Amy Linden
Amy Linden has toiled selflessly as a music and culture critic for over 20 years. She has written for numerous newspapers and magazines including the New York Times, People, Vibe, and XXL. Among her achievements: contributing essays to major publications: The Rolling Stone Book of Women In Rock, Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock N' Roll and the acclaimed Rock She Wrote; she also co-hosted VH1’s groundbreaking 4 On The Floor. She is currently a senior writer and contributor at XXL. Amy is a long time Brooklyn resident, a mother and doesn't get paid enough.
Not for Nothin': The Amy Linden Podcast
127 articles
List of articles in the library
Interview by Amy Linden, Damage, August 1980
I ALWAYS assumed that once "we the fans" began promoting and putting on shows, the bullshit would stop. I also held to the dream that ...
Boogie Down Productions: Rap Attack
Report by Amy Linden, Spin, August 1987
ON RECORD, M.C. Shan is the mortal enemy of Boogie Down Productions' Scott LaRock and KRS One. They've been trading insults and waging a dis ...
Merle Haggard: Chill Factor (Epic)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, June 1988
NEW TRADITION, old tradition, any old way you choose it. Merle Haggard is a country music category unto himself. Any guy that lists his prison ...
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: Up Your Alley (Blackheart/CBS)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, July 1988
HOW DO I love Joan Jett? Lemme count the ways, 1, 2, 3, 4! ...
The Sugarcubes: Iceland's "Little People" Make a Big Noise
Interview by Amy Linden, Musician, October 1988
THE SUGARCUBES are not only a new band, and a very good band, but they are probably (no, let us make that definitely) the only ...
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, June 1989
IN THE beginning there was the Jackson 5. They were cute, they were blessed with the best producers and material, they oozed personality. They were ...
Aretha Franklin: Through The Storm (Arista)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, August 1989
ARETHA'S THE Queen of Soul; you know it, I know it, it's so obvious that it should be a Jeopardy question. Hell, even she knows ...
Chuckii Booker: Chuckii (Atlantic)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, October 1989
I DON'T KNOW what "new jack" is, or what the latest polyrhythm is, but I do know that when someone like Chuckii Booker comes along ...
Patti LaBelle, Regina Belle: Regina Belle: Stay With Me (Columbia)/Patti LaBelle: Be Yourself (MCA)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, February 1990
THE DIVA is that most special of musical creations; her care and feeding are extremely important. ...
Lisa Stansfield: Affection (Arista) ****
Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 3 May 1990
ENGLAND HAS been spewing out the latest in hip soul stylists, but the "style" part hasn't been cutting the mustard. Mostly the records have been ...
Howard Hewett: Howard Hewett (Brian)
Review by Amy Linden, Musician, July 1990
HOWARD HEWETT was the lead singer in the dance/pop trio Shalamar, whose femme fatale, Jody Watley, has since become the much bigger star. It would ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Spin, September 1990
Concrete Blonde leave a little blood on the tracks, says AMY LINDEN. ...
Cameo: Real Men... Wear Black (PolyGram) ***
Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 6 September 1990
THERE WAS a time when Larry Blackmon's yowl was a definite signal to be on the lookout for the funk. Cameo's leader and main vocalist ...
Was (Not Was): Are You Okay? (Chrysalis)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, November 1990
WHILE THE last Was LP was a tribute, if you will, to '70s soul, this time the beats are more current. Purists will cry sellout, ...
The Replacements: Replacements R.I.P.
Interview by Amy Linden, Spin, December 1990
IS IT THE END OF THE ROAD FOR AMERICA'S UNSUNG ROCK HEROES? AMY LINDEN TALKS TO THE BAND IN MINNEAPOLIS DURING A WALKING TOUR OF ...
Monie Love: Down to Earth (Warner Bros.)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, January 1991
LET'S JUST cut to the chase on this one: Down to Earth is okay. Not great, not bad — just a firm okay. With all ...
Rosanne Cash: Interiors (Columbia)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, January 1991
ROSANNE CASH wasn't kidding when she called this one Interiors. With the exception of 'This World' (which is about child abuse, among other things, and ...
Al B. Sure!: Private Times... and the Whole 9! (Warner Bros.) **½
Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 24 January 1991
FRAMING PRIVATE Times... and the Whole 9!, the latest from Al B. Sure!, is a remake of 'Hotel California'. Yes, that 'Hotel California' — and ...
Ralph Tresvant: Ralph Tresvant (MCA)
Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1991
RALPH TRESVANT is a pretty package, but once you rip off the ornamentation, all you're left with is a box filled with Styrofoam peanuts and ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Creem, October 1992
ALTHOUGH THE understated and pointedly emotional The Criminal Under My Hat (Columbia) is Texas-raised/L.A.-based producer/musician T-Bone Burnett's first release since 1988, he ain't exactly in ...
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, Creem, March 1993
THE STEREO MC's are all settled into their surprisingly comfy touring vehicle, headed up the highways (or whatever the British term is). On the road ...
Young Disciples: Road to Freedom (Mercury)
Review by Amy Linden, Creem, March 1993
GET MORE than three Brits together in the same club and the next thing you know you've got yourself a whole goddamn movement, with accompanying ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 28 March 1993
THE SINGING group House of Zekkariyas (formerly known as Womack and Womack) has a soul pedigree that runs river deep. Linda Womack is the daughter ...
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Creem, April 1993
BEFORE SHE had even secured a record deal, Simone Johnson, aka Monie Love, was already one of the most in-demand rappers on the burgeoning Afrocentric ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Creem, April 1993
SNOW, HIS mixer Prince, their manager, their publicist, and myself are seated around a table trying to figure out what it is we have ordered ...
Apache Indian: No Reservations (Mango 1625399324)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 25 April 1993
A 25-YEAR-old disk jockey and first-generation Briton from the Punjab Province of India, Steve Kapul has been inspired by the music of the West Indies. ...
LL Cool J: L.L. Cool J: 14 Shots to the Dome (Def Jam/Columbia 53325; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 May 1993
Making a Pitch To Rap's Hard Core ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 20 June 1993
AS HOMAGES to male bonding go, it would be hard to beat 'Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang', the hit single from The Chronic, the latest ...
Run DMC: The Grand Old Men of Rap Strike Back
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 20 June 1993
THE RAPPER Run (Joseph Simmons) snakes his way down the corridors leading to the green room at MTV's mid-Manhattan studio. Everywhere he turns, there's an ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Creem, July 1993
"IT'S constricting," is how guitarist John Carruthers and drummer Paul Ferguson admit to feeling anytime their U.K./U.S. band, Crush, is tagged "alternative". ...
Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 15 July 1993
SWV STANDS for "Sisters With Voices." No, they aren't sisters, but they have voices that you cannot get away from, no matter how hard you ...
Bell Biv DeVoe: Hootie Mack (MCA 10682; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 18 July 1993
When Rap Meets Rhythm-and-Blues ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 20 July 1993
Hormones in Harmony at Garden Summerfest sizzles with sex as rappers drop trousers & leave pants in their wake ...
Tony! Toni! Toné!: Sons of Soul (Mercury 3145514933-2; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 5 September 1993
Basking in Soul's Past Glory ...
The CBS Orchestra, Bernie Worrell: Funk master Worrell gets "a steady gig"
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 6 September 1993
Brilliant Bernie joins Letterman show's band ...
Will Downing: Love's the Place to Be (Mercury 3145180862; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 26 September 1993
WILL DOWNING'S voice is an elegant, languid caress. But the 28-year-old singer, who has three previous albums, has never enjoyed the success of Luther Vandross ...
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, November 1993
I DON'T WANT a gangsta bitch. Granted, no one's offering, but I don't want one. I don't think bitches ain't nuthin' but hoes and tricks, ...
Iggy Pop: American Caesar (Virgin 39002; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 14 November 1993
Iggy Pop Is Still Doing It His Way ...
Toni Braxton: Her Throaty Alto Gently Echoes An Earlier Era
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 5 December 1993
THE FIRST clue that Toni Braxton's career was about to take off came in 1992 when she was the featured singer on the soundtrack for ...
Dead Can Dance: Into the Labyrinth (4AD 45384-2; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 12 December 1993
OVER THE course of 12 years and six albums, the Anglo-Irish duo Dead Can Dance has created music that gives new meaning to the word ...
Jodeci: Diary of a Mad Band (Uptown Records UPTC 10915; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 January 1994
The Hip-Hop's Great, but There's Just One Problem ...
Afghan Whigs: Gentlemen (Elektra Records 9-61501-2; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 6 February 1994
IT'S IRONIC that Greg Dulli, leader of the Afghan Whigs, has gained a reputation as alternative rock's newest sex symbol. The Cincinnati-based group's first major-label ...
Ten City: That Was Then, This Is Now (Columbia CT57183; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 15 May 1994
BYRON STINGILY, singer for the trio Ten City, is a disciple of Sylvester, one of disco's biggest male stars. Like Sylvester, who died in 1988, ...
The Beastie Boys: Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol C27243-828599; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 5 June 1994
The Beastie Boys Strut Their Stuff ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 26 June 1994
Exportable Euro-Rappers ...
Dan Penn: A Career Made of Being Where He Doesn't Belong
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 31 July 1994
DAN PENN is propped against a graffiti-covered wall in Harlem. The photographer motions to him and Mr. Penn responds by pushing his sunglasses down and ...
Deee-Lite: Dew Drops in the Garden (Elektra) ****
Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 July 1994
New growth in Deee-Lite's Garden Downtown trio gets back in the groove with third album ...
Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 4 September 1994
Boyz II Men: A Smooth Transition. II shows Philly quartet isn't just a passing fancy. ...
Bootsy Collins: Tramps, New York NY
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 1 October 1994
Despite Sore Throat, Bootsy Puts His Best Funk Forward ...
Bobby Womack: Resurrection (Continuum Records 19401; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 October 1994
BOBBY WOMACK, one of soul's unsung heroes, hasn't put out an album since the mid-80's. The man who played with the legendary Sam Cooke and ...
Luther Vandross: Songs (Epic, $15.98)
Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1994
Some Schmaltz From Vandross ...
Bootsy Collins: Q&A With Bootsy Collins
Interview by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 October 1994
THE PREMIER funk bassist of this or any other time, place or galaxy, William (Bootsy) Collins, is back on the road and representing the P-Funk ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 8 January 1995
Rhythm-and-Blues Has a New Breed ...
Oasis: Definitely Maybe (Epic; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 15 January 1995
THE BRITISH band Oasis is the latest in what often seems like an endless string of next big things. It arrives in America with three ...
Naughty by Nature: Poverty's Paradise (Tommy Boy; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 16 July 1995
PERHAPS THE biggest crime a hip-hop act can commit is to go pop, to soften its sound to achieve mass appeal. Over the course of ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 July 1995
Budfest: State of the Art Black pop is in fine shape, even if Garden sound isn't ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: Not Just a Comeback. A Reinvention.
Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 13 August 1995
TERENCE TRENT D'Arby is explaining, for what may be the umpteenth time, why he lopped off his dreadlocks in favor of a close-cropped peroxide coif. ...
PM Dawn: Is P.M. Dawn's Prince Be the Brian Wilson of Hip-Hop? God only knows
Interview by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 19 October 1995
PRINCE BE sits behind the console of a studio in midtown Manhattan. "I am actually aching to stop working," he says with a sigh, leaning ...
Al Green: Still Spreading The Good Word
Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 October 1995
THE REVEREND Al Green is explaining why, after 18 years of singing sacred music, his gospel fans will understand why he has re-entered the world ...
Mariah Carey: Daydream (Columbia)
Review by Amy Linden, Request, December 1995
BY THE time this review appears, Daydream will be dominating the charts and Mariah Carey will be making mad money. So it won't matter to ...
R. Kelly: R. Kelly (Jive Records, $14.98) ★★★
Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 December 1995
R. Kelly's Latest Subtle, But Still Sexy ...
Report by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 7 April 1996
A QUIET revolution is at hand in urban music. Gone is the boasting about the girl you seduced last night and can't remember today. These ...
Jodeci, LL Cool J, Maxwell, Omar, The Tony Rich Project: Romeos of Record
Comment by Amy Linden, New York Times Special Features Syndication, 9 April 1996
Today's black singers conquer charts and hearts by crooning instead of crowing. ...
The Replacements, Paul Westerberg: Paul Westerberg: Former Angry Young Man Now a Bit Amused
Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 6 May 1996
Paul Westerberg wears the crown of pop punk king very reluctantly ...
Merle Haggard: Tramps, New York NY
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 13 May 1996
The bus stops here, at long last, and Merle shows he's still one of our great country men ...
The Fugees: With Help From Roberta Flack, The Fugees Are Redefining Rap
Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 26 May 1996
IT'S SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE the start of the recent Fugees show here at the Irvine Auditorium on the University of Pennsylvania campus, and the rap ...
Nas: Rap: Nas-ter Has Success 'Written' All Over Him
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 25 July 1996
Speaking the Queensbridge English, recording artist is the city's No. 1 son ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 2 September 1996
The Vibe Wasn't Exactly Magic Quick taste of new Quincy Jones/Magic Johnson production doesn't provide enough flavor ...
Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 10 September 1996
AWOL SINCE 1988, New Edition is back with a vengeance. With all members on board (yes, that includes bad boy Bobby Brown, as well as ...
George Clinton, Punk-Funk All Stars: George Clinton, the Reigning Hippie of Funk
Profile by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 27 October 1996
WHEN JERRY Garcia died last year and the Grateful Dead disbanded shortly thereafter, the question arose as to who would inherit the band's legacy of ...
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham: Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham: St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn NY
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 9 December 1996
First Penn & Oldham wrote great songs, now they play 'em ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 13 January 1997
New Edition Recaptures Old Feeling ...
Essay by Amy Linden, The Source, 1998
THE SUBJECT is female singers, and we’re gonna make it easy on ya. ...
Grace Jones: Private Life - The Compass Point Sessions (Island)
Review by Amy Linden, Fi, 1998
OF ALL THE words that are over and misused, diva is surely at the top of the heap. Once an adjective related to describing the ...
Jay Z: Jay-Z: Vol.2…Hard Knock Life (Roc- A-Fella/Def Jam)
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, 1998
ALTHOUGH RAPPER Jay-Z may be new to mainstream America, he has been a rising star in the hip hop community for years. ...
Queen Latifah: From Here to Royalty
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, 1998
Y'all know Lah: She's our number one sister, our Queen for life. Ladies first and all. But y'all cats be wonderin'. Wantin' to know if ...
Gang Starr: The Greatness of Gang Starr
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, unpublished, 1998
IN 1997 EMI Records was in the process of folding, and among the groups who were up for grabs was Gang Starr, a veteran NYC ...
Busta Rhymes: Woo Busta!! Professor Rhymes holds forth
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, 1998
"BEHOLD. BEHOLD. BEHOLD." Busta Rhymes is quietly repeating the word under his breath He’s in LA, in the thick of sessions for his third solo ...
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, August 1998
AT THE END of the day, chances are that 92 percent of all pop songs are about getting laid. Granted, that's a random number, but ...
Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia)
Review by Amy Linden, The Source, September 1998
WHAT DOES it say about hip-hop when one of the better hip-hop records of the year contains little actual rapping? Thoughtful, passionate, purposeful and unmistakably ...
Gerald Levert, L.S.G., O'Jays: Gerald Levert: Daddy, I Wanna Sing
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 1998
SECOND-GENERATION LEVERT SINGER AND LSG GURU GERALD HAS SONGS FOR DAYS — ASK HIS POPS, EDDIE ...
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, December 1998
THERE ARE TWO WAYS to consider Dru Hill. One is that the Baltimore quartet is methadone for those experiencing a serious Jodeci jones. Not the ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, 1999
In an R&B world where diamonds and champagne are king, singer/songwriter Eric Benét is a genius prince who dreams of the big takeover. ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, February 1999
When Mya Harrison makes moves, people move over. Amy Linden steps aside. ...
Blackstreet: Finally (Interscope)
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, March 1999
EVEN WITH 16 years worth of hits on his résumé, it's hard to sum up just what the "Teddy Riley sound" is. ...
Heavy D. & the Boyz: Heavy D: There's Something About Heavy
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, July 1999
WHEN HEAVY D was just a kid, when he was Dwight Myers, the youngest of six children in a Jamaican immigrant family, he used to ...
Angie Stone: Precious and Pure
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 1999
WHILE the sumptuous and soulful Black Diamond (Arista) may be Angie Stone's solo debut, it's not the first time the singer/songwriter/producer has rocked the mike. ...
Brian McKnight: The Professional
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, November 1999
Writer. Singer. Producer. Arranger. Player. Brian McKnight is a musician's musician. So Amy Linden has to wonder, why does this highly trained master at his ...
Mariah Carey: Rainbow (Columbia)
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, December 1999
YES! YES! YES! Mariah Carey is still a skilled singer. The fans will always adore her. Her seat among the pop music hierarchy is secure. ...
Dr. Dre: Dr Dre: 2001 (Interscope/Aftermath)
Review by Amy Linden, People, Fall 1999
DR DRE’S THE CHRONIC (1992) not only put West Coast rap firmly on the map, the album became one of the biggest-selling hip hop records ...
Baaba Maal: Dropping in on Baaba Mal
Interview by Amy Linden, Code, 2000
FOR YEARS THE music press has insisted that African pop is poised to become the next big thing. That American audiences will embrace the various ...
Review by Amy Linden, XXL, 2000
ECLECTICISM IS NOT usually associated with hip hop. Most artists, especially those who sell, want to maintain their base, yet in an effort to keep ...
20 Classic Love Songs: Nuthin' But Love
Guide by Michael A. Gonzales, Amy Linden, Vibe, February 2000
Turn the lights down low, put the champagne on ice, and load your CD player with these modern romance classics ...
Tina Turner: Tina Tuner: Twenty Four Seven (Virgin)
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, April 2000
SOME PEOPLE you just can't fathom criticizing, one of them being Tina Tuner. Miss Tina has always been larger than life, an iconic figure of ...
Lil' Kim Is The Baddest Girl Alive
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, May 2000
NEW YORK CITY'S Central Park South is a mixture of dyed-in-the-wool, Waspy Manhattan mega bucks and the glitz of the nouveau notorious. Side by side ...
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 2000
In the urban global village, SWEDEN is holding its own — pumping out some of today's most popular chart-topping teen R&B tunes and boasting its ...
LL Cool J: The LL Cool J Interview
Interview by Amy Linden, sonicnet.com, Summer 2000
You were the guy who coined the phrase, "Don't call it a comeback." But it seems that every record has the air of a ...
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, February 2001
IT’S A DREARY late fall day in New York and Eve is having a fashion emergency. The first lady of Ruff Ryders is back from ...
Missy Elliott: Rhymes & Misdemeanours: Missy Elliott Gets Her Freak On
Interview by Amy Linden, Rock's Backpages, 28 April 2001
THE EXPRESSION "it takes a village to raise a child" has quickly morphed from sage African proverb to the "Have A Nice Day" of social ...
The Roots: Forward To The Roots
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, 2002
FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS the city of Philadelphia has sponsored the Philadelphia College Festival. Held directly across the steps of the Art Museum (home ...
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, 2003
SHE'S THE NEPTUNES' fave session chick, critics dug her 2000 debut Kaleidoscope and the fashion world (and Nas) thinks she's the shit. ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, 2003
NOTE: The Black Album was not only Jay-Z's eighth studio album, reportedly it was also meant to be his swansong: a collection of jams meant ...
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 23 July 2003
ABOUT A YEAR ago, a hard-working street team slapped up promotional snipes that asked: "Who is Joe Budden?" According to a highly subjective survey (conducted ...
Beyoncé: Pop the Question, Jigga – Miss Fat Booty Gets Some, Gives Some Up Without Shame
Comment by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 27 August 2003
UNLIKE THE B.Lo affair (so ubiquitous it practically has its own action figures), whatever is going on between Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z is under the ...
Nelly Furtado: Folklore (DreamWorks)
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 24 December 2003
SOME CRITIC I was reading recently (Jayson Blair alert: The following is not this writer's original thought!) observed that the fiddle had emerged as the ...
Snoop Doggy Dogg: Gangsters: Snoop Dogg and Michael Imperioli
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, Complex, 2004
"What is it about the gangster mythology...that grabs those of us, especially men outside 'the life'? What is about guys like (the late) John Gotti, ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Complex, 2004
IT'S A RAINY MARCH morning in NYC; the Beastie Boys are in the hiz-ouse or rather the photo studio and the topic on the table ...
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 19 April 2004
USHER RAYMOND is a star. The faithful have thought as much for years, but recently the masses affirmed it when 1.1 million of them trooped ...
Gwen Stefani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby (Interscope)
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 13 December 2004
LIKE THAT OF her spiritual mommies Madonna and Debbie Harry, Gwen Stefani's appeal knows few boundaries. ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Complex, Summer 2004
WHEN KANYE WEST'S much-anticipated debut The College Dropout hit stores in early February, its blend of inventive production – via a by-now trademark predilection for ...
Lil' Kim: Big Verdict: Lil' Kim Is Seriously Fucked
Comment by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 18 March 2005
ON MARCH 3, in the midst of her highly publicized trial in Manhattan Federal court, a clearly beleaguered Lil' Kim issued a statement through the ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, August 2006
THERE'S NEVER been a funkier white girl than Teena Marie. With hits like 'Lovergirl', 'Square Biz' and 'Fire and Desire' – a duet with former ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 16 January 2007
WITH HYPE justified by her soon come (and already #1 in the UK) sophomore CD Back To Black), and a Ghostface remix of the slurred, ...
Interview by Amy Linden, unpublished, March 2007
This interview was conducted March 2007, the day Amy's Back to Black dropped. As part of the overall story we talked about her relationship to ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL Hip Hop Soul, June 2007
UNDER LOS ANGELES' sparkly surface there lies a noir beauty, and nowhere is that gritty glamour more present than at the legendary Chateau Marmont. Nestled ...
Amy Winehouse: Hip-Hop Junkies: Amy Winehouse
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, June 2007
23-YEAR-OLD UK soul/jazz chanteuse Amy Winehouse has taken music by storm with her American debut Back To Black. Already huge overseas, Amy first got US ...
Ne-Yo: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, June 2007
Ne-Yo couldn't step to the left if he wanted to. He's actually stepping forward on to superstardom — and there are rumors and X-rated photo ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 2007
THE DAP-KINGS — PURVEYORS OF THE FUNK BEHIND AMY WINEHOUSE, LILY ALLEN, AND SHARON JONES — BRING THE OLD SOUND BACK WITH NEW STYLE, AND ...
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 3 October 2007
THE E STREET BAND last convened around Bruce Springsteen on 2001's The Rising; since then, the Boss (who looks finer as he gets older) has ...
Amy Winehouse: The Slow Blackout of Amy Winehouse
Comment by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 15 January 2008
How a troubled r&b mega-talent's breakout hit turned against her ...
Def Jam at 25: The Yankees of Hip-Hop Labels, Reconsidered
Comment by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 27 October 2009
WHAT IS IT about hip-hop that, inevitably, almost any conversation revolves around dates – around how far back in the day you can claim to ...
CeeLo Green: Cee Lo Green: The Fearless Cee Lo Green
Interview by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 10 November 2010
Will The Lady Killer and 'Fuck You' finally turn him into a solo superstar? ...
Mavis Staples Is for the Children
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 12 January 2011
MAVIS STAPLES digs her some younger men, but she'd rather lead them to the studio than the bedroom. "I think it really makes for a ...
Obituary by Amy Linden, XXL, September 2012
THE DEATH OF a young person evokes its own peculiar grief. And when that death is a suicide – grief mushrooms into something more painful ...
Retrospective and Interview by Amy Linden, Red Bull Academy Magazine, April 2013
IT'S DIFFICULT for a generation raised on Carrie and the girls, luxury condos and cabs that have no problem taking you to Brooklyn to wrap ...
Comment by Amy Linden, Ebony, 26 September 2013
Born 30 years ago this month, Winehouse seemed more intuitively connected to black soul than other white pop stars in her wake ...
Dead Kennedys: Highway to Hell: My Life on the Road with the Dead Kennedys
Memoir by Amy Linden, Cuepoint, 3 February 2015
IN 1981, I MOVED back to New York City after spending four years in San Francisco. I was 22, and a childhood friend and I ...
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