David Attenborough, weed and ‘American apartheid’: the awesome mind of rapper Billy Woods

After absorbing the culture shock of moving to the US from Zimbabwe, and spending two decades toiling in obscurity, Woods has become America’s most feted underground MC

UK Eurovision entrant Mae Muller: ‘In our hearts and minds it’s Ukraine’s year’

The artist explains that she had been preparing to put out her debut LP – but is happy for now in ‘the biggest safe space on the planet’ with I Wrote a Song

My band got big thanks to the UK’s small venues. We can’t let them die out

Many of the venues that nurtured us have now closed. We’re donating £1 per ticket of our upcoming arena tour to preserve the rest – and it should become standard practice

Piano fever sweeps UK as online lessons and street instruments fuel take-up

Outdoor pianos, celebrity names and free tuition videos combine to get Britons tickling the ivories once more

Lords committee urges end to Brexit barriers for musicians and young people

Chair says small changes could make big difference to cultural and educational interests on both sides of Channel

‘He was so emotional’: the inside story of Ed Sheeran’s new album – and his US copyright trial

As he defends himself in a New York court, Sheeran is preparing to release Subtract, a stark album informed by grief. Its producer Aaron Dessner explains how it was made

HMV to return to flagship Oxford Street store after four-year absence

First HMV shop was opened in 1921 by British composer Sir Edward Elgar and closed in 2019

Heard the one about the standup lawyer? Why even top artists now need a side job

Want to survive in the arts? Get a side hustle. We speak to an award-winning poet and governance manager, a gigging guitarist and teacher – and a successful comic who doubles as an immigration lawyer

‘A male-dominated team does not reflect society’: why are only 5% of music producers women?

Beyond the stereotype of the knob-twiddling bloke are brilliant female producers, but gatekeeping, toxic masculinity and a lack of concrete support are holding them back

Mass brawls and possessed guitar pedals: the high-speed hijinks of British thrash metal

Unlike their American peers, British thrash metallers never hit the big time – but over 30 years on, their scene is thriving

AI song featuring fake Drake and Weeknd vocals pulled from streaming services

The song, called Heart on My Sleeve, has been removed from TikTok, Spotify and YouTube for ‘infringing content created with generative AI’

Women and non-binary producers ‘vastly underrepresented’ in 2022’s top songs

Find the Mix report finds inequality remains entrenched in music production and engineering, with less than 5% of credits going to women and non-binary people

Streaming sites urged not to let AI use music to clone pop stars

Record label Universal urges Spotify and Apple Music to stop copycats scraping song data

Surviving R Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter review – this glorious series has helped to make history

Repulsion and righteous fury at the activity of the R&B megastar give way to immense pride in every activist, survivor, journalist and film-maker who took on and defeated this wolf in wolf’s clothing

Charity raises £2.1m to buy and save grassroots music venues in UK

Music Venue Trust’s campaign, backed by Ed Sheeran, initially plans to buy nine venues from landlords