Harry Allen, MEDIA ASSASSIN

Harry Allen, Hip-Hop Activist & Media Assassin, publishes the blog Media Assassin at harryallen.info. There he writes about race, politics, and culture, much as he does for VIBE, The Source, The Village Voice, and other publications, and has been doing so for over twenty years.

As an expert covering hip-hop culture, he has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, on National Public Radio, MTV, VH-1, CNN, the BBC, and other information channels. Others know him for his long-time association with the seminal band Public Enemy, and for his widely-heard “cameo” on their classic record, “Don’t Believe the Hype.”

Allen serves as an advisor to the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) at Indiana University, and as the host/producer of his weekly WBAI-NY/99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION.

Harry Allen worked in the crisis p.r. / public affairs department of computer entertainment giant Rockstar Games from 2004-2006. (He considers his credit on the hit title Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas his proudest byline.) Presently, he is writing a book about architectural design in computer and video games. This research has already been recognized by the Graham Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Architectural League of New York, and the MacDowell Colony.

Harry Allen lives with his wife, Zakiya, in Harlem, NY.