Wikipedia

Neil Kulkarni

Neil Kulkarni (26 July 1972 – 22 January 2024) was a British music journalist, author and musician from Coventry, England.[1] Upon his death, Clash magazine called him "one of the sharpest pens of his generation".[2] He primarily focused on hip-hop and metal.[3]

Neil Kulkarni
Born(1972-07-26)26 July 1972
Coventry, England
Died22 January 2024(2024-01-22) (aged 51)
Alma materUniversity of York
OccupationsMusic journalist, author, musician

Early life

edit

Kulkarni was born in Coventry to Marathi Brahmin parents who had immigrated from Maharashtra state, India, his father a chemist and his mother a midwife, and grew up with his sister Meera. Kulkarni graduated from the University of York.[4][5][6]

Career

edit

Kulkarni was initially a writer for Melody Maker from 1993 to 2000, where he called out the publication's overlooking of Black artists.[7] Following the discontinuation of the imprint Kulkarni wrote freelance for magazines and media including Uncut, Vox, Loaded, Spin, Metal Hammer, Plan B, The Source, The Guardian, Bizarre, The Quietus,[8] DJ Magazine,[9][10] and Drowned in Sound.[7][11]

Kulkarni was the author of books including Hip Hop - Bring the Noise: The Stories Behind the Biggest Songs (2004) and The Periodic Table of HIP HOP (2015). The former is recommended by the Music Library Association as an academic resource covering c. 70 significant hip-hop recordings.[12][13] He was a module leader on the Music Journalism course at BIMM Birmingham,[7][14] and a musician with the band The Moonbears.[15]

Death

edit

Kulkarni died on 22 January 2024, at the age of 51.[16][7] At the time of his death, Kulkarni had a partner, four children (two of them are step-children) and four grandchildren.[7]

Bibliography

edit

References

edit
  1. ↑ Kaur, Jaspreet (24 January 2024). "Tributes pour in after sudden death of music 'genius' from Coventry". Coventry Live. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Murray, Robin (23 January 2024). "Music Writer Neil Kulkarni Has Died | News". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 louderthanwar (23 January 2024). "Neil Kulkarni (music writer) RIP". Louder Than War. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Price, Simon (24 January 2024). "Remembering Neil Kulkarni". The Quietus. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  5. ↑ Lawson, Michael (23 January 2024). "Music journalist and author Neil Kulkarni dies aged 51". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Ross, Gemma (24 January 2024). "Music critic Neil Kulkarni has died aged 51". Mixmag. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Pearce, Vanessa (23 January 2024). "Neil Kulkarni: Tributes paid to 'genius' music critic". BBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Clarke, Patrick (23 January 2024). "Neil Kulkarni Has Died, Aged 51". The Quietus. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Kulkarni, Neil (1 October 2015). "Neil Kulkarni". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Murray, Eoin (23 January 2024). "Neil Kulkarni, legendary music critic and former DJ Mag hip-hop editor, dies aged 51". DJMag.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Neil Kulkarni guide to being a record-reviewer". DrownedInSound. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. 1 2 McCann, Ian (December 2015). "The Periodic Table Of Hip Hop". Record Collector. No. 447. Gale A435356850.
  13. ↑ Leach, Andrew (September 2008). ""ONE DAY IT'LL ALL MAKE SENSE": HIP-HOP AND RAP RESOURCES FOR MUSIC LIBRARIANS". Music Library Association. Notes. 65 (1): 9–37. ProQuest 196722463.
  14. ↑ "Neil Kulkarni - Music Journalism Lecturer". BIMM Music Institute. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "We Can't Spoil Christmas, by Moonbears". Moonbears. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Price, Simon (24 January 2024). "Remembering Neil Kulkarni". The Quietus. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  17. ↑ O'Brien, Jonathan (12 August 2012). "Anger is an energy in music critic's memoir". Sunday Business Post. ProQuest 1033078912.

Further reading

edit
edit


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neil_Kulkarni&oldid=1358060249"