Four best underground rap venues in South Florida

Rap culture is growing every day. More artists than ever are stretching the genre’s boundaries, fusing its core elements with multitudes of atypical sound palettes. South Florida is gradually becoming a hub for rap’s most eccentric luminaries on the bubble of commercial appeal. 

Underground juggernauts like Lucki, Ken Carson, and Destroy Lonely have drawn rapturous crowds to the 305 since the turn of the decade. Venues hosting artists of this caliber are turning into a local commodity characterized by intimate spacing, artful displays, and vendors. Here are four underground rap spots to look out for in the near future.

Lucki performing at The Bridge in March 2020. (Olivier Lafontant/SFMN)

The Bridge
4220 NW Seventh Ave
Miami, FL 33127
(954) 444-1352

The Bridge Miami is a community-based, non-profit axis for music, art, and performance. It’s a snug, one-story facility that’s become known for hosting a variety of unique acts across all genres. The event hall is an open space for spectators to stand close to the stage. With recent appearances from Chicago’s Lucki, LA’s D. Savage and Houston’s Maxo Kream, The Bridge has become a mecca for recognizable artists from different rap scenes across the country. The Bridge also contains affordable private recording studios for resident musicians and its event hall doubles as a space for activist organizations to hold meetings.

Splash Zanotti performing at The Den in August 2021. (Johnny Agudelo/SFMN)

The Den
717 E. Atlantic Blvd
Pompano Beach, FL 33060
(954) 701-3070

Broward’s lone location to look out for is Pompano’s The Den, a vintage streetwear boutique that doubles as a venue for music performances and multimedia production. The lively venue has opened its arms to various South Floridian stars like Wifisfuneral, Danny Towers and Twelve’len for live concerts. For past shows, they’ve incorporated a unique stage design with prismatic lighting and a wrestling ring for artists to stand in for performances. The Den also houses recording studios for local artists and serves as a hub for them to shoot music videos as well. 

JPEGMAFIA performing at The Ground in October 2021. (Johnny Agudelo/SFMN)

The Ground
34 NE 11th St.
Miami, FL 33132
(786) 357-6456

Located in the heart of Miami and on the first floor of Club Space, The Ground is one of the prime pit stops for local acts and other artists to perform and entertain. It’s a medium sized venue with open space, a bar, and enough room to accommodate up to 555 people. The Ground has predominantly been known to book Hip-Hop, R&B, and Electronic acts, but welcome every genre. Past acts include: JPEGMAFIA, Earthgang, Dominic Fike and many more.

The Joint of Miami. (Olivier Lafontant/SFMN)

Joint of Miami
2010 NW Miami Ct.
Miami, FL 33127
(786) 860-5634  

Wynwood nightclub The Joint of Miami is a spacious indoor/outdoor hybrid with a bar, lounge and elevated stage for performances. The lounge past the entrance leads to the bar and live-event space. Large curtains behind the stage open the venue up to an expansive patio space convenient for lax mingling opportunities and extra wiggle room. Atlanta’s Destroy Lonely and Milwaukee native DC the Don have respectively headlined buoyant live shows this past month, and the fast-growing forum is building more hype as the year goes on.

Olivier Lafontant is an aspiring music journalist who is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in digital journalism at Florida International University. He enjoys thrifting, collecting vinyl, taking film photography and watching sports in his free time.

Johnny Agudelo is a Senior majoring in journalism at FIU. He looks to continue his career in the world of music and entertainment media.