The Week in Arts

The soul and R&B star, whose drink and drug problems often made the headlines, was found in her London home yesterday

The new British boy band Encore, who have just supported Jesse J and N-Dubz on their UK tours, are to release their single "Tit for Tat" next month.

Beer and roaming in north London

It's no secret that the success of MCs like Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah et al has inspired record labels to frantically snatch up as many of these underground stars as possible, with Wretch 32 being the latest kid on the block to be tipped for the big time. Back in January, he landed a No 5 single with "Traktor", a pounding tune so wickedly addictive, Diddy insisted on performing it with the 26-year-old at his Last Train to Paris party earlier this year. Then, Ian Brown gave him his blessing by allowing him to use a sample of The Stone Roses' "Fools Gold" for his most recent single, "Unorthodox". Exciting times, then, for Jermaine Sinclair, especially for a guy who grew up on a Tottenham estate but can now stamp "wooer of rap moguls and rock legends" on his CV, and has shown he's got a lot more going for him than being another mix-tape rapper with a ghetto backstory. Musically, he infuses soul and a real sense of poetry into his observational lyrics, and on stage he's fun, energetic and chatty, leading the chant: "forget about violence, I rather be cool!"

Innit's a good thing, innit? There we were, bumbling along in our self-effacing, John Le Mesurier kind of way, finishing our sentences on a limp and dying fall, when along came innit, innit?

Why is the record industry failing to nurture more urban female singing talent? Matilda Egere-Cooper blames stereotyping

What's hot on our playlist

Despite his billing as one of Britain's most celebrated and influential jazz artists, Courtney Pine tells Ian Burrell that it hasn't been an easy ride to the top table

When fans mobbed Bashy in his cab, the rapper knew it was time to get off the 183 to Golders Green and plan a route to stardom. Charlotte Cripps goes a few stops with him

The cover shot, of tiny Tinchy's image expanded to the size of a tower block, surely reflects the rapper's ambition, which is substantial: "Me, I'm having meetings with the President," he claims unfeasibly in "Gangsta".

Music: Right now I'm listening to a lot of things, but mostly Clipse. When it comes to rapping they're really good, they're inspirational and they give me motivation. I feel like I want to write lyrics when I hear them. There's a song on Rick Ross's album 'Teflon Don' called "B.M.F" and every time I go out it comes on and it just puts me in a different mood. The whole album is good – it's consistent. I also like Jme's album 'Blam!' because he has really kept to his own sound.

Despite winning radio's equivalent of an Oscar, DJ Trevor Nelson doesn't care about fame. He tells Ian Burrell why for him it's all about the music

Children are fed up. Their parents are too. We're uninspired at work, and listless at home. Perhaps it's time to embrace being bored – and learn to love it