Amanda Blank (born Amanda Mallory McGrath; March 21, 1983) is an American singer,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and member of the performance art band Sweatheart based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Early life

Amanda Blank was born in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

, a neighborhood in northwest

, Pennsylvania in 1983. Amanda and her older sisters were raised in a row house in Germantown by artist parents. Blank based her stage name on ''

Strangers with Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pr ...

'' character, Jerri Blank, played by

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both ''The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and '' The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

Career

She frequently collaborates with rapper

Spank Rock Naeem Juwan, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (XXXChange). A harbinger of p ...

, most notably on the track "Blow" on the mix CD '' Bmore Gutter Music'' and later "Bump" on the album ''

YoYoYoYoYo ''YoYoYoYoYo'' is the debut studio album by Spank Rock. It was released through Big Dada on April 18, 2006. It was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize. Song "What It Look Like" was featured in the soundtrack for 2006 Racing game, racing v ...

'', released in 2006. Her songs have appeared in HBO's '' Life Support'' and the ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...

'' episode "

Buzzkill Buzzkill may refer to: * ''Buzzkill'' (TV series) * "Buzzkill" (''CSI: NY'' episode) * "Buzzkill" (song), by Luke Bryan *"Buzz-Kill", a song by Dune Rats from ''The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit'' *''Buzzkill'', a 2008 film by Second City See also ...

". In 2007, she was featured on the official Eli Escobar and Doug Grayson remix for Britney Spears's hit single "

Gimme More "Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, '' Blackout'' (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears' ...

". In early 2008, Blank was described as being part of "a new crop of young, multicultural, female hip-hop acts in the wake of

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

causing a stir on the internet and in indie-label conference rooms." Blank's song "Supafreak" appeared in the movie ''

Observe and Report ''Observe and Report'' is a 2009 American black comedy film written and directed by Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris and Ray Liotta. It follows a Mental disorder, mentally unstable vigilante Security guard, mall cop who attempts to jo ...

'' in 2009. She was featured on the song "Loose" on the ''Spank Rock and Benny Blanco are Bangers & Cash EP'', which appeared in the ABC show '' Castle'' episode "Lucky Stiff". Blank's song "Make It Take It" appeared in a commercial for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

in 2010. Blank signed to

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...

in 2007. Her first solo album, "'' I Love You''", was produced by XXXChange of

, Diplo, and

Dave Sitek David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady E ...

in August 2009, with her first single being "Might Like You Better". The album received a strongly negative review from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', which described it as akin to "

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

minus the tunes, ambition, or sense of purpose." Others were more positive, with ''Billboard'' describing it as "guiltless fun, just like any proper quickie." Amanda Blank has opened for Canadian

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a genre of music that fuses 1980s electro, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, retro-style electropop and electronic dance music. It ...

musician

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

, the

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

, and label mate

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

. On May 16, 2019, she released a song called "Put Me Out." In 2020, she had a feature in the track "WooWooWoo", on Spank Rock's album '' Startisha''.

Personal life

Blank is currently in a relationship with

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

drummer,

Matt Helders Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English drummer, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. In 2015, Helders collaborated with I ...

Discography

Albums

*2005: ''Bmore Gutter Music'' (Mix CD) *2006: ''Blow'' (EP) *2009: '' I Love You'' *TBA: ''The Ruiner''

Singles

*2009: "Might Like You Better" *2009: "Shame on Me" *2019: "Put Me Out" *2020: "Oh Man" *2021: "Love You Again"

Other

*''Get It Now'' 12" *''Supafreak"

Featuring work

*"Foul Mouth" – on ''Dimensional People'' LP (with Mouse on Mars) *"Quicksand (Mad Decent 2010 Rerub)"- (with

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

) *"A Volta" – feat.

Sizzla Miguel Orlando Collins (born 17 April 1976), known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high num ...

and Lovefoxxx, on ''The Spirit of Apollo'' LP (with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

) *"Bump" – 12" (with

) *"Extraball" – on the ''

Away from the Sea ''Away From The Sea'' is the debut studio album by French electro house artist, Yuksek. The album was released on 9 Feb 2009 through Barclay Records. The first single from the album, "Tonight", was performed live in China and featured in the v ...

'' LP (with

Yuksek Pierre-Alexandre Busson (born 3 June 1977), better known as Yuksek, is a French electronic music producer, remixer, singer and DJ from Reims. Yüksek means "high" in Turkish. Biography Yuksek was born in Reims, France. Yuksek played the piano a ...

) *''Lindsay Lohan's Revenge'' – 12" (with Pase Rock) *''Supahead'' – (Wowo Bmore Gutter Music) *''Loose'' – 12" (with Bangers & Cash) *''Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles'' – (with Spank Rock) *''Sexy Motherfucker'' – 12" (with Pase Rock) *''Blow Remix EP'' – (with Aaron LaCrate, 45 King, Dj Equalizer, Debonair Samir) *''

'' – (with

) *'' Startisha'' - (with

) *''Bmore Gutter Music'' – (with Aaron LaCrate, Low Budget,

) *"What U Like" – (with

) *"Love Thing Part 3 (Only you)" – On Eli Escobar's "Love thing" LP *"Psycho Killa" – On The '87 Stick Up Kids "Car Keys & Rabbit Feet" LP

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blank, Amanda American women rappers Living people Rappers from Philadelphia 1982 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century women rappers