Monie Love
Monie Love | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Simone Johnson[1] |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | 2 July 1970[1] Battersea, London, United Kingdom |
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels |
|
| Associated acts | |
| Website | twitter |
Simone Johnson[1] (born 2 July 1970)[1], better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an Grammy–nominated English rapper, actress and radio personality from London, England. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love currently serves as a radio personality for urban adult contemporary station KISS 104.1 WALR-FM in Atlanta, Georgia.
Contents
Career[edit]
Music[edit]
Love's debut album, Down To Earth was released on November 6, 1990, spawned the singles "Monie in the Middle" (a track dealing with a woman's right to determine what she wants out of a relationship) and "It's a Shame (My Sister)" (which sampled the (Detroit) 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.[2] Love also appears on the song titled "United" from Inner City's third album, Praise.
Love was featured on the LA Reid & Babyface 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.[3] Love 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".[3] The same year, Prince asked her to write lyrics for a few songs on a side-project, Carmen Electra's eponymous album, Carmen Electra. Love's last release as lead artist was the single Slice of Da Pie in 2000. In 2013, she was featured on the track "Sometimes" by Ras Kass, from his album Barmageddon.
Radio[edit]
From 2004 until the week of 11 December 2006, Love was the morning drive host on Philadelphia's WPHI-FM 100.3. The 22 December 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed that Love left WPHI-FM on amicable terms after contract negotiations stalled.[4] 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.[5] Love is also an official MySpace.com DJ, according to her Myspace page. Love resides in Indianapolis,In. and is a single mother to four children.[6] She has a radio show on XM Satellite Radio called Ladies First Radio with Monie Love. It airs Thursdays 6 PM ET and Sundays 8 PM 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.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Born in England, Love moved to the United States; settling in Philadelphia in 1987.[citation needed] Love has four children; Charlena (born 1991), Caleigh (born 1997), Nekhi (born 2003) and Laci (born 2008).[citation needed][8][9] Love is the biological sister of English musician Dave Angel.[citation needed]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | ||
| 1990 | Down to Earth
|
109 | 26 |
| 1993 | In a Word or 2
|
– | 75 |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [10] |
IRE | NED | BEL (FLA) |
FRA | GER [11] |
AUT | SWI | AUS [12] |
NZ | US [13] |
US R&B [14] |
US Dance [15] | |||
| 1988 | "I Can Do This" | 37 | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Down to Earth |
| 1989 | "Grandpa's Party" | 16 | 23 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | 93 | 33 | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Monie in the Middle" | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 28 | 7 | |
| "It's a Shame (My Sister)" (featuring True Image) | 12 | — | 9 | 24 | 50 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 90 | 17 | 26 | 8 | 2 | ||
| "Down 2 Earth" | 31 | — | 29 | — | — | 33 | — | 15 | — | — | — | 75 | — | ||
| 1991 | "Ring My Bell" (vs. Adeva) | 20 | — | 15 | 44 | — | 25 | — | 8 | 35 | 13 | — | — | — | |
| "Work It Out" (US only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Boyz n the Hood OST | |
| 1992 | "Full Term Love" | 34 | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 96 | 47 | — | In a Word or 2 |
| 1993 | "Born 2 B.R.E.E.D." | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | 98 | 21 | 89 | 56 | 1 | |
| "In a Word or 2" | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Never Give Up" | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Slice of da Pie" | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||
Featured singles[edit]
- "Ladies First" (Queen Latifah featuring Monie Love)
- "My Name Is Not Susan" (Whitney Houston featuring Monie Love) - My Name Is Not Susan (Power Radio Mix With Rap)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed.
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Allmusic Down To Earth Review". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 18 November 2006.
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Allmusic In A Word Or 2 Review". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 18 November 2006.
- ^ Conrad, Laurie T. (22 December 2006). "Tattle: No mo' Monie". Philadelphia Daily News (philly.com). Retrieved 25 December 2006.[dead link]
- ^ Bolden, Janee (22 December 2006). "Monie Love Gets None, Officially Off The Air In Philly". SOHH.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
- ^ Osorio, Kim (13 August 2014). "Monie Love Still In The Middle...Of Motherhood". Madamenoire.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/exclusive-hip-hop-legend-monie-love-takes-over-kiss-104-afternoon-slot/b5oZgQ0qxC8jm7wW7usWgJ/
- ^ Ladies First: Monie Love Discusses Being A Mother In Hip-Hop (Audio) May 15, 2019
- ^ Hip Hop Moms - Essence - 2011
- ^ "Official Charts Company: Monie Love". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "Monie Love - German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Monie Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "Grandpa's Party": "Chartifacts – Week Ending: 10 February 1991 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 55)". imgur.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
- ^ "Monie Love - US Hot 100 Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "Monie Love - US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "Monie Love - US Dance Club Songs Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
External links[edit]
- AllMusic.com Biography - Monie Love
- Monie Love's myspace.com page
- Monie Love Discography on Discogs
- A site focusing on the early days of Hip Hop development in the UK
- Monie Love Hip-Hop 40th Anniversary
- The Greatest Female Rappers of All Time
- 1970 births
- Living people
- English expatriates in the United States
- English dance musicians
- English radio personalities
- English female rappers
- Black British female rappers
- English people of Jamaican descent
- Black British musicians
- Warner Bros. Records artists
- Chrysalis Records artists
- Rappers from London
- Native Tongues Posse
- People from Battersea
- Women in hip hop music
