Original: During this period (now under the editorship of Ian Pye, who replaced Neil Spencer in 1985), they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music.
Simplified: During this period, the editors at the magazine were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music.