Welcome to a very special edition of Music Week.
In our brand new issue, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop in style with a bumper 25-page cover feature that brings together over 100 names - from Chuck D, to Kanya King, to a range of leading executives, producers, DJs, journalists and more - to talk about some of their favourite rap albums of all time.
As well as providing a treasure trove of the genre’s greatest works, we sit down with YouTube’s Lyor Cohen as he reflects on his part in the early days of Def Jam, while DJ Premier guides us through five of his classic beats and Lady Leshurr reveals her favourite female MCs. Plus, Sony Music UK and Capital Xtra’s DJ Semtex looks back at the evolution of UK hip-hop.
Also inside a jam-packed issue, Music Week looks back on the life of Sinéad O’Connor, who first caught the attention of the music industry as a teenager in the mid-1980s while performing with her band Ton Ton Macoute, marking the start of a story that would fascinate at every turn. The award-winning Dublin-born singer and songwriter was a ferocious talent, building a powerful catalogue and a devoted following across 10 studio albums. In the wake of her passing at the age of 56, we reflect on the impact of a unique artist.
This month’s edition of The Music Week Interview features Hiten Bharadia, founder of the Music Week Award-winning Phrased Differently, who opens up about building his company from the ground up and how to succeed as a modern indie publisher.
Ahead of the return of BBC Radio 2 In The Park in September, we meet station bosses Helen Thomas and Jeff Smith, plus DJs Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson to celebrate the return of its flagship live event and to look at the much-loved station’s role within the industry.
We also bring you a special Black Music Coalition feature in which we meet five star executives and members of the BMC’s second annual Excellence Honourees list.
In Hitmakers, MNEK recalls the making of FLO’s R&B anthem Fly Girl and a memorable Zoom call with hip-hop royalty Missy Elliott.
The new edition of Mentor Me – a collaboration between Music Week and Girls I Rate – sees BBC Music Introducing presenter Angelle Joseph offer up her five tips on how to get your music on the radio.
In this month’s Aftershow, Apple Music’s Zane Lowe talks DJing, interviewing and making Jay-Z laugh.
This month’s Big Story looks in depth at the Power Up project, as Ben Wynter and Eunice Obianagha discuss how the initiative is creating opportunities for Black industry talent going into its third year.
Also in news EGA Distro chairman and president Colin Batsa examines UK rap duo D-Block Europe’s powerful impact on DSPs, while our new Spotlight Q&A stars Temi Adeniji, MD of Warner Music Africa and SVP, SSA, who talks developing the African market and breaking artists.
Chaos Records’ Irish-Jamaican rising star Jazzy discusses clubbing, conquering the charts and getting to grips with fame in On The Radar, while Dirty Hit’s Wallice introduces her indie-rock anthems in Making Waves. This month’s Tastemaker is BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Kaylee Golding and in the latest Sync Story, we look at Aespa’s hook up with Tetris.
We meet Hozier in the latest Incoming, as the returning Irish star looks forward to his new album Unreal Unearth and reflects on life after his colossal hit Take Me To Church.
In Rising Star, EGA’s Tia Lewis talks about her journey so far and the world of digital marketing, while we meet Never Say Die’s Dave Rajan and Alysha Wood in Start Me Up and Joy Addo’s Unseen Unheard is our podcast of the month.
In Mark Davyd’s Centre Stage column, the MVT CEO outlines the music industry’s issue with ticket pricing and how it threatens grassroots venues.
Sammy Andrews dishes out her opinions on the latest in the world of digital, namely the implications of Instagram’s introduction of Threads.
And as ever, the expanded Archive section sees us flick through the pages of Music Week of yesteryear.
There’s all of this and our expanded monthly charts section, in which we present the Top 75 Singles and Albums of the previous month, accompanied by revamped analysis pages, plus a host of new listings. These include specialist genre Top 20s for Americana, Classical, Hip-Hop & R&B, Jazz, Country, Dance, Folk and Rock & Metal. The issue is also home to streaming, compilations and vinyl charts.
The new issue of Music Week is available from August 15.
For subscription information please visit musicweek.com/subscribe.
