Linda Hobbs

A highly-respected profile writer and investigative reporter, Linda Hobbs has written for VIBE, GQ, Associated Press, and many other publications. Known for championing empathy and maintaining balance, Hobbs started writing professionally as a teenager in high school. From then till now, she has interviewed numerous celebrity figures including Queen Latifah, Outkast, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Kirk Franklin, Berry Gordy, Kanye West, Mark Ronson, Antonio L.A. Reid and many more. As an investigative reporter, she has chased behind daring leads and has written controversial stories involving unsolved murders, street gangs, and drug kingpins.

Described in an essay by Rhythm Cultural Institute director and legendary writer Harry Allen as "destined for greatness," Hobbs is a former VIBE magazine senior staff writer. During her time at VIBE, she wrote several celebrated features making her one of the top reporters on staff. Her 2007 investigative expose “Stoked,” about the shocking sexual abuse allegations involving music impresario Chris Stokes— brought on by the boy bands he once managed— resulted in a re-opened LAPD investigation and was optioned for a VH1 documentary. Her critically acclaimed 2009 investigative feature, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” about the storied rise and fall of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family, became the first and only two-part series ever published in VIBE's history. Her 2009 in-depth investigative feature about the mysterious suicide of record executive Shakir Stewart ("Death of a Salesman") received industry-wide recognition and praise. She has also penned two revealing cover stories for the magazine, including a profile on controversial pop star Chris Brown, which interview was later extensively quoted in People magazine.

Linda Hobbs is a former New York Times Journalism Institute student, and is a proud native of Detroit, Michigan.