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".
[4][5] Kulkarni was initially a writer for Melody Maker from 1993 to 2000, where he called out the publication's overlooking of Black artists.
[6] 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,[7] DJ Magazine,[8][9] and Drowned in Sound.
[6][10] Kulkarni was the author of books including The Periodic Table of HIP HOP (Penguin2, 2015), a module leader on the Music Journalism course at BIMM Birmingham,[6][11] and a musician with the band The Moonbears.