As we all know, beloved BBC Radio DJ and one-man musical institution Zane Lowe is about to fuck off to America to take on a role at Apple's new radio service. After joining the BBC in 2002, he is credited with breaking the careers of innumerable artists, using more explosion sounds than Weswood, and getting Kanye West to talk frankly about fashion and, more recently, sob on camera.Zane's charisma might have been jarring for some, but whether you're now into grime, recently decided to listen exclusively to "golden era hip-hop", or have actually given up on music since getting that cushty job at Santander, you can't deny that at one point in your teens you had an iTunes playlist of shit radio rips called "Hottest Records in the World". And that's why last night was uber emosh for all involved, as his final show aired on BBC Radio 1.He and his co-workers spent the programme swapping stories and playing records that moved them most from the past 12 years, including The Streets, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Queens of the Stone Age and more. Emotions ran palpably high in the room as Zane can be heard singing along to some of the biggest bangers (spoiler: he does a pretty solid Kendrick). If the hard shoulders of Britain's motorways were inexplicably blocked with drivers in their late twenties weeping incontrollably, then you know why. I mean, this is the guy that could mix Muse's "Knights of Cydonia" with 90s house classic "Gypsy Woman" and make it feel smoother than a lubed up climbing frame.In the words of our head of music at Vice, Alex Hoffman, who worked with Zane for years on Gonzo, his MTV Two show: “Having put up with British cynicism for so long, he can finally be as enthusiastic as he likes without worrying about the impression it gives off. The British music landscape will be a poorer and quieter place and the fact that he’ll be a huge success in the States is unquestionable.”You can read Alex’s memories of the Zipper years in full here and listen to Zane’s last ever Radio 1 show in it's entirety on iPlayer.Follow Emma on Twitter.
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