Milwaukee "American Idol" contestant Naima Adedapo survived another round of the singing contest last night, avoiding the bottom three with an unusual reworking of Rihanna's "Umbrella" that delivered some welcome energy in a snoozy, ballad-heavy episode of the show and tapped Adedapo's background as a reggae singer (she plays locally in the band R.A.S. Movement). If the song seemed a little manic in the truncated live performance that aired Wednesday night, both the track and the singer alike breathe far better in the studio version made available through iTunes, which is streaming on YouTube.
Local rapper Raze tries on a new persona—completely crazy—and finds it fits him disturbingly well on his latest single, "Off My Rocker." Featuring an American Psycho-citing verse from Logic of The Hollowz, the song is Raze's best and most distinct track yet, three and a half minutes of oddball hip-hop that teeters mischievously across the line of good taste. It's posted for free download on Raze's Bandcamp page.
Maritime withered last months historic blizzard to film the spontaneous video for their new single "Paraphernalia," there first from their upcoming album Human Hearts.
Local reggae artist Eric Blowtorch adopts a Woody Guthrie-esque alter ego for his Scott Walker-knocking protest song "Join Us."
On Milwaukee's Bob Purvis previews the SXSW music festival, talking with some of the Milwaukeeans making the trip to Austin, and following Jaill on their van ride down south.
And De La Buena's David Wake talks about the band's fantastic new record, La Tortuga, in advance of its release show tomorrow night at Club Garibaldi.
