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

Danny Brown: Stardust review – hyperpop-rap powered up with post-rehab positivity

The Detroit rapper feared his music would get dull after he went sober, but no-one could be bored by this guest-stuffed, chaotically swaggering new album

Sudan Archives: ‘My favourite fact? I’m 100% that bitch’

The violin-playing sonic experimentalist on gadgets, guilty pleasures, and her most controversial pop culture opinion

‘They said I didn’t belong here’: rap star Knucks on his uprooted childhood – and why he records bus conductors

For the follow-up to his Mobo-winner Alpha Place, the UK rapper revisited Nigeria, drawing inspiration from bygone days of school bullies and washing his clothes by hand

Dave: The Boy Who Played the Harp review – ​it’s clearer than ever what a stunningly skilled rapper he is

Returning with his first album in four years, the arena-filling UK rapper is still such a smart, sharp lyricist as he explores a series of existential crises

Fridayz Live Sydney review – Mariah Carey is impeccable but Pitbull steals the show

Dual headliners capped a R&B festival with fever-dream energy, including self-help sermons and Pitbull cosplayers everywhere you looked