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 was a senior writer and contributor at XXL. Amy is a long time Brooklyn resident, a mother and doesn't get paid enough.
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178 articles
List of articles in the library
Essay by Amy Linden, The Source, 1998
THE SUBJECT is female singers, and we’re gonna make it easy on ya. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Baaba Maal: Dropping in on Baaba Mal
Interview by Amy Linden, Code, January 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 ...
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Report and Interview by Amy Linden, unpublished, 1998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 ...
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. ...
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, 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 ...
The Roots: Forward To The Roots
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, January 2003
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 ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 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. ...
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 ...
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, 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, ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, XXL, September 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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? ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, 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". ...
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! ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, February 1999
When Mya Harrison makes moves, people move over. Amy Linden steps aside. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, 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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, Spin, September 1990
Concrete Blonde leave a little blood on the tracks, says AMY LINDEN. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Run-DMC: 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 13 January 1997
New Edition Recaptures Old Feeling ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, 2 September 1996
The Vibe Wasn't Exactly Magic Quick taste of new Quincy Jones/Magic Johnson production doesn't provide enough flavor ...
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 ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 8 January 1995
Rhythm-and-Blues Has a New Breed ...
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 ...
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 26 June 1994
Exportable Euro-Rappers ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
Luther Vandross: Songs (Epic, $15.98)
Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1994
Some Schmaltz From Vandross ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Adele Bertei: Little Lives (Chrysalis)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, September 1988
IF THE image you have of Adele Bertei is that of a downtown scenester, banging out post-punk tunes with the Contortions, or starring in those ...
AC/DC: Blow Up Your Video (Atlantic)
Review by Amy Linden, Spin, June 1988
FOR THOSE of you who haven't been paying much attention, let me let you in on a little secret: It's okay to like Heavy Metal ...
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 ...
Terri & Monica: Terri and Monica: Systa (Epic Records 53436; CD and cassette)
Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 21 November 1993
THE PHENOMENAL crossover success of the singer Mary J. Blige has, not surprisingly, produced a truckload of street-savvy, no-nonsense female rhythm-and-blues singers. Taking their cue ...
Missy Elliott: Rhymes & Misdemeanours: Missy Elliott Gets Her Freak On
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, July 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 ...
Keyshia Cole, Leela James, Jaguar Wright: Old R&B New Again Again
Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 12 October 2005
Three young divas make soul waters safe for middle-aged Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is Jaguar Wright: Divorcing Neo to Marry Soul Leela James: A Change Is Gonna ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, January 2005
To hell with the bitches and so-called fame, Ludacris just isn't as crazy as his rappin' name. Beef with Bill O'Reilly, T.I. and Chingy be ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Hits, 25 May 1992
They're young, they're cute and they're selling more records than the law should allow. It's Kris Kross, straight outta Atlanta... and puberty. Thirteen-year-olds Chris Smith ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, May 2004
Ten Years Ago, Method Man was unquestionably one of the rap game's top MCs. In 2004, he's knows more for his movies and TV appearances ...
Comment by Amy Linden, Honey, March 2001
IT WAS A seminal moment — as if life had just been discovered on Mars. The world's biggest boy band was on BET's 106 & ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Replay (Sam Goody), June 1996
With a new album and a book of short fiction, Rosanne Cash reinvents herself again. ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, June 2002
IMMORTALIZED IN Woody Allen movies and Seinfeld, Manhattan's Upper West Side is old school New York. Graced with wide avenues and imposing buildings — the ...
Review by Amy Linden, Fi, September 1996
TWO ALBUMS. Two groups. Two release dates. But for all intents and purposes De La Soul's Stakes Is High and A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, ...
CeeLo Green: Cee-Lo Green: Cee-Lo Green And His Perfect Imperfections
Review by Amy Linden, XXL, May 2002
HE ISN'T a gospel singer, but there's no denying that there's a whole lot of chu'ch in Cee-Lo. Yet since the singer/rapper and founding member ...
Lenny Kravitz: Express yourself
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, July 2004
Hip-hop's favorite rock guitarist shows us his soul. ...
Dr. Dre: Ain't nothing but a gender thang?
Interview by Amy Linden, Request, May 1993
Dr. Dre and writer Amy Linden go one-on-one on sexism and The Chronic. Nobody wins. ...
Truth Hurts: Truthfully Speaking
Review by Amy Linden, The Source, August 2002
STEVIE WONDER once declared that love's in need of love today. It's a beautiful notion, but one that eludes much of the current R&B. Case ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, March 2002
Phife's worst nightmare has come true: Q-Tip would rather harmonize than spit. One of hip-hop's most respected MCs has flipped the script. But will the ...
Review by Amy Linden, People, 10 July 2000
THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH to have fathered some of the boys in the bands now laying claim to the charts they once ruled, but Duran Duran ...
Naughty By Nature: Eye of the Storm
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, May 1999
They rocked baldies and chains before it was cool, and hold three of the game's hottest anthems. Now, eight years after 'O.P.P.', Naughty By Nature ...
Queen Latifah: Queen of Hearts
Interview by Amy Linden, Heart & Soul, January 2003
As rap's first lady, small-screen trailblazer and emerging Hollywood star, Queen Latifah, anyone would admit, has opened doors where there were none. But here, in ...
Biz Markie, Will Smith: The Illest: Fix your face. It's the Biz Mark, Biz Mark.
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, November 2002
His old school hip-hop classics still make you feel good like Billy Bob Thornton. Just ask little-ass Mario, who owes his whole career to this ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, November 2003
She's the rare female MC who's known for her jaw-dropping lyrics — not the thing between her legs. That's why we love Digga, Digga … ...
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, July 2002
Wyclef Jean is one of America's favorite crossover rappers. But will he be able to keep it clean when he takes it back to the ...
Missy Elliott: Da Real World (Elektra)
Review by Amy Linden, The Source, 1999
THERE ARE cultural watershed moments. Blips in the radar screen that make you anticipate what lies ahead and forget what came before. One of those ...
Aerosmith, Run-DMC: Hip-hop junkies: Steven Tyler
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, August 2004
Down by law: Mr. 'Walk This Way' tells why rap and rock are meant for each other ...
Dallas Austin, TLC: TLC: Spice Who?
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 1999
THE EXPRESSION "eagerly anticipated" may be one of the most played out in the lexicon of show business. Not because fans don't fiend for new ...
Profile by Amy Linden, XXL, March 2005
Caking up ain't hard to do, it's just messy. ...
Pitbull: English. Spanish. Reggaeton. Crunk.
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, August 2006
He's got a lot more to talk about than culo. And major issues other than money. Straight outta Miami's Little Havana, Cubano rapper Pitbull wants ...
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, January 1999
EIGHT YEARS AGO, BUSTA RHYMES ROARED INTO OUR HEARTS WITH THE MANIC ENERGY OF A HIP-HOP ACTION HERO. NOW HE'S A MULTI-PLATINUM ARTIST AND A ...
Review by Amy Linden, People, 10 July 2000
SUPERGROUPS ARE almost unheard of in R&B, so when former members of big-name acts combine forces, it's news. ...
Mary J. Blige, TLC: TLC: Crazysexycool (LaFace/Arista): Mary J. Blige: My Life (Uptown/MCA)
Review by Amy Linden, Request, February 1995
WRITER F. SCOTT Fitzgerald once said there are no second acts in American Life, but had he been in the pop-music business, he might have ...
Dr. Dre, Lil' Kim, The Roots, Scott Storch: Scott Storch: Big Chips
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, December 2004
He's rich, bitch. Boyfriend of Lil' Kim. Producer of 'Lean Back'. Beyoncé hitmaker. Dr. Dre Coconspirator. And, oh yeah, he's white. Ladies and gents, Scott ...
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 1999
WITH SMASHES like Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative' (1988) and Johnny Kemp's 'Just Got Paid' (1988), Teddy Riley invented New Jack Swing and forever changed the ...
Review by Amy Linden, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 May 2008
British singer/rapper Estelle makes sassy debut ...
Assassin, Doc Gynéco, IAM, MC Solaar, Ministère Amer, NTM, Passi: MC Solaar, IAM, Passi et al: Paris
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, March 1998
Once considered a racial utopia for Black American expatriates in the '60s, Paris has become a different beast. Today, in a city often wracked by ...
Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige: Eryka Badu: Baduizm (Universal); Mary J. Blige: Share My World (MCA)
Review by Amy Linden, Fi, September 1997
The Main Event: Badu vs. Blige ...
Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 2000
The thrill is gone for the crew from Hollis, Queens. With DMC's voice failing and run eager to battle rap against the new school, will ...
Ike Turner: It Didn't Work Out Fine — Ike Turner: Tramps, New York NY
Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 26 August 1996
Ike Turner still can light fires with his guitar, but new Ikettes lack the spark to keep it going ...
Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Essence, December 1993
She's putting the blues back into R&B and singing up a quiet storm ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, December 2007
From the U.K. to the U.S., Stringer Bell is feeling hip-hop ...
Dalvin Degrate: Met.A.Mor.Phic
Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 2000
EXACTLY WHAT WAS Dalvin DeGrate's function in Jodeci? ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Heart & Soul, June 2002
Peering out from under frosted bangs with mucho come-hither-let-me-slither attitude, Kelly Price preens for the camera, pursing her high-gloss lips. Her glamour-puss prancing is greeted ...
Interview by Amy Linden, Hits, 20 May 1991
Time for a cup of joe and a doughnut with Phranc ...
Review by Amy Linden, Request, August 1995
AMERICA MAY have invented it, but over the past few years the most intriguing R&B has come out of England. From the Young Disciples, Loose ...
Review by Amy Linden, XXL, May 2003
ONCE A ROCK critic noted that while '60s icons the Velvet Underground sold few records everyone who bought one went on to form their own ...
Coldplay: Chris Martin: Justify My Thug
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, September 2005
Coldplay's front man is addicted to the game ...
Patti LaBelle: Hip hop junkies: Patti LaBelle
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, December 2002
Your Highness. Bow down to mama soul or get the boot. ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, January 2005
Rock's number-one White chick tells us what she's learned from rap royalty. ...
The Tony Rich Project: Tony Rich: Atlanta
Interview by Amy Linden, Request, March 1996
ARMED WITH MUSCULAR BALLADS AND A LILTING, MODULATED EMOTIONALITY, HE IS THE LATEST SENSITIVE LOVE MAN. ...
Kelly Price: Mirror Mirror (Def Soul)
Review by Amy Linden, People, 10 July 2000
WHETHER IT'S Diana Ross and the Supremes or the hip-hop soul of Mary J. Blige, it is safe to say that a very high percentage ...
Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, Summer 2006
Kelis is too raunchy! No, she's alternative. Then again, she's also a wife and stepmother. Listen, this colorful peacock has too much wingspan to be ...
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