Amanda Blank headlined The Avalon last Friday and although Los Angeles was having one of its rainy winter nights again, that didn’t stop people from going out to see the rapper-singer who released her debut album, I Love You, last winter. She first proved her skills on select Spank Rock tracks and gained the company of friends such as Santigold and Kid Sister, but now holds the stage down all by herself as we were all lucky enough to see that night.

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Hip-hop can be mightily unforgiving when it comes to defining – and especially redefining oneself. Amanda Blank began her career with a string of increasingly high-profile guest spots on rap and later pop singles; but even though she moved from the likes of Spank Rock to Britney Spears with an ease and dexterity matched only by her effortless, rapid-fire delivery, even fans assumed she was essentially – if not only – a filthy motormouth whose thoughts wandered more often into the bedroom than onto the dancefloor.

With the release of I Love You, her solo debut, Blank wastes no time challenging that perception: although the disc doesn’t skimp on dirty talk, it’s first and foremost a collection of future club classics, with several more reflective tunes thrown in as an indication her music is more than ready to make its way into the mainstream. Crave recently spoke to Blank (real name: Amanda Mallory) via telephone to discuss the development of her album, reflected on redefining herself and her music in her own terms, and talked about the challenges of being a formidable female in hip-hop’s boys club.

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Los Angeles’ annual Hard Fest (also known as Hard Summer) – a concert featuring mostly electronica artists – was shut down by the police before any of the main acts such as Underworld, Amanda Blank, or A-Trak could take the stage at The Forum in Inglewood.

The police had considered the event to have a “hazard” status when concert-goers started jumping from the 1st tier down onto the main floor on Saturday night. Although the event promoters tried to talk the police into options other than shutting the concert down, it seemed not only was the enforcement team nervous for numerous injuries but the musicians backstage also had an uneasy feeling.

Underworld’s homepage later explained these feelings:

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