UB Celebrates #HipHop50: Celebrating Anniversary of Monie Love’s ‘Down to Earth’

As UB continues to Celebrate Hip Hop 50, we continue with the gifted Monie Love.

Monie Love is known for her diction, fast delivery and her signature, limp-wristed finger-pointing. Her vocal delivery gives true meaning to the term “rap attack.”

Today her debut album “Down to Earth” celebrates it’s 33rd Anniversary, originally released on October 30th, 1990.

Monie cites Queen Latifah as her biggest rap influence.

Originally apart of one of hip-hop original supergroups, the Native Tongue Collective, that included; Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, and Monie Love.

Born Simone Johnson, on July 2nd, 1970, Battersea, London, England. Monie Love 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“.

Monie 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.

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.

Monie Love had another UK Top 20 hit with “Grandpa’s Party“, a tribute to the original Afrika Bambaataa.

Monie Love‘s 1990 debut album “Down to Earth” led with the singles “I Can Do This” and “Grandpa’s Part.” When it came to the the third single, Monie Love collaborated with Andy Cox and David Steele of the Fine Young Cannibals on her hit “Monie In The Middle.”

Along with True Image, Monie covered a version of the Detroit Spinners’ “It’s A Shame (My Sister)” for her fourth single. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Dance Chart and was a Top 10 Billboard Hot R&B Single.

Other tracks on her debut album like “RU Single” and the Queen Latifah classic 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. Monie Love was featured on her brother Dave Angel‘s remix of the late great Whitney Houston‘s R&B hit “My Name Is Not Susan” in 1991, and appeared in the music video alongside Whitney.

The 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, “Who’s The Man?”

Monie Love released her sophomore album release “In A Word Or 2” on March 23rd, 1993, that was another challenging and articulate set that was also informed by Monie‘s recent experience of motherhood. The album included the #1 Billboard Dance Music/Club Single “Born 2 B.R.E.E.D.“, co-written and co-produced by the late great Prince.

“The second album was when I actually got to work with Prince. I was on Warner Bros., and so was he at the time. The exchange was he wanted me to write raps for Carmen Electra, who was his protégé. I would write her album, and he would produce about three or four songs for my album. An even exchange, [plus I would] get a little dough for it.”

Also in 1993, Monie Love hopped on the hot remix to Al B. Sure‘s “Missunderstanding.”

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” in 1997, via London-based Relentless Records.

From 2004 until 2006, Monie Love was the morning drive host on Philadelphia’s WPHI-FM 100.3.

Currently Monie Love host the afternoons at “KISS 104.1” WALR in Atlanta, and she’s preparing for the release of her memoirs.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with “Down to Earth!”