BREAKING NEWS: OUR FRIEND AMY WINEHOUSE WAS FOUND DEAD TODAY IN LONDON.

Amy Winehouse before and after. Some say it was self destruction. Rest in Peace Amy.

British singer AMY WINEHOUSE has been found dead at her flat in London. The Back to Black hitmaker, 27, was reportedly found by cops following a call to emergency services on Saturday afternoon (23Jul11). Her death is being treated as "unexplained", according to reports. I still spoke to Amy from London just 4 weeks ago! I am devastated, I am hurt, I am sending this message of drugs and self destruction out to all musicians, actors and actresses and the everyday man. Please leave these drugs alone. Amy was one of our BEST friends at HipHossip.com. We will miss you.

Amy and Blake, her beloved ex-husband. They battled these demons together

The star had a long and highly publicised battle with alcohol and drug addiction throughout her career and often sought help from rehabilitation clinics. Her battle with drugs is believed to have stemmed from the death of her beloved grandmother, and later her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who she married in May 2007. They later divorced.

Amy in 2008 with her mom when she won the 5 Grammy awards in one night for the "Black to Black" album.

Famed for her iconic beehive hairstyle and heavy make-up,Winehouse's 2003 debut album Frank was nominated for the Mercury Prize. In 2006, her follow-up Back to Black won six Grammy award nominations and five wins. Other honours included a Brit award and three Ivor Novello Awards.

In recent years, she has spent time in the Caribbean attempting to overcome her demons, but a comeback tour was scrapped in June (11) after a disastrous opening gig in Serbia where the seemingly drunk star stumbled around the stage, slurred her songs and stormed off several times. Winehouse was last seen in public earlier this week (18Jul11) when she joined her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield onstage at the iTunes Festival in London.

Winehouse's father, Mitch, above was believed to be on board a flight back to Britain from the U.S on Saturday. Mitch no doubt is gonna be so devastated about his beloved daughter. He LOVED Amy!!!!!!!!!

Amy had her own ways of doing things. She didn't use bodyguards or massive entourages and just walked the streets of London by herself dressed anyhow and any hours of the day or night. As you can see above she was not trying to impress anyone dressed in a suit and ballet shoes with a cigarette in her mouth with passersby amazed. She was herself!

This photo taken some years ago when Amy just wanted to say hi to her fans. The fans meant a lot to her but the drugs and alcohol took over slowly and then fast. To stick your entire body out of the car was just amazing, she was an amazing artist. She loved her fans. You know Beyonce can't do that. Sticking out of the car has a level of security every star

Amy sometimes got defensive with paparazzi. One time she went to Jamaica, one of her fave spots she was seen in this fight which some called a paps thing. Obviously she slapped the "Caribbean" guy. She's been charged so many times for hitting people and charges dropped etc. In the end Amy was just Amy. When she first emailed me about HipHossip, I was so thrilled to know that she loved the blog. Then a record label rep hooked me up with phone calls to her. I will forever miss her. She was a legend in her own time. Let us learn a lesson from the demons of drugs and alcohol. Amy has now joined a dubious list of others who died young in this battle of substance abuse. Below are one of my fave lyrics. Sadly, it would come true today......

"I cheated myself like I knew I would, I told you I was trouble, you know I'm no good"...lyrics from her song I'm no good.

Guinness World Records recognized Winehouse as having the Most Grammy Awards Won by a British Female Act. Amy was nominated for 58 awards and won 23 in her lifetime including 5 Grammys in one night.

It truly saddened me that a woman who sang a song about "rehab" could not get the help she needed from that facility that helps addicts. Cuts on her hands, arms, fights with Blake where they hurt each other etc. For me personally, her friends in the music biz did not do enough to save Amy. As a Pharmacist among other things, I know addiction is a DEMON. Everything around Amy always revolved around that #23. I studied her life so vividly and have this thing for numbers..

• On 23rd June 2008, Winehouse's publicist corrected earlier misstatements by Mitch Winehouse that his daughter had a small amount of emphysema, instead claiming she had signs of what could lead to early-stage emphysema. Photographs of the singer with a cigarette in her mouth, taken 23rd June 2008, were widely published.
• On 23rd July 2008, Winehouse stated that she had been diagnosed with "some areas of emphysema" and said she is getting herself together by "eating loads of healthy food, sleeping loads, playing my guitar, making music and writing letters to my husband every day"
• Ironically datewise, Amy's wax sculpture went on display at the London Madame Tussauds on 23 July 2008. She did not attend but her parents attended the unveiling. The statue is right below in a yellow dress.
  

• Winehouse was in and out of the facility and was granted permission to set her own schedule regarding home leave. She returned to the hospital on 23rd November 2008 for a reported reaction to her medication.
• At approximately 3:54 pm local time today 23 July 2011, two ambulances were called to Winehouse's home in Camden, London. Shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police confirmed her death.

• Amy has now faded Back to Black but her light will still shine here on HipHossip.....Her statue at Madam Tussauds above in London is all that is left for me to see. I was priviledged to speak to her twice. My last convo with her was in June 2011 to keep her head up after being booed off that stage as she tried to make a comeback. Amy is gone now. She is resting.... Rest in Peace Amy.....
  

Our Partners: The HipHop Chronicle U.K's Sumit Sharma from London, U.K:

"On Amy's death, the biggest thing is that we have lost a great talent in music. Whatever trouble she went thru in life, she produced good music. "Back to Black" was definitely an album that will stand the test of time, a good classic album that showed the genius that Amy was."

MsKemi
@HipHossip
Facebook.com/HipHossip

List of awards and nominations Amy received
Amy Jade Winehouse on Wikipedia

Photo Credits: Splash Online, Getty Images, Keminications Media