makes his bones as a…

The 27-year-old Serani’s 2008 single, “No Games,” with its sped-up, hiccuping beat and indelible chorus, was everywhere that year. A debut album of the same name followed in 2009, but since then, he’s been working to prove he’s no one-hit wonder. Newer songs like “When It’s Cold,” “Naked,” and “Romance”…

Since the mid-’80s, Lady Saw has represented for the females in the highly male-driven world of dancehall. And throughout her career, she’s racked up a lot of firsts. She was the first female dancehall artist to headline major genre events outside of Jamaica, the first to win a Grammy, and…

Barrington Levy has had two musical lives, it seems, in the past few decades. There was his first one, as a wildly popular singer of reggae and a splash of early dancehall, a career which began in the ’70s and netted him hits like “Collie Weed” and “Under Mi Sensi.”…

The good news: There are still some tickets left for some of the free Heineken Inspire events taking place Friday and Saturday at the Moore Building in the Design District.The bad news: That doesn’t include the most coveted of the events, the Friday-night show by the Cold War Kids and…

Rick Ross needs little introduction in this town, but whats curious is that he’s billed here alongside a new protege. Meet Magazeen, a Miami-based dancehall artist who’s a new signing to Ross’ own label, Maybach Music. You may have heard him on a remix to Ross’ single “Here I Am,”…

This thirtysomething singer holds it down for Trinidad on this bill, one of the few artists here to represent soca. Still, if anyone has a shot at bringing the Caribbean style over into the mainstream, it’s Machel Montano. While he’s been recording and releasing albums since his teen years, in…