Kelefa Sanneh bibliography

List of works by or about Kelefa Sanneh, American journalist and music critic.

Books

• Sanneh, Kelefa (2021). Major labels : a history of popular music in seven genres. New York: Penguin Press.

Essays and reporting

• Sanneh, Kelefa (August 20–27, 2001). "Gettin' paid : Jay-Z, criminal culture, and the rise of corporate rap". The Music Industry. The New Yorker.
• — (October 8, 2001). "The arranger : the many careers of Quincy Jones". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker.
• — (June 17–24, 2002). "Sympathy for the Devil : Eminem pleads his case". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker.
• — (October 11, 2004). "Pray and grow rich". Letter from Atlanta. The New Yorker.
• — (August 4, 2008). "What he knows for sure : Tavis Smiley confronts the Obama candidacy". The Political Scene. The New Yorker.
• — (November 24, 2008). "Science projects". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 84 (38): 122–123. ^[1]
• — (November 7, 2011). "Cain's ghosts". The Talk of the Town. Campaign Diary. The New Yorker. 87 (35): 24–26.
• — (November 19, 2012). "Badass American". Profiles. The New Yorker. 88 (36): 34–45. ^[2]
• — (November 26, 2012). "The hell-raiser". Profiles. The New Yorker. 88 (37): 56–65. ^[3]
• — (February 11–18, 2013). "Spirit guide". Letter from Islay. The New Yorker. 89 (1): 51–61. ^[4]
• — (March 25, 2013). "Harlem chic : how a hip-hop legend remixed name-brand fashion". Annals of Style. The New Yorker. 89 (6): 52–59.
• — (May 13, 2013). "Paint bombs : David Graeber's 'The Democracy Project' and the anarchist revival". The Critics. A Critic at Large. The New Yorker. 89 (13): 72–76.
• — (December 2, 2013). "Blockbuster : who needs hits?". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker. 89 (39): 70–74.
• — (February 9, 2014). "White Mischief". Books. The New Yorker. Article about Carl Van Vechten
• — (March 24, 2014). "Skin in the game : Under Armour knows athletes. Can it sell to everyone else?". Annals of Fashion. The New Yorker. 90 (5): 48–55.
• — (July 28, 2014). "Mean girl". Profiles. The New Yorker. 90 (21): 54–63. ^[5]
• — (September 1, 2014). "Suburban renewal". The Talk of the Town. Dept. of Hoopla. The New Yorker. 90 (25): 21–22.
• — (October 20, 2014). "Breaking bread". The Talk of the Town. The Ropes. The New Yorker. 90 (32): 30, 32.
• — (February 9, 2015). "Don't be like that : does black culture need to be reformed?". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker. 91 (6): 62–68.
• — (April 6, 2015). "First-person singular : Waxahatchee's unadulterated songs". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker. 91 (7): 7476. ^[6]
• — (May 25, 2015). "The best defense : money and morals in the Fight of the Century". The Sporting Scene. The New Yorker. 91 (14): 40–51. ^[7]
• — (June 29, 2015). "Pop up : Spraynard carries on the sophomoric yet imperishable pop-pink tradition". Goings on About Town. Night Life. The New Yorker. 91 (18): 10. ^[8]
• — (June 29, 2015). "Mr. Popular : Sam Hunt's music is radio-friendly. But is it country?". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker. 91 (18): 72–73. ^[9]
• — (September 14, 2015). "Body Count". A Critic at Large. The New Yorker.
• — (February 29, 2016). "Chill in the air : the rise of Kygo's laid-back house music". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker. 92 (3): 76–77.
• — (April 25, 2016). "Godmother of Soul : Erykah Badu's expanding musical universe". Profiles. The New Yorker. 92 (11): 50–57.
• — (May 9, 2016). "Cool Papa". Profiles. The New Yorker.
• — (July 11–18, 2016). "There goes the neighborhood : is it really a problem when poor areas get richer?". The Critics. A Critic at Large. The New Yorker. 92 (21): 80–85. ^[10]
• — (August 8–15, 2016). "Out of the trap : can Gucci Mane survive his legend?". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker. 92 (24): 68–70. ^[11]
• — (November 7, 2016). "The moral minority : if the Southern Baptist church can't be bigger, Russell Moore wants it to be better". Annals of Religion. The New Yorker. 92 (36): 34–43. ^[12]
• — (March 20, 2017). "As is : the techno d.j. Nina Kraviz stops off at Schimanski". Goings on About Town. Night Life. The New Yorker. 93 (5): 24. ^[13]
• — (June 19, 2017). "The Prog Spring : was progressive rock the end of pop-music history? Yes and no". The Critics. A Critic at Large. The New Yorker. 93 (17): 67–71. ^[14]
• — (November 6, 2017). "Against the tide : what's behind Tulsi Gabbard's unconventional politics?". Profiles. The New Yorker. 93 (35): 36–45. ^[15]
• — (December 28, 2020). "Drink it in : how Morgan Wallen became the most wanted man in country music". The Critics. Pop Music. The New Yorker. 96 (42): 87–89. ^[16]
• — (May 31, 2021). "Guns and butter : have fights over rights led us astray?". The Critics. A Critic at Large. The New Yorker. 97 (14): 59–64. ^[17]
• — (September 6, 2021). "Spirit guide : reinventing a great distillery". Letter from Islay. February 11 & 18, 2013. The New Yorker. 97 (27): 48–52, 54–57. ^[18]
• — (September 13, 2021). "Part-time punk : learning to love music—and to hate it too". Personal History. The New Yorker. 97 (28): 28–33. ^[19]
• — (April 25 – May 2, 2022). "Tough business : the rapper Fivio Foreign survived a gang war. Can he go mainstream?". Our Local Correspondents. The New Yorker. 98 (10): 30–35. ^[20]
• — (September 26, 2022). "The fall and rise of Shane Gillis". Annals of Comedy. The New Yorker. 98 (30): 30–36. ^[21]
• — (April 3, 2023). "Under God". Reporting & Essays. The New Yorker. 99 (7): 22–25. ^[22]

Notes

1. Reviews "Fringe" and "The Mentalist".
2. Discusses Kid Rock.
3. Evangelical pastor Rob Bell.
4. Reinventing the Bruichladdich Distillery. Later reprinted in the September 6, 2021 issue.
5. Ronda Rousey, boxer.
6. Online version is titled "Katie Crutchfield’s musical memoirs".
7. Title in the online table of contents is "Floyd Mayweather’s longest fight".
8. Title in the online table of contents is "Pop-punk lives on."
9. Title in the online table of contents is "Bro-Country grows up".
10. Online version is titled "Is gentrification really a problem?".
11. Online version is titled "Gucci Mane, reborn".
12. Online version is titled "The New Evangelical Moral Minority".
13. Online version is titled "Nina Kraviz’s severe but open-minded techno".
14. Online version is titled "The persistence of prog rock".
15. Online version is titled "What does Tulsi Gabbard believe?".
16. Online version is titled "How Morgan Wallen became the most wanted man in country".
17. Online version is titled "From guns to gay marriage, how did rights take over politics?".
18. Online version is titled "Reinventing Scotch whisky". Originally published in the February 11 & 18, 2013 issue.
19. Online version is titled "The education of a part-time punk".
20. Online version is titled "Fivio Foreign's big move".
21. Online version is titled "Shane Gillis's fall and rise".
22. Online version is titled "How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?".