Published
Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 14:40
- The British scribe wrote for Melody Maker, The Quietus and The Wire—and penned two books on hip-hop culture.
British music journalist and author Neil Kulkarni has died aged 51.
The news was confirmed earlier today, January 23rd, on Facebook by the remaining members of Moonbears, a band for which Kulkarni was the lead singer.
"It's with a sense of shock, devastation, disbelief and the reality that our worlds have in part ended, that we have to share that Neil suddenly passed away yesterday," the post read. "Those who knew Neil will know him through their own experiences—the dedicated husband and father who genuinely, consistently and without question put himself second to needs of those he loved. His barbed, hilarious, brutally honest and emotionally gifted journalism. As the DJ who kept his records and CDs loose in a carrier bag and could rarely play a song that didn't skip- but they were the best songs."
Born in Coventry in the '70s, Kulkarni began writing for Melody Maker in the early '90s, before later earning bylines in publications such as SPIN, The Wire, the Guardian and The Quietus.
Kulkarni was also DJ Mag's longstanding hip-hop editor, and he wrote two books on the genre: The Periodic Table of HIP HOP and Hip Hop - bring the noise. A third book, Eastern Spring: A 2nd Gen Memoir, documented his experiences growing up in the UK as a second-generation Indian immigrant. More recently, he took up a music journalism lecturer role at BIMM Music Institute Birmingham.
Read Moonbears' post in full, as well as some more social media tributes. For a taste of his writing, revisit this interview with Scottish hip-hop outfit Young Fathers from last September.