WRITING
Online Publications
Blog
Shrimp Chips - a blog on Asian Diasporic arts & culture: https://shrimpchips.blog
Contently
Overview of my freelance work: https://minnazhou.contently.com
Pitchfork
Album Reviews:
Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer - The Closest Thing to Silence. Feb. 13, 2024
Lucinda Chua - YIAN. Mar. 23, 2023.
박혜진 Park Hye Jin - Before I Die. Sept. 19, 2021.
Howie Lee - Birdy Island. Apr. 19, 2021.
Yuna - Rouge. Jul. 15, 2019.
Daymé Arocena - Cubafonía. Mar. 16, 2017.
Ibibio Sound Machine - Uyai. Mar. 7. 2017
Jubilee - After Hours. Oct. 26, 2016.
Various Artists - Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1977. May 26, 2016.
Egyptian Lover - 1983-1988. May 4, 2016.
DJ Katapila - Trotro. Mar. 14, 2016.
Mikael Seifu - Zelalem EP. Mar. 4, 2016.
Rokia Traoré - Né So. Feb. 16, 2016.
Omar Souleyman - Bahdeni Nami. Aug. 3, 2015.
Bomba Estéreo - Amanecer. Jun. 23, 2015.
Tei Shi - Verde EP. Apr. 22, 2015.
Tal National - Zoy Zoy. Apr. 14, 2015.
Ibeyi - Ibeyi. Feb 23, 2015.
Track Reviews:
Amadou & Mariam - "Bofou Safou." Apr. 22, 2017
Oddisee - "Lifting Shadows." Apr. 4, 2016.
SK Kakraba - "Guun." Sept. 18, 2015.
The Pitch
"Pitchfork Decides the Song of the Summer" roundtable discussion - Sep. 24, 2015.
Pitchfork Lists:
"The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s" - Aug. 22, 2017
#51 Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes (p. 8)
#92 Gal Costa - Gal Costa (p. 6)
#99 Gilberto Gil - Gilberto Gil (p. 6)
"The 50 Best Albums of 2016" - Dec. 13, 2016
#36 Jamila Woods - HEAVN
"The 100 Best Songs of 2016" - Dec. 12, 2016
#44 Anderson .Paak, "Come Down"
"200 Best Songs of the 1970s" - Aug. 22, 2016
#45 James Brown, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine"
#53 Fela Kuti & Afrika 70, "Zombie"
#194 Manu Dibango, "Soul Makossa"
Albums of the Year 2015: Honorable Mention - Dec. 15, 2015
DJ Paypal - SOLD OUT
"100 Best Tracks of 2015" - Dec. 14, 2015
#80 Dej Loaf, "Me U & Hennessy"
"200 Best Songs of the 1980s" - Aug. 24, 2015.
#34 Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, "Planet Rock"
#89 Fela Kuti, "Coffin for Head of State"
#171 King Sunny Ade, "Ja Funmi"
#178 Nina Simone, "Fodder in Her Wings"
Condé Nast Traveler
"Inside Prince's Paisley Park Museum." Jan. 9, 2017.
MTV News
"Yuna takes her time." May 26, 2016.
(If above link doesn't work, try: https://www.mtv.com/news/bu8em5/yuna-takes-her-time)
The FADER
"Chancha Via Circuito wants to be more interesting than silence." Nov. 23, 2015.
SPIN Magazine
"Folk Metal, Cubist Cupcakes, and Interplanetary Bass: Inside the 2015 World Music Expo." Nov. 30, 2015.
Noisey (VICE)
"Nine Treasures build their Mongolian folk metal with love, not Satan." Dec. 22, 2015.
MTV Iggy
Note: As of Nov. 19, 2015, the MTV Iggy archives no longer exist. The original links below no longer work, but for the stories that were retrievable, links are provided, though not all media on those pages is accessible.
"11 Most Riveting Acts to Watch at WOMEX 2015." Oct. 19, 2015.
"PPS The Writah Reps the Streets of Dakar." Apr. 29, 2015. (Retrievable link.)
"Akua Naru makes spoken soul music for the People." Feb. 27, 2015. (Retrievable link.)
"Scene Report: Hip-Hop Galsen Makes Dakar Africa's Rap Capital." Oct. 8, 2014. (Retrievable link.)
"Fredy Massamba serves Rumba-infused R&B Realness." Apr. 28, 2014. (Retrievable link.)
"Jupiter & Okwess International: Water Drumming Meets Wah Wah Guitar." Feb. 24, 2014.
City Pages
Concert Review: Sheila E. Purple Philanthropy Prince Tribute. Oct. 24, 2016.
"Carly Rae Jepsen tells us how she created a pop masterpiece." Interview with Carly Rae Jepsen. Mar. 8, 2016.
"Buzzy electropop act Shamir to light up the Entry." Interview with Shamir. Oct. 6, 2015.
"CumbiaSazo: Chicago's tropical bass party to heat up Bedlam." Artist profile/concert preview. Aug. 28, 2015.
"DJ Rekha talks bhangra, cultural appropriation." Interview with DJ Rekha. Jul. 10, 2015.
"Ibeyi Connect With Love Through Music." Interview with Ibeyi. Mar. 30, 2015.
"Bassekou Kouyate: Mohammed appreciated music and never dreamt of banning it." Interview with Bassekou Kouyate. Jan. 23, 2014.
Twin Cities Daily Planet
"Northsiders ask what it means to be an artist working in the community." Jul. 27, 2015.
"11 Highlights of the 2015 FLOW Northside Arts Crawl." Jul. 24, 2015.
"Running to revive the Minneapolis NAACP: An Interview with Nekima Levy-Pounds." May 1, 2015.
"Mizna hosts evening of Arab-American poetry and performance." Apr. 11, 2015.
"Voice of East African Women seeks to open understanding between Somali community and Hennepin County Law Enforcement." Mar. 8, 2015.
Africa is a Country
"A Cinematic Guide to Mother of George." Dec. 9, 2013.
"An Adieu to Tabu Ley Rochereau, King of Soukous." Dec. 3, 2013.
Global Voices picked up my Tabu Ley piece on Dec. 6, 2013.
Afropop Worldwide
"They See Themselves in Us: An Interview with Tal National." Nov. 6, 2013.
Shrimp Chips - a blog on Asian Diasporic arts & culture: https://shrimpchips.blog
Contently
Overview of my freelance work: https://minnazhou.contently.com
Pitchfork
Album Reviews:
Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer - The Closest Thing to Silence. Feb. 13, 2024
Lucinda Chua - YIAN. Mar. 23, 2023.
박혜진 Park Hye Jin - Before I Die. Sept. 19, 2021.
Howie Lee - Birdy Island. Apr. 19, 2021.
Yuna - Rouge. Jul. 15, 2019.
Daymé Arocena - Cubafonía. Mar. 16, 2017.
Ibibio Sound Machine - Uyai. Mar. 7. 2017
Jubilee - After Hours. Oct. 26, 2016.
Various Artists - Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1977. May 26, 2016.
Egyptian Lover - 1983-1988. May 4, 2016.
DJ Katapila - Trotro. Mar. 14, 2016.
Mikael Seifu - Zelalem EP. Mar. 4, 2016.
Rokia Traoré - Né So. Feb. 16, 2016.
Omar Souleyman - Bahdeni Nami. Aug. 3, 2015.
Bomba Estéreo - Amanecer. Jun. 23, 2015.
Tei Shi - Verde EP. Apr. 22, 2015.
Tal National - Zoy Zoy. Apr. 14, 2015.
Ibeyi - Ibeyi. Feb 23, 2015.
Track Reviews:
Amadou & Mariam - "Bofou Safou." Apr. 22, 2017
Oddisee - "Lifting Shadows." Apr. 4, 2016.
SK Kakraba - "Guun." Sept. 18, 2015.
The Pitch
"Pitchfork Decides the Song of the Summer" roundtable discussion - Sep. 24, 2015.
Pitchfork Lists:
"The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s" - Aug. 22, 2017
#51 Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes (p. 8)
#92 Gal Costa - Gal Costa (p. 6)
#99 Gilberto Gil - Gilberto Gil (p. 6)
"The 50 Best Albums of 2016" - Dec. 13, 2016
#36 Jamila Woods - HEAVN
"The 100 Best Songs of 2016" - Dec. 12, 2016
#44 Anderson .Paak, "Come Down"
"200 Best Songs of the 1970s" - Aug. 22, 2016
#45 James Brown, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine"
#53 Fela Kuti & Afrika 70, "Zombie"
#194 Manu Dibango, "Soul Makossa"
Albums of the Year 2015: Honorable Mention - Dec. 15, 2015
DJ Paypal - SOLD OUT
"100 Best Tracks of 2015" - Dec. 14, 2015
#80 Dej Loaf, "Me U & Hennessy"
"200 Best Songs of the 1980s" - Aug. 24, 2015.
#34 Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, "Planet Rock"
#89 Fela Kuti, "Coffin for Head of State"
#171 King Sunny Ade, "Ja Funmi"
#178 Nina Simone, "Fodder in Her Wings"
Condé Nast Traveler
"Inside Prince's Paisley Park Museum." Jan. 9, 2017.
MTV News
"Yuna takes her time." May 26, 2016.
(If above link doesn't work, try: https://www.mtv.com/news/bu8em5/yuna-takes-her-time)
The FADER
"Chancha Via Circuito wants to be more interesting than silence." Nov. 23, 2015.
SPIN Magazine
"Folk Metal, Cubist Cupcakes, and Interplanetary Bass: Inside the 2015 World Music Expo." Nov. 30, 2015.
Noisey (VICE)
"Nine Treasures build their Mongolian folk metal with love, not Satan." Dec. 22, 2015.
MTV Iggy
Note: As of Nov. 19, 2015, the MTV Iggy archives no longer exist. The original links below no longer work, but for the stories that were retrievable, links are provided, though not all media on those pages is accessible.
"11 Most Riveting Acts to Watch at WOMEX 2015." Oct. 19, 2015.
"PPS The Writah Reps the Streets of Dakar." Apr. 29, 2015. (Retrievable link.)
"Akua Naru makes spoken soul music for the People." Feb. 27, 2015. (Retrievable link.)
"Scene Report: Hip-Hop Galsen Makes Dakar Africa's Rap Capital." Oct. 8, 2014. (Retrievable link.)
"Fredy Massamba serves Rumba-infused R&B Realness." Apr. 28, 2014. (Retrievable link.)
"Jupiter & Okwess International: Water Drumming Meets Wah Wah Guitar." Feb. 24, 2014.
City Pages
Concert Review: Sheila E. Purple Philanthropy Prince Tribute. Oct. 24, 2016.
"Carly Rae Jepsen tells us how she created a pop masterpiece." Interview with Carly Rae Jepsen. Mar. 8, 2016.
"Buzzy electropop act Shamir to light up the Entry." Interview with Shamir. Oct. 6, 2015.
"CumbiaSazo: Chicago's tropical bass party to heat up Bedlam." Artist profile/concert preview. Aug. 28, 2015.
"DJ Rekha talks bhangra, cultural appropriation." Interview with DJ Rekha. Jul. 10, 2015.
"Ibeyi Connect With Love Through Music." Interview with Ibeyi. Mar. 30, 2015.
"Bassekou Kouyate: Mohammed appreciated music and never dreamt of banning it." Interview with Bassekou Kouyate. Jan. 23, 2014.
Twin Cities Daily Planet
"Northsiders ask what it means to be an artist working in the community." Jul. 27, 2015.
"11 Highlights of the 2015 FLOW Northside Arts Crawl." Jul. 24, 2015.
"Running to revive the Minneapolis NAACP: An Interview with Nekima Levy-Pounds." May 1, 2015.
"Mizna hosts evening of Arab-American poetry and performance." Apr. 11, 2015.
"Voice of East African Women seeks to open understanding between Somali community and Hennepin County Law Enforcement." Mar. 8, 2015.
Africa is a Country
"A Cinematic Guide to Mother of George." Dec. 9, 2013.
"An Adieu to Tabu Ley Rochereau, King of Soukous." Dec. 3, 2013.
Global Voices picked up my Tabu Ley piece on Dec. 6, 2013.
Afropop Worldwide
"They See Themselves in Us: An Interview with Tal National." Nov. 6, 2013.
For Record Label
Click the albums below to see some of the album abstracts I wrote as a 2011 intern for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
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Check my Folkways staff pick HERE, about halfway down, or on the 2nd page of the PDF below:
| folkways_staff_picks_fall_2011.pdf |
