Jay-Z’s forthcoming album Magna Carta Holy Grail is set go platinum before its official release thanks to a deal with Samsung.

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'Grown Woman' is not bad for a soft drink commercial soundtrack

Pop for pop: Is the music used to market soft drinks ever any good?

We’ve already heard a snippet of Beyoncé’s track “Grown Woman”, which was teased in her Pepsi commercial last month, but now the whole song has leaked online (although those who made it to her Mrs Carter tour would have heard it performed in full).

Beyonce headlining Glastonbury in 2011

Sound Of Change Live: Beyonce and Florence Welch to headline charity concert

Beyonce, John Legend and Florence + The Machine are to headline a stadium charity show to raise funds for women's health, education and justice around the world.

Album: Justin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience (RCA)

If the recording of 20/20 was crammed in between film commitments, you wouldn't know it.

Justin Timberlake's back in the groove with some top tunes

Album review: Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience (RCA)

Album of the Week: Timberlake's back in the groove with some top tunes

Gucci Mane or 'Guwop' as he now insists on being called

Nomenclature's a real name-changer: Gucci Mane to become 'Guwop'

Gucci Mane’s announcement to his 1.1 million Twitter followers that he was changing his name to “Guwop”, caused such a stir among fans that within an hour the rapper had changed it back. But the change itself showed that in the ephemeral world of hip-hop, you’re no one if you haven’t had a rap-rebrand.

Album: Chris Brown, F.A.M.E. (RCA)

The acronym apparently stands for "Forgiving All My Enemies", a typically self-pitying claim on the moral high ground from someone who, lest we forget, was convicted of assaulting a woman.

Drake, 02 Academy, Glasgow

"It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life, playing my first international show for you," said the Canadian actor-rapper Drake, towards the end of his set, before pointing out that unidentified timekeepers were warning that he had run over. "I waited my whole life for this," he said, "so if they wanna fine me, if they wanna penalise me, I don't care." It was only half-past ten, though, so there seemed little danger of his turning into a pumpkin.

Album: Rihanna, Loud (Def Jam)

So blank she almost fades to white, so slender she almost disappears from view, Rihanna is the archetypal modern pop star: the spindly skeleton of an umb-er-ella-ella-ella over which any canvas can be stretched.

Janelle Mon&#225;e, Koko, London<br/>Brandon Flowers, BBC Maida Vale, London

Bowie, Prince, Chaplin &ndash; this brilliant R&B star draws on diverse influences to reconnect with the spirit of vintage soul

Richard Ashcroft - From urban hymns to united nations

The Verve's Richard Ashcroft is back with a new band, a new name, and a new album. He tells Craig Mclean he's a lucky man

Album: Snoop Dogg, Malice N Wonderland (Priority)

Celebrating his recent appointment as "Creative Chairman" of Priority Records, Snoop Dogg has managed to release an album whose overall meagre level of creativity makes one wonder how he'll work out in his new position.

Album: Leona Lewis, Echo, (Syco)

Of all the talent-show turns unearthed in the past decade, Leona Lewis is the only one to have parlayed the opportunity, when it knocked, into a significant international career; and judging by this safe, careful follow-up to the multi-platinum Spirit, she's not taking any unnecessary chances that might prematurely derail that career. She might admirably refer to the original Greek myth – in which an unrequited lover pines away till just her voice remained – in explaining the album's title, but one doesn't have to be a complete cynic to place a more prosaic interpretation on Echo, so closely does it stick to its predecessor's formula.

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end