Shaboozey: The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales review – a striking addition to the rich canon of country concept albums

Beneath the Hollywood narrators, Pink Floyd-y interludes and accompanying comic books lies songwriting that proves the Tipsy singer’s breakout success was no fluke

‘People say they’ve conceived to my music’: Tricky’s honest playlist

The trip-hop star doesn’t believe in getting jiggy to songs and would choose Cyndi Lauper at karaoke. But which classic reminds him of his mum?

‘More real than anything you’ll see scrolling’: the radical resurgence of UK fanzines, 50 years after punk

Five decades since punk bible Sniffin’ Glue, DIY magazines are in rude, rich health. Their creators talk fandom, community-building and resisting the algorithm

‘Fun, propulsive, full of queer joy’: readers’ favourite albums of 2026 so far, from Muna to Raye and J Cole

After the Guardian’s music critics chose their best of the half-year, we asked you for your picks – from Brian Jackson and Arlo Parks to Maya Hawke, Flea and more

Lizzo answers her critics: ‘I’m a fat, black, happy girl – they were always going to try to tear me down’

Three years ago, the pop star was riding high after a sellout tour. But then a slew of shocking accusations from her former dancers changed everything. Where does she go from here?

R&B star Syd on her new album, the return of the Internet and Odd Future fallouts: ‘We only had three meetings as a group and I called two of them’

She was a member of the influential rap collective, then the alt-R&B hitmakers – but struggled to find her own voice. Now, after realising she ‘didn’t like anybody else’s beats’, she’s finally made a solo album that is truly hers

‘There’s not a lot of Black stories made by Black creatives in theater’: inside Kwame Kwei-Armah’s new TLC musical

CrazySexyCool, the celebrated playwright’s new show in DC, is a vibrant love letter to the hits and sisterhood of the R&B trio

‘His ability is hard to deny’: is Tom Hardy a secretly good rapper?

The unconventional actor is releasing a new hip-hop album, the latest unlikely new string to his bow, but the big surprise is that he might actually be great

Grammy-nominated music producer Tay Keith, who worked with Drake and Travis Scott, dies aged 29

Hip-hop producer behind Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode and Drake’s Nonstop has been found dead at home during a police welfare check

The Spurs can match the Knicks’ energy in the NBA finals but not their desperation

As a lifelong Knicks fan, the Public Enemy frontman knows how much New York craves an end to its 53-year NBA title drought

‘Central to human identity’: exhibition at the Met connects bodies with musical instruments

Musical Bodies looks at 4,000 years of musical history and how humans have long forged relationships with instruments

Is Australian music at risk of extinction? Here’s what the data tells us

Forty years of Aria chart history shows big changes to our listening habits – and local artists have a huge fight ahead

Kanya King, founder of Mobo awards for Black British music, dies aged 57

Entrepreneur died of colon cancer, with Mobo Organisation hailing her as ‘one of the most fearless champions’ in the music industry

Mike D review – ex-Beastie Boy’s first UK gig in two decades, in a Tyneside bingo hall, is uproarious fun

Teeing up a forthcoming solo album, the rapper doesn’t reheat his old Beastie Boys sound, instead throwing down everything from ballads to Kraftwerk references

Lil’ Kim review – formidable rap legend delivers mostly vibes, but the crowd is here for it

Fifteen years since her last Australian show, the seminal hip hop artist was met by a mood of giddy nostalgia that forgave her short set of truncated hits