Monica Lynch
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Monica Lynch (born
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
) is a music business executive,
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
, and former President of
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
/
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...
label
Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...
.LaFreniere, Steve, Interview with Monica Lynch
''Index'' magazine, 1999
She has hosted radio programs on free-form
WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...
since 1997, and worked as an A&R consultant for
Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...
and
Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...
. Lynch was born and raised in Chicago, and moved east in the late 1970s. "I was pretty starry-eyed when I got to New York. I came from Chicago to work in a fashion show in '78 and it was one of those impetuous things — I just didn't go back," she said in a 1999 interview. "I had no money, so a make-up artist I knew let me crash on her floor." According to a 2007 interview in '' Bust'' magazine, "Like many of the young hip-hop acts she helped turn into stars in the '80s and '90s, Lynch started out in the business with nothing more than a strong work ethic and a love of music, eventually becoming one of hip-hop's most powerful women. In the 19 years she spent at Tommy Boy, ... Lynch helped launch the careers of major acts, including
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...
,
De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...
, nd Naughty by Nature."


Tommy Boy Records

Tommy Boy Records was founded by
Tom Silverman Tom Silverman is an American entertainment executive. He is most notable for founding the pioneering hip-hop and electro-funk music label, Tommy Boy Records, now known as Tommy Boy Entertainment. Early life and education Silverman grew up in Wh ...
in 1981, and Lynch was his first employee, hired in December of that year. She was named president of the label in 1985. " ynchcan vividly remember the night in March
982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...
when she drove with ilvermanto the basement studios of WHBI-FM to deliver the Planet Rock"">Planet_Rock_(song).html" ;"title="ew album by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force containing the song "Planet Rock (song)">Planet Rock"to hip-hop DJs Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, Marly [sic] Marl, not really grasping that the song would help to launch a sonic revolution whose effects are still being felt today," wrote Randy Reiss at MTV News. "With Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label), Sugar Hill being the only rap label with widespread acceptance at the time and other major rap players such as Jive Records, Jive and Priority just getting started, success was a gamble for the hip-hop entrepreneurs."Reiss, Randy, "Tommy Boy's ''Greatest Beats'' Documents Hip-Hop History"
MTV.com, Sept. 2, 1998
Lynch recalled: "Very soon after ropping it off we began hearing Planet Rock"pouring out of windows as Mr. Magic broke the record. For a label that, at the time, was just two people, it was a very heavy experience. This was a period when rap itself was very young, very much like a cottage industry. We were just getting started, Profile was just getting started and Jive wasn't in the rap game yet." The label did not have immediate followup success. However, as chronicled by the magazine ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', "After some fallow years, Tommy Boy experienced a rap resurgence, in no small way attributable to the cool aesthetic of he label'sfashionable president, Monica Lynch, who opened her doors to all kinds of artistic expression." She signed Queen Latifah and De La Soul, and played a key role in the development of the careers of various artists and executives, including
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
,
Dante Ross Dante Ross (born October 11, 1965) is an American music industry executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He was named one of the top-25 greatest A&R representatives in hip-hop by ''Complex'' magazine. Ross has been in his career an ...
, Naughty by Nature,
Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known by his stage name Coolio, was an American rapper. He was best known for his single "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995), which won a Grammy Award, and was credited for changing the cours ...
,
House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. They are best known for their 1992 hit single " Jump Around", which reached number 3 in their nati ...
,
Stetsasonic Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future ...
, Force M.D.'s,
Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...
,
Digital Underground Digital Underground is an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Its lineup grows with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hump). Shock G forme ...
,
808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. Taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" the members shared, they released ...
, and Prince Paul. Lynch helped to develop the label's clothing line (which was designed and overseen by the label's Rap Marketing Director Albee Ragusa). She also helped to produce its popular compilation and soundtrack albums, including ''MTV Party to Go'', ''Jersey Drive'', ''Nothing to Lose'', and others. She also served as art director for many of the label's packages. About the huge 1991 hit " O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature, Lynch recalled: "Tommy Boy always did well with acts that had something different about them. And with Naughty by Nature, having cornrows and being proud to be from New Jersey was not a very cool thing at the time. Of course, no matter what, a great record trumps everything else. ... yone from a 3-year-old to a 93-year-old could sing that chorus. It had a nursery-rhyme appeal to it." DJ
KayGee Keir Lamont Gist (born September 15, 1969), professionally known by his stage name KayGee, is an American DJ and record producer from East Orange, New Jersey, best known as a member of hip hop trio Naughty by Nature. He has won a Grammy Award ...
of Naughty by Nature credited Lynch for the band's successful branding. "Monica Lynch t Tommy Boyis a marketing genius, and she's totally, totally, if not solely responsible for branding Naughty by Nature," KayGee told
Spin magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. ...
. "You know that logo? She got Mark Weinberg to draw that logo for us. And that logo he drew at dinner on a napkin with a crayon. ... That's why the original logo has those ridges on it, that's from him pushing down on the crayon and the crayon breaking off." In 1992 she was given a demo tape of songs by RuPaul. "I thought the idea of a drag queen recording artist would be great if the music was there," she told ''
Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
'' magazine. "Otherwise it wouldn't stand alone on its two high heels." Lynch did like the music, and signed RuPaul to the label. While working on the artist's premiere Tommy Boy release, Lynch heard a demo of the song "
Supermodel (You Better Work) "Supermodel (You Better Work)" is a song by American dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was released as a double A-sided single alongside " House of Love" on November 17, 1992 by Tommy Boy Records. The song served as the lead single fr ...
," and added that to the album. She told ''Paper'', "I knew that it was going to be the single." Lynch originated the massively successful '' Jock Jams'' and '' Jock Rock'' series of compilations, starting in 1994. One of her last roles at the label was as a producer of the two-volume film soundtrack compilation albums ''54 (Music From The Miramax Motion Picture)''. She left Tommy Boy Records in February 1998.


Post-Tommy Boy career

Lynch joined the staff of radio station WFMU in 1997, during a
sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...
from Tommy Boy. At WFMU she hosted a weekly show for many years, and still hosts fill-in programs. "After 16 years at ommy Boy she was burned out by the music business's overwhelming commercial imperative, as well as its constant extramusical annoyances," wrote Jaime Wolf in the ''New York Times'' in a station profile from 1999. " rking at WFMU, Lynch says, has helped her reconnect to her original passion. When she talks about her fellow D.J.'s, she quickly falls into a wonderstruck tone, describing their knowledge as '
Talmudic The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
.' Being at the station, she says, is 'like running away and joining the circus. Lynch last hosted a regular weekly show on WFMU in 2013, but continues to host sporadic fill-ins. She served as A&R Director for Queen Latifah's 2004 release ''
The Dana Owens Album ''The Dana Owens Album'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop artist Queen Latifah. The album was released on September 28, 2004, through A&M Records. The album marks a departure from her previous hip-hop releases, and is composed of ja ...
'', and on Latifah's 2007 followup, '' Trav'lin' Light''. The latter album's co-producer,
Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. A traditional record producer since 1970, Fair has been credited with orchestral production work on several commercially success ...
, referred to Lynch as a "walking encyclopedia" of music. Lynch also served as A&R Director for Martina McBride's 2014 R&B and soul covers album, '' Everlasting''. In 2015 she served as Executive Producer for the Queen Latifah HBO film '' Bessie''. In 2020, she co-organized for
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
the first auction dedicated to vintage hip-hop art and collectibles. In 2022, Lynch curated the auction for the third consecutive year.Allah, Sha Be, "Sotheby's to Auction Off Over 100 Rare Hip Hop Artifacts from 2Pac, Biz Markie, and More"
''
The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'', March 29, 2022


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Monica American music industry executives Living people American radio DJs American hip-hop record producers People from Chicago American people of Irish descent A&R people Year of birth missing (living people)