The song of the summer is … nothing? Why 2025’s charts are so stale

Experts say this year has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history – and it might signal the end of a singular seasonal smash

Wireless festival review – Drake’s disjointed three-night headline run smacks of desperation

An all-star lineup of supporting turns – including, astonishingly, Lauryn Hill – show up to bolster the beleaguered megastar, but this is a very scrappy affair

‘That’s where I found my family’: dancefloor devotees on hedonistic moves and healing grooves

A new season at London’s Southbank Centre is inspired by Emma Warren’s book Dance Your Way Home, about the potency of communal movement. She and other artists involved explain why the dancefloor is their happy place

‘Is Peter Gabriel in my vocal range? I don’t care. I’m singing it at karaoke’: Xzibit’s honest playlist

The rapper, actor and TV presenter wakes up to Run the Jewels and starts the party with Snoop Dogg, but which legendary hip hop anthem inspired him to be a musician?

Slovakia festival hosting Kanye West cancelled after thousands sign petition condemning Heil Hitler rapper

Rubicon hip-hop gathering in Bratislava, due to be held on 20 July, says several performers and partners withdrew

Clipse: Let God Sort Em Out review – reunited rap greats deliver one of the albums of the year

Scathing disses, star guests, inspired Pharrell beats and great lines from chilling to laugh-out-loud: the duo’s first album since 2009 is so much more than the drama around it

Kendrick Lamar & SZA review – a pyrotechnic party of dark and light

He’s icy, she’s all sunshine – but the rapper and R&B star’s talents prove perfectly complementary in a historic two-hander

Kae Tempest: Self Titled review – the rhythms in his lyrics are still so distinct

Despair runs through the Londoner’s fifth album but, in what is essentially a love letter to the trans community, his home town and partner, a strange beauty breaks through

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces growing wave of civil suits as criminal trial ends

Combs remains jailed awaiting sentencing as more than 50 civil cases alleging abuse and assault move forward

I wrote off Glastonbury as a ‘white’ festival – until I finally went

Camping, fogey rock acts and a lack of diversity meant I once ignored Glasto. But visiting Worthy Farm for a second year was like returning home

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyer delivers closing arguments at sex-trafficking trial

The music mogul could face life in prison for racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution

Closing arguments begin in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex-trafficking trial

High-profile case enters its final stage after more than a month of testimony from 34 witnesses

Little Simz & Chineke! Orchestra review – rap-classical crossover is spectacularly realised

Closing out a Simz-curated Meltdown festival, and with a host of star guests helping out, these songs gain extra nuance as orchestra and star meld perfectly together

Charli xcx and Neil Young to Juan Atkins and the Asian underground: what to see at Glastonbury

There are more than 3,000 performances to choose between at this year’s giant pan-genre jamboree. From pop A-listers to underground ones-to-watch, here are our picks

Loyle Carner: Hopefully! review – rap sweetheart faces family, fear and the feels

The Londoner’s trademark sentimental sweetness is balanced by a new unaffected singing style – his fourth album is his most impressive work yet