Urthboy AKA Tim Levinson: ‘My most chaotic gig? There’s a lot where it’s pretty good knowing we didn’t die’

The Herd emcee on the highs and lows of noughties touring, the perfect protest song, and his cringeworthy encounter with a hero

A$AP Rocky: Don’t Be Dumb review – a charismatic, playful return, but it’s no slam dunk

Now a father of three and burgeoning actor, Rocky finally comes back to music with his strongest album since his 2013 debut – though there’s plenty of flab

Lily Allen’s live return, Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights and Simon Rattle’s Janáček: music to listen out for in 2026

Raye, Deftones and Yungblud do UK tours, Jill Scott returns for more neo-soul, and classical world gears up to celebrate György Kurtág at 100

‘A lot of men don’t open up’: Kidwild, the UK rapper unafraid to bare his soul

As a child he performed in the West End and appeared in a Stormzy video. But after his early music career faltered, he began to write about his troubled childhood – and hit a nerve

The 10 best global albums of 2025

Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with mournful minimalism, Mohinder Kaur Bhamra’s 1982 album of Punjabi disco makes a comeback and Venezuelan-Guatemalan duo Titanic serve up ecstatic tracks

The 16 best Australian albums of 2025

Your guide to Australia’s best music of the year, including Folk Bitch Trio, Ninajirachi, Tame Impala and others

Timothée Chalamet puts alter-ego rumors to rest in remix with EsDeeKid

After speculation actor was actually underground MC, pair join on remix to EsDeeKid’s 4 Raws

Kendrick Lamar review – with Doechii revving up the crowd, this is an extraordinary show for the ages

Rap’s ‘swamp princess’ has the crowd in the palm of her hand before Lamar dazzles with pyrotechnics and Drake disses

‘Constant stimulation, dopamine overload’: how EsDeeKid and UK underground rap exploded on a global scale

With an experimental and maxed-out sound, bold new MCs are emerging from all corners of the UK – and with US rap in the doldrums, the time is ripe for another British Invasion

The 20 best songs of 2025

This year’s outstanding tracks – from post-punk rap to indie-disco and operatic pop – as voted for by 30 Guardian music writers

EsDeeKid: why do people think the Liverpudlian rapper might actually be Timothée Chalamet?

The incognito hip-hop act known as EsDeeKid has been identified by online sleuths as Chalamet in disguise. The pair even have the same scarf – case closed

Hip-hop godfathers the Last Poets: ‘In times of great chaos, there’s opportunity’

Members of the groundbreaking, politically revolutionary group talk about the state of hip-hop and the US government’s attacks on people of color

‘We’ve got to release the dead hand of the past’: how Ireland created the world’s best alternative music scene

Irish indie acts used to be ignored, even on Irish radio. But songs confronting the Troubles, poverty and oppression are now going global – and changing how Ireland sees itself

Not Mariah again! New music playlists for the Christmas party season

Whether it’s vibe-setting dance and rap for house parties or soothing dream-pop for when you’re contemplating the clear-up, reach for these ready-made playlists

Haftbefehl shows that Germany loves art born from alienation – just not the people who create it

A hit Netflix documentary about Germany’s favourite rapper demonstrates how popular the aesthetics of migrant life are – just as politicians debate how to remove it from inner cities