"Strong, Steppin', Struttin', Movin' On/ Rhymin', Cuttin', And Not 4Getting'/ We Are The Ones To Give Birth 2 The New Generation Of Prophets/ 'Cause It's Ladies First."- Monie Love.
Simone Wilson – aka Monie Love, is an English MC and former radio personality in the United States. She is a well-respected figure in British hip hop, and made an impact with American hip hop audiences as a protégé of female American MC Queen Latifah, as well as through her membership in the late 1980s/early 1990s Native Tongues. Also, Monie was one of the first BritHop artists to be signed and distributed worldwide by a major record label.
Monie began her hip hop/BritHop career as an emcee in the British Jus Bad crew, which featured DJ Pogo, Sparki, and MC Mell’O‘. The group released the single “Free Style/Proud” on the independent Tuff Groove record label in 1988.
Mo first gained critical and commercial notice in the United States in 1989 for her cameos in Queen Latifah‘s Grammy Award-winning and pro-woman single “Ladies First,” in the Jungle Brothers‘ well-received single “Doin’ Our Own Dang,” and in De La Soul’s hit single “Buddy.” The acclaim led her to a recording contract with Warner Brother’s Records, making Love one of the few British hip-hop efforts released by a major label. She also has a place in Hip-Hop history as a member of the Native Tongues, a positive-minded hip-hop collective that included Queen Latifah, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers, and a number of other acts. Her versatility was demonstrated with her involvement in the emerging popularity of House music, with her own single Grandpa’s Party as well as providing rap for the The Dancin’ David D Remix of Adeva’s house hit Respect.
Monie’s debut album, Down To Earth, spawned two, Grammy-nominated hits, “Monie in the Middle” high school-set track dealing with a woman’s right to determine what she wants out of a relationship and “It’s a Shame (My Sister)” The Spinners’ “It’s a Shame” written for the band by Stevie Wonder and featured house-music vocalist and then-labelmate Ultra Naté. The album reached #26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Mo was featured on her brother Dave Angel‘s remix of Whitney Houston’s R&B hit “My Name Is Not Susan” in 1991, and appeared in the music video alongside Houston. Love’s 1992 single, “Full-Term Love,” from the Class Act movie soundtrack, reached #7 on the Hot Hip-Hop Singles chart.
Monie collaborated with Marley Marl on her second album, In a Word or 2 (1993), which featured the Prince-produced single “Born To B.R.E.E.D.” (which reached #1 on the Hot Dance Music chart and #7 on the Hot Rap Singles chart), as well as a re-release of “Full-Term Love.” The same year, Prince asked her to write lyrics for a few songs on a side-project, Carmen Electra‘s eponymous album, Carmen Electra.
Mo’s last musical release was the EP “Slice of Da Pie” in 2000.
From 2004 until the week of December 11, 2006, Monie was the morning drive host on Philadelphia’s WPHI-FM 100.3. The 22 of December 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed that Mo left WPHI-FM on amicable terms after contract negotiations stalled. Monie’s departure from WPHI followed soon after her December 2006 interview with Young Jeezy, where the two argued over whether hip hop is dead.
Monie is also an Official MySpace.com DJ, according to her MySpace page. She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the single mother to four children. Currently, she has a radio show on called Ladies First Radio with Monie Love. It airs Thursdays 6PM ET and Sundays 8PM ET.
Spread Love ... It's The Bklyn Way!
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