Jordannah Elizabeth
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Jordannah Elizabeth (born October 16, 1986 in
Baltimore, MD Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
) is an American journalist, lecturer,
music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
, author and screenwriter.


Journalism and lectures (2013–2020)

Elizabeth started her professional writing career by earning bylines in
Vice Magazine ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
,
Nerve.com ''Nerve'' or Nerve.com, was an American online magazine dedicated to sexual topics, relationships and culture. Founded by Rufus Griscom and Genevieve Field, Nerve published articles and photography on its website and several books, in partnership w ...
and
Bitch Media ''Bitch'' was an independent, quarterly alternative magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline described it as a "feminist response to pop culture", and it was described in 2008 by ''Columbia Journalism Review'' as "a respected journal o ...
in March 2013. In October 2013, she was brought on as a regular contributing writer and entertainment reporter for
New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
arts and entertainment section where she has conducted high-profile interviews with African American leaders of their fields like producer,
Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. " Tedd ...
, Walter Williams of
The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...
and
Black Girls Code Black Girls CODE (BGC) is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on providing technology education for African-American girls. Kimberly Bryant, an electrical engineer who had worked in biotech for over 20 years, founded Black Girls Code in ...
founder, Kimberly Bryant. As a national journalist, Jordannah wrote for a number of Bay Area publications in 2014 such as
San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...
,
East Bay Express The ''East Bay Express'' is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is distributed throughout Alameda County and parts of Contra Costa County every Wednesday. The ''E ...
SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, ...
where she most notably interviewed
Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
and
Ishmael Butler Ishmael Reginald Butler (born July 3, 1969) is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with such groups as Digable Planets in the 1990s and Shabazz Palaces in the 2010s. Early life Butler, who is a nati ...
of
Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of the Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi- ...
She worked as the associate editor of
The Deli Magazine ''The Deli'' was a Brooklyn based independent music magazine, with both print and online editions, as well as a blog (still active) that covers local music scenes and their emerging artists. Magazine In its print version, ''The Deli'' was a quar ...
San Francisco from 2013 to 2017. Jordannah expanded her reach as a global music journalist, writing for the now defunct International music sector of MTV called
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Iggy,. On July 26, 2016, Jordannah made her debut at LA Weekly with an interview with poet, musician and author
Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam'' ...
. Jordannah's work on rock music and criticism. Her rock writing included interviews with
Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she san ...
of
Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. Mazzy Star ...
,
Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild Style'', and write ...
of Blondie, Devendra Banhart,
Miranda Lee Richards Miranda Lee Richards (born April 4, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter. Her 2001 release ''The Herethereafter'' included original compositions such as "The Beginner", and a cover of The Rolling Stones' 1967 single "Dandelion". Her single "Th ...
,
The Warlocks The Warlocks are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1998 by the guitarist/singer Bobby Hecksher. The band's music has ranged from psychedelic rock to drone music. There have been many changes in personnel since its forma ...
,
Imaad Wasif Imaad Wasif is an Indian singer, guitarist and songwriter whose music combines elements of psychedelic folk and rock. Wasif’s music has been described as "unbelievably intense with sparkling, raga-influenced guitar and a mystic bent." In 2006, ...
and
Dead Meadow Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two liv ...
. Elizabeth also tackled issues of diversity and rape culture in the music industry. She wrote notable articles exploring Black women in rock and rock criticism with the articles
The Only Black Woman in the Room": Black Female Rock Journalists Share Their Experiences"
which featured the voices of Black women rock critics Kandia Crazy Horse, Trina Dharma Green and Nia Hampton and
Black Female Guitarists Get Real About How the Music Industry Views Them
which broke ground in the conversation of the inclusion of Black women in rock. Her LA Weekly catalog also includes a 2016 interview with
Jackie Fox Jacqueline Louise Fuchs (born December 20, 1959) is an American attorney and former musician. Under her stage name Jackie Fox, she played bass guitar for the pioneering all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways. She is the sister of screenwrite ...
(also known as Jackie Fuchs) of
The Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", "Queens of N ...
on rape culture in rock which followed
2015 interview
in
Bitch Media ''Bitch'' was an independent, quarterly alternative magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline described it as a "feminist response to pop culture", and it was described in 2008 by ''Columbia Journalism Review'' as "a respected journal o ...
where Jackie shares the accounts of her rape by manager
Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...
in 1974. She also wrote an intelligent essay on the topic calle
Dear Men of the Music Industry: You Can Do Better
which was published one month after the
MeToo Movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...
broke. From September 2017 to May 2018, Elizabeth covered MeToo and contributed regularly for
Ms. Magazine ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Ca ...
, her most notable articles bein
The Intersectionality of BelievabilityWill 2017 Be the Year of Hollywood’s Feminist Reckoning?
Elizabeth continued her work as an essayist during the MeToo era by writing the essa
For Black Women Survivors, #MeToo Is Still Falling Short
for PopSugar in October 2018. In 2018 have expanded to
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
,
DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
,
Hearst Magazines Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...
,
NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...
,
Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...
and other publications. Elizabeth's writing ranges from interviews, music journalism, personal essays, articles on healing in relationships and trauma to literary journalism. Her broad voice has made her an active teacher and lecturer, teaching writing and journalism workshops at institutions like
Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the oldest art colleges in the U ...
and Center for New Music in San Francisco. She has lectured at
Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...
in Brooklyn, New York,
De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...
in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
, England, and was invited as a guest journalist at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's Black Lives Matter: Music, Race, and Justice Conference in February 2017. She has also moderated panels on literature and film at Baltimore Book Festival and Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD. Jordannah became the editor in chief o
''TERSE.'' journal
in 2018 through 2020 after contributing to the online literary journal as a columnist since 2016. In 2020, her writing appeared i
Chamber Music Magazine
New York City Jazz Record ''The New York City Jazz Record'' is a monthly New York City based publication that includes features, reviews and concert announcements regarding jazz music. It is available in print form (black and white hardcopy) as well as online at www.nycjazz ...

The ZORA Music Canon
,
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
's branded content online publication
uDiscover Music
and has written a COVID-19 arts & entertainment column for
New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
entitled ''Stealth Isolation''. In August 2020, she was a participant in the inaugura
Florence Price Festival
as a panelist on th
Race and Gender in Classical Music Criticism
in panel. In December 2020, Jordannah was brought on as editor in chief o
''Mutual Mentorship for Musicians''
which was founded by musicians
Jen Shyu Jen Shyu (; born March 28, 1978) is an American experimental jazz vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and producer. Early life and education Shyu was born on March 28, 1978, in Peoria, Illinois, the child of Taiwanese and East Timo ...
an
Sara Serpa
She designed and spearheaded the organization's first anthology on her literary journal
Publik / Private


Journalism and lectures (2021)

Jordannah interviewed Emmy Award-winning filmmaker,
Stanley Nelson Jr. Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. (born June 7, 1951) is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 N ...
for
New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
in March 2021. On March 21, 2021, Jordannah penned a theoretical series entitled Feminist Jazz Journalism, Now! which was published b
Jazz Journalist Association
The articles explore the intersection of jazz and feminist theory. Feminist Jazz Journalism, Now! Is followed b
Part 2: A solution-based analysis
where she offers solutions to combat the misogynistic dominance of white male jazz critics and further makes a point i
Part 3: Speculative Futures & New Jazz Journalism
that without the proper, fair and equal acknowledgement of women and diverse jazz musicians and writers, the future of jazz may not prevail. Jordannah also founded the jazz criticism archive calle
Feminist Jazz Review
where much of her women and LGBTQ centered jazz journalism is compiled and published with links to their respective original publications. In April 2021, she was selected as a keynote speaker and panelist at the Columbia University's Music Scholarship Conference along with classical music critic,
Anne Midgette Anne Midgette (born June 22, 1965) is an American music critic who was the first woman to write classical music criticism regularly for ''The New York Times''. She was the chief classical music critic of ''The Washington Post'' from 2008 to 2 ...
and Emmy award winning video journalist
Estelle Caswell.
On June 10, 2021 Jordannah was personally invited by jazz drummer
Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...
and founder of th
Berklee Institute Jazz and Gender Justice
to share the closing remarks for Return to Center: Black Women, Jazz and Jazz Education symposium which was hosted by the institute. Her children's book,

' published by Running Press Kids is due out in December 2021.


Television and radio

Jordannah's has shared commentary and made many guest appearances on radio shows and podcasts includin
CBC syndicated radio
BBC 2
WYPR
and several podcast shows. She has appeared episodes of the
Reelz Channel Reelz (formerly known as Reelz Channel) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The network's programming was formerly devoted to entertainment-oriented programming focusing on the Hollywood ...
music docu-series
Breaking the Band
and is slated to appear on the Reelz Channel/Viacom CBS International Studios music docu-series
The Story of the Song
She has also work on projects by Bert Marcus Productions and the UK production company,
RAW TV Raw TV is a British television production company based in London producing documentaries and scripted television shows, including ''Gold Rush'', ''Banged Up Abroad'', '' Shackleton: Death or Glory'', '' Three Identical Strangers'', '' Stanley T ...
. Jordannah is a recipient of the
Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...
s' Press Inclusive Initiative grant and received scholarships to study television writing at Sundance Co//ab. As a screenwriter, Jordannah has written an original pilot based on her novella series, ''The Warmest Low'' and wrote the script for an episode of the PBS Digital web series
Sound Field
She has been mentored by screenwriters and showrunners, Jessica Hinds,
Diane Ruggiero Diane Ruggiero-Wright is an American television writer and producer. Her credits include '' That's Life'', ''Veronica Mars'', '' Free Agents'', ''Dirty Sexy Money'', '' Big Shots'', the ''Mythological X'' remake ''The Ex List'' and ''iZombie'', ...
,
Krista Vernoff Krista Vernoff (born October 25, 1971) is an American television screenwriter, executive producer and director. She is best known for running the television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2007–11, 2017–present) and its spin-off ''Station 1 ...
and Evette Vargas.


Books

*
Don't Lose Track Vol. 1: 40 Selected Articles, Essays and Q&As
(''Zer0 Books) 2016
''The Warmest Low (Chapbook One) Limited Edition Two''
(Publik / Private Small Press) 2017 *

(Running Press Kids) 2021''


References


External links


Official Publik Private websiteOfficial the Process Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth, Jordannah Living people American music journalists 1986 births Journalists from Baltimore American music critics African-American writers American feminist writers American columnists American women columnists Feminist musicians American women music critics 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American women musicians African-American journalists African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women