Skrillex With 12th Planet Fillmore Miami Beach December 17, 2011

Better Than: All other dubstep productions. Yeah, that's a pretty big statement to make. But, well, we just made it.

"Holy shit. WTF?"

The first words that came to mind when I saw it. Daft Punk had its pyramid. Deadmau5 has his cube. And Skrillex has The Mothership -- a gigantic Transformers-like structure with 3D image projections. So trippy. So rad.

There were dancing Chihuahuas, infinite colors, swirls and shapes, and even a motion-sensing robot man that mimicked Skrillex's every move. It was some acid trip kind of shit.

On Saturday night, Skrillex brought overloaded womps and wobbles to a sold-out show at the Fillmore Miami Beach. It was the last stop on his 48-gig Mothership Tour and the crowd was absolutely insane, an ocean of arms and heads bobbing in unison.

Basically, the audience was an out-of-control cult of dubstep fanatics in neon, metallic, fishnets, and finger lights. And Skrillex was the cult leader, controlling the mob's every move with each turn of a knob or push of a button.

Opener 12th Planet warmed up the candy ravers with a mess of dubstep, hip-hop, and house. The bass literally shook the place. Head-banging babes near the stage threw up peace and love signs on cue. A kid who could not have been older than 10 years old was solid jamming when 12th Planet ripped Kanye and Jay-Z's "Niggas in Paris," all while his mom recorded this jam sesh on her iPhone.

The DJ rocked a supersweet Overthrow tee, reppin' the Miami-based record label and party collective. The peak of his set was a massive stage dive. He swam through bodies and then back to the stage.



Skrillex took his position on The Mothership to a roar of cheers from the audience. Straight madness. His hair whipped in all directions as he raged to his own music, hyping up the hoards of people below him. And the smile on his face let everyone know how much he fucking loves his job.

He added womps and wobbles to a number of classics, including Biggie's "Hypnotize" and Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock." He even got a bit romantic, pulling out a lighter for the intro to "Cinema."



But Skrillex's masive finale made the rest of the show seem like a rehearsal. He closed out with the big daddy mash-up of mash-ups, switching back and forth between his three most epic tracks: "All I Ask of You," "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," and his remix of Nero's "Promises."

The night was dubstep brain pulverization. Mad respect.

Critic's Notebook

The Crowd: The new generation of ravers.

Overheard in the Crowd: "Who gives a shit. Fuck bitches, right?"

Random Detail: Dubstep cures cancer, according to a chick in pink spankies.

Jay-Z Weighs In On J. Cole's Grammy Nomination

J. Cole is up against some pretty stiff competition in the the Grammy’s Best New Artist category, but if you ask his Roc Nation boss Jay-Z, Cole is already a winner. On November 30 it was announced that Cole will square off against The Band Perry, Bon Iver, Skrillex and Nicki Minaj for the coveted award. "I think it's great for him, because I'm sure it's a dream of his. We grew up seeing Michael Jackson, and I'm sure he grew up seeing whatever moment stuck in his mind, so I know it's great for him to do that," Hov told MTV News following a press conference announcing a pair of charitable shows at Carnegie Hall in New York. "I think he's already won Best New Artist, to me. His journey is what I'm really excited about."


Cole first broke out in 2009 after releasing The Warm Up mixtape online. Unlike most rap up-and-comers these days, Cole was actually signed before his breakout tape was released. After hearing his coming-of-age love story "Lights Please," Jay signed the young rapper/producer to his Roc Nation label. Rather than commandeer the youngster's project, Jigga let Cole find his own voice. Many, including Cole, expected his debut album to come out in 2010, but it didn't — maybe for the best. When Cole World: The Sideline Story did drop in September, it sold more than 218,000 copies in its first week, hit #1 on the Billboard albums chart and is now certified gold.

"The person he is today is not who he was when he first walked in," Jay said of Cole. "He got a chance to really go out, see what worked, see what people connect to, figure out how he was gonna tell his story."

With Cole, and Roc Nation as a label, Jay is stressing artist development, an art that is seemingly lost in an industry constantly searching for the next big thing. "That artist-development thing, I think we need more of it," Jay said about hip-hop in particular. "We need to ensure that this thing is around for future generations. This thing that fed our kids and our family and took us to these heights needs to be held intact by the people who are doing it.

"Whether he was nominated or not, he was the best new artist to me; sold 200-and-something-thousand records in his first week; he was the best new artist," Hov added of Cole. "I'm sure it's great for him."

Do you think Cole will take home the Best New Artist Grammy? Let us know in the comments!