Russian stadium says it will not host Kanye concerts – but promoter says shows have not been cancelled

The controversial rapper now known as Ye was due to play two huge shows at St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena, which now states it cannot host performances for contractual reasons

Meet Fat Papi, the little-known NZ rapper catapulted to Billboard 100 fame

Kurdish New Zealander Baban Hussain has gained global fame with online hit he created with Australian producer

Tupac Shakur trial: lawyers share full account of killing as witnesses still refuse to testify

Murder trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, 63, former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, opens in Las Vegas

Tupac Shakur murder trial: gang leader plotted killing to avenge beating of nephew, court hears

Prosecutors accuse Duane Davis of orchestrating 1996 shooting in retaliation for attack by rapper’s entourage

What we know about Tupac Shakur’s death and what to expect from murder trial

Rapper was killed in drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996 and the only man ever charged is now on trial

Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal: Doomed! review – caustic, crushing breakup album flirts with catharsis

The rapper-producer duo muster a breakup record with glistening beats and lovelorn lyrics that mull over grievances without resolve

Why is Drake barking like a dog? Six things you need to know about the rapper’s midlife pivot

There’s a lot to unpack as this proud son of Toronto closes in on 40 – from his gambling to his very public dates. Here goes!

‘I feel like I’m at war’: are we losing the battle against machine-made music?

Despite outcry from musicians, AI slop is creeping into the charts as record labels scramble to adapt to a new normal where hits can be made at the click of a button

Nas / The Roots review – NY rap legend is in a nostalgic state of mind

Nas performs his gritty but intricate 90s classics, sharing the bill on the first London edition of the Roots Picnic festival with Questlove and co’s exuberant funk

Acrobatic, goofy and super-fast: the biama battles redefining Ivorian dance culture

Fuelled by TikTok and street dance battles, the coupé-décalé offshoot is latest expression of Côte d’Ivoire’s pop culture

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

‘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?

Rapper Pitbull and fans set ‘bald cap’ Guinness World Record at London show

Crowd of more than 22,000 people – and the musician himself – filled Hyde Park with the ‘largest gathering of people wearing bald caps’

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