A hip-hop rescue - how indie labels are giving hip-hop a fresh start

At first glance, hip-hop circa 2008 seems a jaded and forlorn soul. Sure, its marquee names–Kanye West, 50 Cent, The Neptunes – still all eat well, but rap music as a whole has seen its mainstream profile eclipsed by a new crop of indie rock bands, a shift reflected in the much-quoted 20-plus per cent slump in sales of the genre between 2005 and 2006. Hip-hop’s major record labels – once guaranteed sizeable returns at the cash registers from their star rosters – are feeling the pinch and have promptly slashed promotional budgets, cut staff and dropped artists.

The ice maiden: Why Bj�rk continues to court controversy

On the eve of her UK tour, and fresh from upsetting China by singing her support for Tibet, Björk tells James McNair why she still likes getting into trouble - and lives on a boat

Inside Music Magazine

In time: Metronomy's Joe Mount (centre), Oscar Cash and Gabriel Stebbing

Ones to watch: Five of the best new acts

CRYSTALCASTLESNamed after She-Ra’s pad in He- Man, this boy-girl Toronto duo state their influences, via their Myspace page, as murder, blank looks on girls and knives. However true that may be, it’s possibly more helpful to say that their sound is an amalgam of Suicide, Kid 606 and Klaxons, while their employment of Atari soundchips in their keyboards also allies them with the currently voguish chiptunes movement.

Meet the folkers

Chris T-T and Frank Turner combine punk attitudes with the essence of folk

Music & Me: Jay Sean

The first record I bought was? Actually a CD. It was “Slam” by hip-hop group Onyx. I was 11 and excited to have a CD because before then it was always cassettes. I was shopping with my parents when I got them to buy it for me.

Album: Various Artists, On Vine Street: The Early Songs Of Randy Newman

Before getting round to releasing records of his own, Randy Newman served an apprenticeship as in-house songwriter at Liberty Records, which was run by his chum Lenny Waronker's father Simon.

Field of dreams: Joan as Police Woman is set to play The Roundhouse

April Gig Guide

Jos� Gonz�lez, On tour until 13 April Gonz�lez, a Swede of Argentine descent, gave up a career in biochemistry for spare, Latin-tinged folk. This jaunt sees him step out in support of his second album, In Our Nature. At times, his music packs a quietly commanding intimacy reminiscent of Pink Moon era Nick Drake, but his liking for Cuban guitarist Silvio Rodriguez adds a unique twist. Idiosyncratic cover-versions of songs by artists such as Joy Division and Bruce Springsteen are also a speciality.

White Denim, Buffalo Bar, London

Among the 2,200 international bands playing this year’s South by South West, it was a band from the festival’s Austin base that emerged as one of the biggest successes. The New York Times and NME were just two taste-makers championing White Denim, and at the first night of a string of UK dates we have the chance to see what the fuss is about.