Monica Lynch | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Monica Lynch |
| Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, R&B, Rap |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, record company executive, A&R director |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Tommy Boy Records |
Monica Lynch (born Chicago, Illinois)[1] is a music business executive, record producer, and former President of hip-hop/dance music label Tommy Boy Records.[2] She has hosted radio programs on free-form WFMU since 1997,[3] and worked as an A&R consultant for Queen Latifah and Martina McBride.
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."[2]
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, De La Soul, [and] Naughty by Nature."[4]