32 June 26 – July 2, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES other rapper to shame with intense energy and craft. All hail the king. BEST R&B ACT Zya instagram.com/zya333 Under her stage name Zya, Steffany Perez blends her Cuban heritage with jazz and R&B to create syrupy sweet harmonies. A TheNu- Miami signee, she recently released the track “Is It Wrong,” which embodies the classic nineties R&B sound, not too far removed from pioneering acts like Brandy, Aaliyah, and Mariah Carey. On “Trapped In It,” her collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kaylan Arnold, Zya gives R&B an Afropop twist that oozes natural sensuality. To boost what someone wrote in the comment of one of her YouTube videos: “Why isn’t Zya bigger than she is?” BEST SOLO MUSICIAN Mad Kelly instagram.com/madkelly Remember late nu-metal of the late nineties and early aughts? What if someone gave it a Gen Z makeover but with more hooks and added a bit of pop sensibility? It would slap. Enter Mad Kelly. The South Florida artist has been pushing his sound to a new generation, whether through original compositions, like “Sore Eyes” and “Everybody’s Enemy,” or covers of past hits, such as No Doubt’s “Hella Good” and Disturbed’s “Stupify.” While nu- metal is often pooh-poohed, Kelly shows so much love for the genre that you can’t help but get excited, too. It certainly helps that he gives the sound much more depth than Fred Durst ever did. BEST SONGWRITER Vania Junco vaniajunco.bandcamp.com Songwriting is hard. For every “...Baby One More Time” that Max Martin penned, he had dozens more songs that failed to connect with audiences. Locally, University of Miami Frost School of Music graduate Vania Junco makes the endeavor *seem* effortless when listening to her recently released self-titled debut EP — never mind that the 24-year-old has been working on the songs since she was 17. The collection of indie-folk tracks shows that Junco’s time was well spent, with tracks like “Pas de Deux,” “Now Leasing Green Briar West,” and “Cranefly Harvestman.” “Now I’m/Grazing twenty-five/And every- thing is changing/But Mom is still alive,” Junco sings on “Cranefly Harvestman” about her quarter-life crisis. While Junco isn’t top- ping the charts Max Martin-style, yet, she certainly proved that her songwriting can be introspective, serene, and certainly worthy of time on repeat on your Spotify. BEST RETURN OF THE NATIVE Rachel Goodrich instagram.com/rachelgooodrich After becoming a fixture in the Miami music scene in the 2000s, Rachel Goodrich de- camped to Los Angeles in 2011. By that point in her career, Goodrich had received a call- out in a New York Times story about the Magic City’s growing indie scene, and her song “Lightbulb” had appeared on the Show- time series Weeds and in a Crayola commer- cial. During her time away, Goodrich certainly cut her teeth in the City of Angels, surrounded by a bustling entertainment in- dustry that Miami couldn’t match. So, color us surprised when Goodrich returned, albeit somewhat part-time, to her hometown, re- leasing her album Once Before, which draws plenty of inspiration from the Magic City. “Every day in South Beach is a romantic jour- ney, taking walks, sitting at cafés, admiring the historic architecture and hidden gems — it’s all such a big thing that contributed to these songs,” she told New Times in April. A native returning isn’t always a good thing, but in this case, the city will always welcome Go- odrich with open arms. BEST PARTY Silhºuettes Various locations instagram.com/silhouettesparty Silhouettes is the beating heart of South Flor- ida’s alt nightlife scene. More than just a party, Silhouettes is a platform, a scene, and a sanctuary. From live music to burlesque to avant-garde drag, every event highlights a vi- brant spectrum of local talent, offering a stage to the misfits, the visionaries, and the beauti- fully bizarre. It’s the party the city didn’t know it desperately needed — and now can’t imagine living without. South Florida’s alt scene has found its new home at Silhouettes. BEST DAY PARTY Stamped instagram.com/stampedtheparty Stamped isn’t just another Afrobeats party. It’s a movement where culture and commu- nity collide at Arlo Wynwood’s Higher Ground. Helmed by Leslie “AYA” Ayafor (@ manlikeaya on Instagram), Stamped has quickly grown into one of the hottest Afro- beats parties in Miami since launching more than two years ago. The bimonthly series is an unapologetically African experience at- tuned to sounds from the continent only. Tal- lying more than 1,000 attendees monthly, it’s an opportunity to taste authentic African dishes like jollof rice while reveling in AYA’s infectious sets that blend regional deep cuts and global hits. Last summer, AYA hosted a New York edition of Stamped at the Arlo Wil- liamsburg in Brooklyn where he filled the venue to capacity twice. This year, he’s taking things further with the Stamped: AYA and Friends tour, making stops in cities like Or- lando, Atlanta, Brooklyn, and D.C. before wrapping up in Johannesburg, South Africa. And Miami loyalists shouldn’t worry, even with this expansion, he won’t be abandoning the 305. register to win at miaminewtimes.com/promotions COOL STUFF go here to WIN
