A Solihull woman celebrated her 50th birthday with a world record breaking marathon row in aid of national organisation The Brain Tumour Charity.

Help and advice for new businesses.

Bus scheme driving cleaner air and better facilities for Solihull town centre.

Groundbreaking partnership with HS2 Ltd to design new infrastructure and connectivity.

Good Hope Hospital - in partnership with Healthcare at Home Ltd - is launching its first recovery at home (R@H) service this week

England wicket keeper Sarah Taylor is arguably one of the best female cricketers in the history of the ladies game and she could make history this summer by becoming the first woman to play men's second XI county cricket.

Solihull Junior School pupils were so impressed by their visit to a local children’s charity that they made an Olympian effort to support it.

The Donkey Sanctuary’s Donkey Assisted Therapy Centre in Birmingham is holding a Summer Fair and fun dog show on Saturday 13th July

With football violence film Green Street 3: Never Back Down released this week, here's the interview we did in March with its star, Scott Adkins.

Chance for Birmingham tennis lovers to learn from the world’s number one doubles coach.

Superstar Osaka to play Nature Valley Classic.

Nature Valley Classic brings the best to Birmingham.

Karolina Pliskova joins star-studded Edgbaston line-up.

New Nature Valley Classic champion crowned world women's tennis number one.

Stephen Pennell talks to two of grime's finest.

Top attractions coming to Warwickshire.

Spoken word extravaganza to promote social enterprise once more.

Richard Lutz rifles through his electronic life to find out who he is.

Expansion at city centre barbers.

Exclusive offers with Home at Mailbox shopping weekend.

Steve Beauchampé doesn’t like what he’s hearing on the airwaves.

The Midlands Media Awards is this year to take place at The Holte Suite, Aston Villa FC’s prestigious hospitality centre.

Media and creative professionals from across the West Midlands helped put Birmingham on the map as the new Carnival Capital last week, at a special event organised by the Birmingham Publicity Association (BPA).

Peter Lowe, Managing Editor of Sky News, is to be chairman of the judging panel for this year’s Midlands Media Awards, shortlisted nominations for which will be announced on Monday, May 13.

Les Reid, of the Coventry Telegraph, has been nominated for four categories at this year’s Awards, which are being held next month.

The sudden shutdown of all channels of Greece's national broadcasting company by the Greek government is 'unacceptable for an EU democracy', says West Mids and Warks Lib Dem MEP Phil Bennion.

A Year 13 student from Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) has secured a role with international news network, Russia Today.

Birmingham Now TV launched online.

Imagine a 30 foot high Ariel towering above Propero - that’s what you get in this groundbreaking performance, says Richard Lutz

Richard Lutz gets lost in Shakespeare country.

This episode, we bring you a talk with one of our favorite up-and-coming emcees, Awkword. This rapper and activist doesn’t just talk about social issues — he has an extensive history of social activism and charity work to go along with his dope, creative rhymes. We talked about all kinds of things, from his unusual rap moniker to his upcoming World View project, a 100% for charity album that has performers from literally all over the world

But even more than his good deeds, it’s his music that brought Awkword to the show. His beats and rhymes hearken back to a pre-Giuliani New York City, and it is this keeping-it-real vibe that has allowed him to collaborate with NYC stars like Joell Ortiz and Sean Price. We talked to him about music, politics, life, and all that good stuff.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/47/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode of the Cipher, we bring you a talk with Brian Brater, co-founder of Rawkus Records. Rawkus was perhaps the single most important underground record label of the 90s, putting out singles and albums featuring artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Company Flow, Pharoahe Monch, Big L, Common, Eminem, and more

Brater tells us about the ups, downs, hits, misses, and the couple big ones that got away. So lace up your Timbs, grab your backpack, and join us as we talk to Brater about hip-hop’s last real golden age

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/54/ for full show notes and comments.

Robert “Rocky” Ford Jr. got his start at Billboard in the 1970s. A busy nightlife (and a chance encounter on a Queens bus) led him to Russell Simmons and NYC’s burgeoning hip-hop scene. Rocky gave the genre its very first mainstream coverage with his 1978 article “B-Beats Bombarding Bronx.” From there, it was a quick move to writing and producing hits for Simmons’ good friend Kurtis Blow – and then for Full Force, Hi-Five, and even Tom Hanks!

We talk to Ford about writing hits like “The Breaks,” his relationships with Simmons and one-time roommate Nelson George, and why he cast Full Force as House Party’s villains. Ford did it all in the 1970s and 80s, and shares his story here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/91/ for full show notes and comments.

Lisa Cortés lives up to her self-description as a “hip-hop Zelig.” She began her career in 1986 as one of the first employees of a then-tiny record label called Def Jam. From there, she went on to manage legendary producers; discover hit rap, reggae, and r&b acts; and even run a label herself.

After her time in the music industry came to an end, Lisa re-invented herself as a successful film producer, starting at the bottom and working her way up to playing a key role in the Oscar-winning movie Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. She is currently producing, writing, and directing a number of fascinating film projects, which we discuss here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/92/ for full show notes and comments.

Tanya Morgan, as the title of one of their mixtapes states, is a rap group. Von Pea and donwill have been putting out classics since their 2006 debut Moonlighting. They’ve gone through successes, failures, lineup changes (original member Ilyas left in 2012), and more while continuing to reach for new sounds and concepts. Their most recent release is the EP 12 Minutes at Karriem’s. We talked to the group about touring disasters, childhood friendships, Google Maps, that time donwill almost ended up on Cops, and much, much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/94/ for full show notes and comments.

Our special 100th episode finds us with a flood of special guests. We have Metermaids, an NYC rap duo signed to Sage Francis’ Strange Famous label. Their newest album We Brought Knives is a powerful examination of fatherhood, legacies, changing times, and the awesomeness of Bruce Springsteen.

They’re followed by Gabriel Roth. Roth is the co-founder of Daptone Records, a Brooklyn-based label that has released some of the finest soul, funk, Afrobeat, and other roots music of this generation. The band he leads, The Dap-Kings (who normally back the powerful singer Sharon Jones), played a key part in one of the most popular records in recent memory, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black.

This being an anniversary party, we start the show with a special surprise guest.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/100/ for full show notes and comments.

Denaun Porter is best-known as a member of the group D12 – a collective that also featured one of his best friends, a fellow Detroit rapper named Eminem. But Denaun’s real passion has always been for production.

Porter got his start as a beatmaker (after some tips from a young Dilla) with Em’s hard-to-find debut album Infinite, which he produced in its entirety. But as his pal teamed up with Dr. Dre, so did he. Denaun quickly began producing songs for Xzibit, 50 Cent and G-Unit, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Pharoahe Monch, and lots more.

After the death of fellow D12 member and longtime Eminem hypeman DeShaun “Proof” Holton in 2006, Porter took a break from music. But he’s returned stronger than ever, releasing a brand-new solo EP, Stuff in my Backpack, and taking up his late friend’s hypeman job on top of it.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/119/ for full show notes and comments.

Darlene Ortiz is best-known for her iconic pose on the cover of Ice-T’s 1988 album Power, a shot that no one who has seen it has ever forgotten. But there’s far more to her than bathing suits and guns.

She was right by Ice-T’s side during his rise to the top of the rap game. The two met when Darlene was a 17 year old hip-hop obsessive, and she and Ice quickly became rap’s first power couple. She appeared on his album covers and in his videos, and was right by his side for tours, TV appearances, movie roles, and the infamous “Cop Killer” controversy.

Darlene has a brand-new memoir called DEFINITION OF DOWN:My Life with Ice T and the Birth of Hip Hop, published by Over the Edge Books.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/131/ for full show notes and comments.

Torae Carr has been a mainstay on the underground hip-hop scene since his debut mixtape, 2008’s Daily Conversation. Since then, he has released a number of excellent and varied projects, both solo and with collaborators like Marco Polo and Skyzoo. He also hosts his show The Tor Guide six days a week on Sirius XM satellite radio.

Torae’s superb brand-new album is called Entitled. We talk about that, but also take it way back to his earliest raps, his wild ride through the record industry, and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/139/ for full show notes and comments.

David “Chino” Villorente is not only one of the foremost graffiti artists ever to pick up a spray can, he’s also a true historian of the art form. His work has been seen on television, in magazines, and in galleries. He has also written numerous books about different aspects of graffiti culture (including several with our Episode 124 guest Sacha Jenkins) , and served a huge role in popularizing the culture as the editor of The Source’s influential “Graf Flix” column.

To see all of the art we talk about during this episode, check out this episode’s image gallery.

In addition, Chino gave us a very special playlist of music that inspired him during his writing days. You can check it out on our YouTube page.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/162/ for full show notes and comments.

Andre “Doctor Dré” Brown is best-known for his time co-hosting Yo! MTV Raps with Ed Lover, a job he held down from 1989 to 1995. He and Ed used their chemistry and comic sensibility to bring hip-hop, and the artists who made it, to a worldwide audience.

But, as you’ll hear, there’s much more to Dré than his time at MTV. He was a key part of the group Original Concept, one of Def Jam’s early signings. He played a key role in the lives of some other early Def Jam acts, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. He’s made movies, worked in radio, and done pretty much everything else you can imagine.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/185/ for full show notes and comments.

Martin is the brains behind the website Rap Analysis, and the author of the upcoming book The Artistry of Rap Music. He’s a trained composer and musician who looks at rapping from a perspective that should be common but sadly is all too frequently missing from discussions around hip-hop: as music.

Martin’s examinations of rappers’ deliveries, phrasing, and styles are second to none, and will have you listening to your favorite artists in a whole new way.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/197/ for full show notes and comments.

Kalyn is a rapper and the leader of the eclectic Denver-based group Wheelchair Sports Camp, who have garnered critical acclaim for their music and their energetic live performances almost since their founding in 2009.

Wheelchair Sports Camp - named after a real camp that Kalyn, who has brittle bone disease and has been in a wheelchair her whole life - used to attend, is a group that pushes the boundaries in sound and subject matter. Most performances consist of Kalyn, drums, and trumpet, and their latest album No Big Deal explores everything from gentrification to the pressure artists put on themselves to important social issues.

In addition to being a great rapper, Kalyn is also an activist, and now a politician. She participated in a big protest against the repeal of the ACA that had her and other activists taking over a senator’s office. And now she’s running - or rather, as she puts it, rolling - for Mayor of Denver.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/240/ for full show notes and comments.

Joan is a writer who got her start in the 1990s, helping to create what came to be known as “hip-hop journalism” with her articles at places like Vibe and the Village Voice. Whether she was writing about the Mike Tyson trial, profiling TLC, or investigating the sex trade in Jamaica, Joan brought her keen, Bronx-raised sensibility to everything she touched.

Joan pioneered hip-hop feminism—and came up with the phrase “black girl magic,” to boot—in her classic 1999 book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down. And now she has a brand new book, a reflection on Ms. Lauryn Hill’s classic debut album. It’s called She Begat This: 20 Years of the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/243/ for full show notes and comments.

Financial advisers from across the West Midlands attended a course on auto enrolment yesterday – the new regime for workplace pensions that has begun to roll out.

The Midlands based rail champion, Campaign for Rail will be holding its inaugural Annual General Meeting tomorrow at the Atrium, Moor Street Station

Local ambulance chiefs are reminding bikers not to turn a minor mishap into something more serious.

A charity concert has raised £700 for the Edgbaston-based charity Ammalife.

Donors needed at Birmingham Donor Centre due to low stocks.

"Help us to help you get the treatment you need across Birmingham and Solihull."