What a strange career it's been for
Monie Love. One of the first British rappers to get a major label contract in the US, she was a member of the
Native Tongues crew and is well known for her appearances on
Queen Latifah's Ladies First and the remix of
De La Soul's Buddy, although her singles
Monie In The Middle and
It's A Shame (My Sister) are also fondly remembered. Her albums though are not remembered with such a joyous perspective, although that may have more to do with the changes in the rap community while she was making a name for herself.
N.W.A. and other gangster rap was becoming very popular in the late eighties and early nineties, and while
De La Soul and
A Tribe Called Quest remained popular, their contemporaries like the
Jungle Brothers and
Black Sheep were finding a steady decline in their popularity.
Monie's aforementioned two biggest hits are fun and memorable, but their success didn't necessarily translate into record sales. It also didn't help that the version of
It's A Shame that got radio and video play was a remix not featured on the album. Worse yet, by the time
Monie's second album,
In A Word Or 2, was released, the movement had moved on. The addition of two songs written and produced by
Prince didn't help her credibility either. It's always been hard to be a hit in the rap community when your image isn't overly commercial and you stick to your guns, and
Monie is a near definitive example of this.
Despite
Monie's lack of record sales (at least in the US), her debut album,
Down To Earth, is a classic early nineties/late eighties hip-hop record, owing more to the light psychedelia of
De La Soul and their
Native Tongues cohorts as well as the British dance scene.
Ultra Nate makes a vocal cameo on the house groove of
Ring My Bell (not to be confused with the
Fresh Prince's identically named hit single) and the production duo of
Cox & Steele, best known as two-thirds of
Fine Young Cannibals, wrote and produced several songs on the album including
Monie In The Middle.
Afrika Baby Bam also lent his hands for production duty on several tracks, including the wonky
Race Against Reality. Overall,
Down To Earth is a lot of fun and a very enjoyable record that doesn't take itself too seriously apart from the ridiculous
Swiney Swiney, a diatribe against eating pork and blaming it for any illness
Monie could come up with, or the mind-numbingly dull
Ring My Bell.
Down To Earth was released in abridged form in the US, dropping a few cuts and
Monie's appearance on a thoroughly unnecessary response track for
FYC's She Drives Me Crazy. It makes sense that these changes were made, but it's also funny since there were good tracks left over that never saw release in the US. So, today's post is the UK edition of
Monie Love's Down To Earth as issued on
CoolTempo in 1990. Everything from the US edition is here, including the finale,
Grandpa's Party, which had it's remix label dropped from the US release. This is truly a great but slept-on hip-hop record that deserves to be heard, so grab it and enjoy, but be leery of 1993's
In A Word Or 2. Even with
Marley Marl on that album's production, it just doesn't cut it.
Monie Love - Down To EarthUPDATE: Apparently someone at the DMCA thought this out of print and legally unavailable album is a hands off item, so I have to remove the link. Sorry.01 Monie In The MiddleProduced by Cox & Steele, additional guitar by Bootsy Collins, additional vocals by Almond Joy02 It's A Shame (My Sister) (feat. True Image)Produced by Cox & Steele, additional guitar by Bootsy Collins, additional vocals by True Image03 Don't Funk Wid The MoProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar04 Ring My Bell (feat. Ultra Nate)Produced by Richie Fermie, additional vocals by Ultra Nate05 R U SingleProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar06 Just Don't Give A DamnProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar07 What I'm Supposed 2 BProduced by Jerry Callendar & Richie Fermie08 Dettrimentally StableProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar09 Down 2 EarthProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar10 I Do As I PleaseProduced by Cox & Steele, additional guitar by Bootsy Collins11 Pups Lickin' BoneProduced by Jerry Callendar & Richie Fermie12 Read Between The LinesProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar13 Race Against RealityProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar14 Swiney SwineyProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar, backing vocals by De La Soul15 Give It 2 U Like ThisProduced by Afrika Baby Bambaataa, Kevin Maxwell & Jerry Callendar16 I Can Do This (Uptown Mix)Produced by DJ Pogo & Dancin' Danny D17 I'm Driving You CrazyProduced by Cox & Steele18 Grandpa's Party (Love II Love Remix)Produced by Richie Fermie & Dancin' Danny D, all scratching by Ju Ju, Remixed by Jazzie B & Nellie HooperPS - In case you're wondering,
Monie is still a DJ and has a show on
XM called
Ladies First Radio. She lives in the Philly area but doesn't host any regional shows any longer due to some controversy over an appearance with
Young Jeezy on her then show several years ago. I went to look up details but only found dead links, so if you know the scoop, drop me a line in the comments. I'd love to know if she was on point or off base.
PS 2 - Funny little detail for you. The US version of
Down To Earth got a parental advisory sticker despite not having the
F word spoken once throughout the album. Apparently someone was upset by the content of
Pups Lickin' Bone, a message to people to be careful having unprotected sex. Oddly enough, her follow-up album, despite featuring plenty of obscenities including the aforementioned
F word, features no parental advisory sticker. Ridiculous.
