"I’m gonna wave my freak flag high ..." "If 6 Was 9" represented yet another bold creative leap forward for Jimi Hendrix. It was recorded over the course of two days (May 4-5, 1967) at Olympic Studios. "Section A" was the song's opening section while "Section B" began where the vocals come into form. The second half was also described as "Symphony Of Experience" on the tape box. "I adore 'If 6 Was 9'," explained Hendrix. "That was a complete jam session, then we put the words on afterwards. That's me on flute. Gary Leeds and Graham Nash did some foot stomping, and that's (Chas) Chandler's big feet on the fade-out. 'If 6 Was 9' is what you call a great feeling of blues." Featured on The Experience's sophomore album AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE, the track was also prominently featured in the 1969 film and soundtrack for EASY RIDER.

Treat Em Right #ChubbRock

rainy day tunes from a seriously under-rated artist open.spotify.com/album/2ryFx… #jazz

Q-Tip & The Beastie Boys performing "Get It Together" at the 1996 Tibetan Freedom Concert

🗓️ Pete Rock & CL Smooth's seminal debut album 'Mecca & The Soul Brother' hit stores on this day 1992. In addition to its incredible use of samples, tracks from the album have been sampled hundreds of times. Explore more: whosampled.com/album/Pete-Ro…

Remembering the great Sly Stone, who passed away one year ago today.

James Blood Ulmer (8 February 1940–3 June 2026) The US jazz, blues, rock and funk guitarist has died aged 86. As a tribute we have made Steve Holtje’s May 1998 interview and profile from The Wire 171 free to read in our online archive. thewire.co.uk/in-writing/the…

Which of these #PharoahSanders albums is your favorite?

Remembering Prince Rogers Nelson, born #OnThisDay in 1958, and gone too soon. Here’s Prince with his very first car, a 1977 Datsun 200SX (📸 N/K). #Prince4Ever #Prince #Nissan #NissanSilvia #StarsAndCars

The consultation:

Boy’s Own Party, - August 1989 #oldskool #rave #80s #90s

Trio Ternura, "A Gira," 1973. A São Paulo family trio at the heart of Brasil’s soul and MPB scene, singing a Candomblé prayer on national television in the middle of a military dictatorship. The 7-inch became one of the most hunted Brasilian singles of all time.

Put That Record Back On #JustIce #Mantronix

Packed room. Live jammers. People dancing. Serious Latin energy 🔥 Come and see what the Latin Jam is all about next Tuesday 9 June at Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club. 🎟 Book now - vist.ly/56r65 #LatinJam #LiveMusicLondon #SouthLondonNights

It is with immeasurable sorrow that the MOBO Organisation announces the passing of its Founder and CEO, Kanya King CBE. Kanya passed away peacefully on 3 June 2026 after a courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer. She was surrounded by her family, close friends and love. Thirty years ago, Kanya King remortgaged her home, alone, without institutional backing or industry support, to build a stage that would transform British music forever. She was a single mother from a Kilburn council estate who was told that Black music was too niche, that there was no market and that the industry was not interested. Instead of arguing, she built. Six weeks later, the first MOBO Awards was broadcast to the nation, and nothing was ever the same again. What Kanya created was never simply an awards ceremony. It was an act of cultural justice. MOBO did not just celebrate Black music; it legitimised it, amplified it and transformed the cultural landscape of the UK. From Stormzy, Little Simz and RAYE to Craig David, Ms. Dynamite, Amy Winehouse, Central Cee and countless others, generations of artists have benefited from Kanya King's vision. She built a platform that reached hundreds of millions of people around the world. She was awarded a CBE and received an Ivors Academy Honour in 2025. She never stopped. She never asked for permission. She never accepted that the word “no” was final. When she stood on the MOBO stage in Newcastle in February 2025, just months after her diagnosis, she told the audience: “I never allowed someone to define my limits. Not in life. Not in business. And I’m certainly not going to have that happen now.” That was Kanya King. Right to the very end. The 2026 MOBO Awards, held during the Organisation’s landmark 30th anniversary year, will be dedicated entirely to her memory. The world was a profoundly better place with Kanya King in it. The MOBO family is heartbroken, but endlessly grateful, proud and inspired by everything she gave to music, culture and future generations. Rest in power, Kanya. You built this. All of it.

Happy 84th Birthday to the late, great Curtis Mayfield 🩶

RT @HipHopSince76_: Third Degree #DilatedPeoples #Defari This is the #Alchemist first produced beat #WestCoastWednesday t.co/bIuJ…

Not only is this my favorite song from this album… This is my favorite song fro the Wu… EVER…