In a city often toted for its diversity, there’s one area of our culture that seems morosely monotone. Walk down any Miami city street and you’ll be bombarded by a cascade of diverse languages and accents, but turn on the radio and the same reggaeton songs seem to dominate our airwaves. Boldly fighting for a brand of slick, sensual sound they lovingly call South Florida Soul comes J. M. & The Sweets, a well-polished group of R&B enthusiasts that translate across all patois. Fronted by Josh “J. M.” Miles and additionally staffed by drummer Ben Stokes, bassist Lorenzo Lindo, guitarist Michael Perry Jr. and organist Virgil Price, J. M. was quick to enlighten me on our city’s affect on his group’s smooth sound. “The main effect living on South Florida has had on our sound is a desire to be soulful, because not a lot of really soulful music comes out of our area,” says Miles. “Taking what you like from different forms of music and fusing it together is what South Florida Soul is all about;” JMAndTheSweets.com.
