In almost every genre of music there are those artists who seemed to have so much talent and potential that it seems almost inexplicable that they did not become bigger stars. British Rapper Monie Love who made an impressive debut in the early '90s with her eclectic, adventurous album 'Down To Earth' is one such artist. Although her success was short-lived she still stands as one of the few British Rap acts to enjoy American success. Born Simone Wilson in Battersea, London England, Monie first got into Rap while still in her teens. In 1987 she formed a group with some childhood friends and recorded a few underground singles. Later on she became involved with House music innovators The Jungle Brothers who began to produce tracks for Monie. One of these songs "I Can Do This" became a UK Top 40 hit in 1989 soon to be followed by the trippy House tune "Grandpa's Party" which went Top 20. Monie's US Breakthrough however came when she teamed up a young poised Rapper from New Jersey by the name of Queen Latifah who herself was at the start of her career. The two teamed up for the powerful single "Ladies First" and boy what a statement it made. With it's strong, no-nonsense Feminist lyrics about female empowerment and it's supple Jazz-inflected grooves combined with Monie & Latifah's confident Rapping the song made an immediate impact as an in-your-face response to a lot of sexist lyrics from male rappers. Latifah of course would go on to become the Multi-Media darling that we all know and love while Monie made a pretty strong impression in her own right. It wasn't long before her stunning debut album 'Down To Earth' would hit these shores in 1990. The album was a masterpiece of creativity that was released at a time when Hip-Hop was at it's creative peak. It certainly stands toe to toe with Tribe Called Quest's 'Low End Theory' or De La Soul's 'Three Feet High & Rising' as one of Hip-Hop's truly amazing efforts. Lyrically Monie was honest articulate and outspoken whether addressing domestic violence ("Just Don't Give A Damn")or Record business politics ("Don't Funk With The Mo'") Musically it ran the gamut from House stompers ("Ring My Bell") to searing early Rap-Metal ("I Do As I Please") to spacey techno (the eerie double-tracked "Pups Lickin' Bone"). In 1992 a follow-up 'In A Word Or 2' was released that failed to catch fire despite some strong songs such as the ode to motherhood "Born To BREED" and the sultry Prince-produced love jam "In A Word Or 2". Monie had also given birth to a daughter and left the music biz to raise her child. In 2000 she made a comeback of sorts with the club-friendly single "Slice Of Da Pie".
Bio written by: groovyovergwen |
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