Cryptic crossword No 1,952

Full SPOILER overleaf ->

Haha, very nicely done thanks Henri. Took a while for the penny to drop this time & then needed some Google assistance with the details. Faves include 10a, 26a, 4d, 12d, 20d & 22d but the theming is the star - thanks again!

Thanks Henri for a very clever crossword that was enjoyable despite my ignorance of the theme. My top picks were 8a, 10a, 4d, 14d, 15d, and 22d. More in reply.

This was delightful but I now feel extremely old.

Ha ha brilliant - worked out the answers and had to google a list to work out the theme!

Well done Henri. Beaten by the theme which means little to me - though I do vaguely recall. I certainly wasn't going to able to tie it to the timeline. Plenty of fun clues as per. 10a made me laugh (though it shouldn't), as did 19a, 6d, 12d and 18d were my faves. Thanks. PM

Blimey, this was whip-smart. The theme did start to ring a vague bell after 5d (would that it hadn’t!) and I did, for some reason, remember 1d. After that Google had to take the strain. And it certainly made the solve go with a pop. I can but salute anyone who manages to shoehorn Lou B and the boys from Compton into the same puzzle. Genius. I especially liked 10a, 15a, 6d, 7d and 22d ...

Justice for Pamela and Angela!! I've seen many a puzzle and quiz question on this theme and even set some myself, so it was one of the more straightforward gridfills, but no less entertaining for it. 12d, 16a, 6d, and the definition in 19a were the highlights amongst the cluing. Thanks!

Fantastic! Sad to say I needed no help from Google for the 22d s. As others have said, theming and grid fill to be applauded, but also big ticks for 10a, 13a, 15a (cotd), 19a, 26a, 3d, 12d, 14d, 20d and 22d. Just listed most of the clues there didn't I?

Great stuff Henri, thanks. Reading PM’s comment, it looks as though my solving experience was quite similar to his; I know the theme well enough but (as per) failed to spot it. Very nicely done. Favourites: 9a, 10a, 19a, 5d, 6d and 22d.

Super crossword. Great fun. I needed to google the list of names I'd come up with to get the theme and a couple of the names I hadn't guessed. Defeated by 15D and the unknown gangsta rappers in 15A not knowing what gangsta rap is or who may have performed it - <hobby horse>I can't stand rap... I don't consider it music, but I don't mind sprechgesang such as Schonberg's Pierrot Lunaire. </hobby horse>. Sorry.

Very good, thank you! Got to the theme via 24a and 21d, but couldn't remember all the rest of them (thanks Google). Got 5d early but didn't make the connection until later. No problem with 15a but revealed 20d. Liked included: 17a, 26a, 2d, 5d, 6d, 7d.