Stormzy turns down collaboration with Jay-Z

In our show "Correspondence", we explore how the world is coping with the twists and turns of 2021, amid the consequences of Covid-19 and beyond. FRANCE 24 brings you a selection of original reports from our correspondents and teams around the globe.

Seven months after closing its doors, the famous Parisian venue Olympia reopens, hosting a music festival for a seated concert. "It's already a first step that we've achieved all together with the whole of France," said an audience member after the concert.

Swedish musician Peter Von Poehl came in to tell us about his new album "Memories From Saint-Forget". Prior to the pandemic, he was supposed to have gone to China to work on a musical but instead ended up putting together his fifth album in the suburbs of ParisWe also look at new music by Angélique Kidjo, Carla Lucianni and Lorde.

Pone, former member of the famous French hip-hop collective Fonky Family, has been stricken with ALS and yet continues to make music thanks to software that follows the movement of his eyes. The eye-tracking system guides a computer mouse allowing him to compose, but also to write and speak via a voice generated by his computer. His four-track mini-album 'Listen and donate', is out now with the goal to raise funds for the Trakadom association.

Fans gathered outside the building in a show of support as the singer asked for an end to the "abusive" control of her money and affairs.

R. Kelly has been transferred to a New York jail as he prepares to stand trial in his sex trafficking and racketeering case.

Somebody - Felaman

Blufunk legend Keziah Jones, who became a global superstar at the turn of the 1990s after he was noticed busking in the streets of Paris and London, is back in the French capital to take part in a series of artistic events at the Pompidou Centre over the next three weeks. Along with choreographer Qudus Onikeku, a fellow Lagos native, Jones popped by the FRANCE 24 studios to tell us more about the "Fly by Night" events that celebrate African art, dance and music with creatives from Nigeria, Rwanda and DR Congo.

As a teenager, she had to perform in the Auschwitz girls' orchestra. But Esther Bejarano never stopped loving music — or fighting against racism.

One of America's largest events -- Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago -- is underway this weekend, to the delight of fans and to the despair of others. The four day music festival is expected to draw more than 100,000 people to downtown Chicago each day, at a moment when coronavirus cases are on the rise and vaccinations have plateaued. Lollapalooza has said their policy is for unvaccinated people to wear masks and show a recent negative Covid test.

British electronic duo Jungle appeared out of nowhere in late 2013 as a mystery group, but their slick funk-pop singles quickly propelled them to fame. Their 2014 self-titled debut album was certified Gold in the UK and their follow up album "For Ever" confirmed their success around the world. This summer, they released their third studio album "Loving in Stereo", a collection of wall-to-wall bangers bursting with life. Josh Lloyd-Watson sat down with FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot to talk about what inspired this 13-track bundle of love.

Hailing from the Netherlands, artist Tessa Douwstra performs under the name Luwten, which means "a place without wind" in Dutch. Her music channels traditional indie songwriting through a kaleidoscope of modern pop and experimental R&B. She recently released her second LP entitled "Draft", which features 11 complex and well-crafted tracks. She tells FRANCE 24’s Florence Villeminot about wanting to writing about the transition from introspection to a more outward-focused life.