Interview and Music Video:

Hip-Hop Bio:

Born Simone Johnson, July 2, 1970, Battersea, London, England. Monie Love is a female rapper who has lived in New York since 1989, and is one of the few English hip-hop artists to achieve recognition in America. Her first recordings were with childhood friend MC Mell "O", Sparki and DJ Pogo, under the banner Jus Bad Productions. Formed in 1987, the crew released a solitary single, "Freestyle". Love started recording solo with DJ Pogo in 1988, releasing 12-inch singles on obscure underground labels which were eventually spotted by DJ Tim Westwood, who asked them to do a single for his Justice label. There were several delays in releasing it, so instead they approached Cooltempo Records with "I Can Do This", which became a UK Top 40 hit in early 1989. Love has since worked with many other rap outfits including the Jungle Brothers, who she met at a London gig in September 1988. They subsequently introduced her to the Native Tongues Posse, while Afrika Baby Bambaataa would produce her debut album and she acted as their European road manager.

Love had another UK Top 20 hit with "Grandpa's Party", a tribute to the original Afrika Bambaataa. She also collaborated with Andy Cox and David Steele of the Fine Young Cannibals on the summer 1990 single "Monie In The Middle", and with True Image on the UK number 12 cover version of the Detroit Spinners' "It's A Shame (My Sister)". The latter also broke into the US Top 30. Tracks on her debut album like "RU Single" and the Queen Latifah collaboration "Ladies First", were intelligent attacks on the expectations and stereotypes of black women. Despite maturity beyond her years, she recognized that this phase of her career was still an apprenticeship; "To me, rap is a school. The heads are split between Public Enemy and KRS-One's Boogie Down Productions. The students are me, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul . . . but the best thing about it is that the classroom is open to all'. In 1991, she teamed up with Adeva on the UK Top 20 single "Ring My Bell", as well as working with Queen Latifah and Almond Joy on the Bold Soul Sisters feminist project. Love 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. Two years later she branched out into acting, appearing in Forest Whitaker's television movie, Strapped, and Ted Demme's "hip-hop whodunnit", Who's The Man? Released the same year, In A Word Or 2 was another challenging and articulate set that was also informed by Love's recent experience of motherhood. The album included the UK Top 20 single "Born 2 B.R.E.E.D.", co-written and co-produced by Prince. A spell as a radio presenter on New York's Hot 97 show and co-host of MTV's Lip Service kept her busy during a long period away from the music scene. Her self-financed comeback single "Slice Of Da Pie" was licensed to the London-based Relentless Records.

From 2004 until the week of December 11, 2006, Love was the morning drive host on Philadelphia's WPHI-FM 100.3. The December 22, 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed that Love left WPHI-FM on amicable terms after contract negotiations stalled. Love's departure from WPHI followed soon after her December 2006 interview with Young Jeezy, where the two argued over whether hip hop is dead.

Love is also an Official MySpace.com DJ, according to her MySpace page.

Love currently resides in Miami, Fl., and is the single mother to four children.

Currently, she has a radio show on XM Satellite Radio called Ladies First Radio with Monie Love. It airs Thursdays 6PM ET and Sundays 8PM ET. In 2015, Love became a DJ on Philadelphia's Boom 107.9, hosting a morning show from 6 am to 10 am. In 2016, Love co-hosted with Ed Lover on the Ed Lover Morning Show for "Boom 92" KROI in Houston, Texas. In May 2019, she began hosting afternoons at "KISS 104.1" WALR in Atlanta.

Discography:

Down To Earth (Cooltempo/Warners 1990)****, In A Word Or 2 (Cooltempo/Warners 1993)***.

Filmography:

Who's The Man? (1993).

(source: music.us, wikipedia.org)