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
75 articles
List of articles in the library by artist
Amy Winehouse: The Slow Blackout of Amy Winehouse
Comment by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 15 January 2008
How a troubled r&b mega-talent's breakout hit turned against her ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
Beyoncé: Pop the Question, Jigga – Miss Fat Booty Gets Some, Gives Some Up Without Shame
Comment by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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 ...
Busta Rhymes: Woo Busta!! Professor Rhymes holds forth
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Source, The, 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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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, 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Essay by Amy Linden, Source, The, 1998
THE SUBJECT is female singers, and we’re gonna make it easy on ya. ...
The Fugees: With Help From Roberta Flack, The Fugees Are Redefining Rap
Interview by Amy Linden, New York Times, The, 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 ...
Nelly Furtado: Folklore (DreamWorks)
Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
CeeLo Green: Cee Lo Green: The Fearless Cee Lo Green
Interview by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 10 November 2010
Will The Lady Killer and 'Fuck You' finally turn him into a solo superstar? ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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! ...
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. ...
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 ...
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. ...
Lil' Kim: Big Verdict: Lil' Kim Is Seriously Fucked
Comment by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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 ...
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, 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 ...
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, 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, February 1999
When Mya Harrison makes moves, people move over. Amy Linden steps aside. ...
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 ...
Outkast: OutKast: Stankonia (Arista)
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, 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 ...
Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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 ...
Mavis Staples Is for the Children
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
Gwen Stefani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby (Interscope)
Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 13 December 2004
LIKE THAT OF her spiritual mommies Madonna and Debbie Harry, Gwen Stefani's appeal knows few boundaries. ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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, ...
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, ...
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 ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
List of genre pieces
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 ...
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 ...
Def Jam at 25: The Yankees of Hip-Hop Labels, Reconsidered
Comment by Amy Linden, Village Voice, The, 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 ...
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