HITS HIGH 5: TURN THAT FROWN AROUND

Things that angered us this week: The President dissing Parasite; the Astros’ weak apologies; the White House denial that the Russians are backing Trump; and the senseless murder of Pop Smoke. On the bright side, we have the HITS High 5…

During this Black History Month, we feel a profound mixture of emotions as we review an extraordinary century of black achievement. As part our editorial focus on the month, we look at censorship in rap, Shirley Chisholm and the funky drummer himself, Clyde Stubblefield. Might we also recommend that you check out The Black Godfather, the acclaimed Netflix documentary about industry legend Clarence Avant.

Check out the numbers on Surfaces as part of our new semi-regular feature, Pinging.

At the BRITs, Lewis Capaldi won New Artist of the Year and Song of the Year while Billie Eilish, Stormzy and Tyler, the Creator were among the other winners. Dave won Album of the Year for his set Psychodrama. Next year will see someone new in charge as David Joseph is one and done.

In the first roundup of Noisemakers for 2020, we present a new batch of rising professionals from different parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.

The fire that destroyed the only place in the U.S. that manufacturers lacquers for LPs has some worrying that the end is nigh for vinyl. Not so fast say other members of the industry.