Kelefa Sanneh New Yorker, Bio, Wiki, Age, Wife, Major Labels, and Net Worth

Kelefa Sanneh Bio | Wiki

Kelefa Sanneh is an American journalist and music critic. He wrote for The New York Times, covering rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes from 2000 to 2008. Since 2008 Kelefa has been a staff writer for The New Yorker. He published Major labels: A history of popular music in seven genres in 2021.

Previously, Kelefa served as the deputy editor of Transition, a journal of race and culture based at the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard University. His writing has also appeared in a number of magazines and a handful of books, such as “Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z” and “Da Capo Best Music Writing.”

Kelefa Sanneh Age

Kelefa was born in 1976, in Birmingham, United Kingdom. He is 46 years old.

Kelefa Sanneh Height

He is a man of average stature and stands at a height of 5 ft 8 in (Approx. 1.72 m).

Kelefa Sanneh's photo
Kelefa’s photo

Kelefa Sanneh Family

He was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England to his parents Lamin Sanneh and Sandra. Kelefa spent his early years in Ghana and Scotland, before his family moved to Massachusetts in 1981, then to Connecticut in 1989.

His father was born in Janjanbureh, Gambia, and was a professor of theological history at Yale University and Yale Divinity School. Kelefa’s mother is a white South African linguist who teaches the isiZulu language at Yale. He holds an American nationality and is of mixed ethnicity.

Kelefa Sanneh Wife

Kelefa is married to his wife Sarah. She is the co-owner and pastry chef of Pies ‘n’ Thighs in Brooklyn where she has been making award-winning pies. Sarah started the shop with Carolyn Bane in the spring of 2006. Together, the couple resides  in Brooklyn, United States with their children.

Kelefa Sanneh Education

He graduated from Harvard University in 1997 with a degree in literature. While there, Kelefa worked for Transition Magazine and served as rock director for WHRB’s Record Hospital. He played bass in the Harvard bands Hypertrophie Shitstraw, MOPAR, Fear of Reprisal, and TacTic.

Kelefa’s thesis paper, The Black Galactic: Toward A Greater African America, combined interests in music, literature, and culture in writing about The Nation of Islam and the Sun Ra Arkestra as efforts to transcend oppression in the African-American experience with desires to travel into outer space.

Kelefa Sanneh Major Labels | Book

He is the author of “Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres.” The book was published in 2021.

Kelefa Sanneh New Yorker

Kelefa serves as a staff writer for The New Yorker where he joined in 2008. Prior to that, he worked at The New York Times where he covered music. While there, he garnered considerable publicity for an article he wrote in the October 31, 2004, edition of The New York Times titled “The Rap Against Rockism”.

The article brought to light to the general public a debate among American and British music critics about rockism. Kelefa wrote the “Project Trinity,” which appeared in The New Yorker’s April 7, 2008, edition.

The article gave context to the controversial comments of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who was Barack Obama’s pastor. The article provides a historical context of the Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama’s church, and Wright, the former pastor of Trinity.

Some of Kelefa’s colleagues at The New Yorker include:

Molly Fischer – staff writer

Liana Finck – cartoonist

Lauren Collins – staff writer

Isaac Chotiner – staff writer

Emily Flake – cartoonist

Liza Donnelly – cartoonist

Jennifer Gonnerman – staff writer

Kelefa Sanneh Beyonce

In July 2017, Kelefa wrote the article Music; The Sole Beyonce: She’s No Ashanti. In 2003 Beyonce’s 2003 Dangerously In Love launched her into the stratosphere from which she was yet to return. The song was a sneak peek at the music icon that she would become. The occasion for this now iconic headline was a dual review by Kelefa of both Beyonce’s song and Ashanti’s Chapter II released July 1, 2003.

Kelefa Sanneh Salary

He serves as a staff writer for The New Yorker, therefore, he earns a decent income. Kelefa’s average salary is $73,545 per year.

Kelefa Sanneh Net Worth

He earns his wealth from his career, therefore, he has amassed a fortune over the years. Kelefa’s estimated net worth is $780,560.

Who Is Kelefa Sanneh

Kelefa is an American journalist and music critic. He wrote for The New York Times, covering rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes from 2000 to 2008. Since 2008 Kelefa has been a staff writer for The New Yorker. He published Major labels: A history of popular music in seven genres in 2021.

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