British rapper Monie Love was still a teenager when she appeared on Queen
Latifah's feminist anthem "Ladies First" in 1989. A Top 40 hit on Billboard's
R&B and dance charts, the song served as a launchpad for Love's debut album,
Down to Earth, which was released the following year. Love — born Simone Johnson
on July 2, 1970, in Battersea, London — remained busy during the early 1990s,
earning Grammy nominations for her chart-topping rap singles "Monie in the
Middle" and "It's a Shame (My Sister)." Her second album, 1993's In a World or
2, included the Number 1 dance hit "Born 2 B...