Lil' Mo
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Lil' Mo (born Cynthia Loving in Long Island, New York) is an African American R&B singer. She is most famous for collaborating with artists such as Ja Rule, Missy Elliott, and Fabolous, and for her hit single "Superwoman Pt. II".
Signed with Elektra Records, she entered the music industry as a protégé of labelmate Missy Elliott, and appeared on tracks for Elliott's Da Real World in 1999. One of those tracks, "Hot Boys", became Mo's breakout appearance. She was featured in the music video for the song's remix alongside guest rappers Nas and Eve.
Mo's next big exposure came in early 2001, when she was featured on Ja Rule's hit single "Put It On Me" alongside Rule's Murder Inc. Records labelmate Vita. The single was an enormous hit on both urban and pop radio, and reached #8 on the US pop charts, and more Rule/Mo collaborations followed, including "I Cry", which repurposed The O'Jays' 1978 hit "Cry Together".
Later that year, Mo released her debut album, Based On A True Story, on Elektra, and had a successful single of her own, "Superwoman [Part II]", off of that album. The "Part II" remix, featuring hip-hop newcomer Fabolous, was an uptempo, hip-hop flavored record, using an instrumental track producer DJ Clue had originally intended for M.O.P.. The video was also a huge hit on MTV2 and BET. Tha album's second single, "Gangsta", contained a sample of Snoop Dogg's "Gin And Juice", but failed to cfind an audience.
After a falling out with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti, caused by Mo's accusations that they now favored using new Murder Inc. artist Ashanti for collaborations instead of her, Mo ended all associations with Murder Inc. in 2002. Since, Ja Rule has taken some cheap shots at former friend, Mo, calling her a "bitch", and crediting himself as the reason why Mo had had any hits. Mo refused to fire back, calling the whole thing "juvenile".
During the summer of 2003, Mo appeared on two important singles with Fabolous, who partially had Mo to thank for his own break into the industry, and who has since been more successful on both urban and mainstream charts than Mo herself. Their first duet was "Can't Let You Go", the first single off of Fabolous' Street Dreams LP, was one of 2003's biggest rap and mainstream pop hits. The other duet, "4 Ever", the first official single off of Lil' Mo's own sophomore album, Meet The Girl Next Door, was a minor urban and R&B hit, but did not achieve pop success.
In 2004, Mo had better luck with "21 Answers", a response to 50 Cent's popular "21 Questions". The single was successful on urban radio and a minor hit with pop audiences. After her contract with Elektra expired at the end of 2004, she moved over to the Cash Money Records label, where she expects to release her third album before the end of 2005.
Discography
Albums
- 2001: Based on a True Story
- 2003: Meet the Girl Next Door
Singles
- 1999: "Hot Boys [Remix]" {Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott featuring Lil' Mo, Nas, Eve, and Q-Tip (US #5)
- 2001: "Put It On Me" (Ja Rule featuring Lil' Mo and Vita) (US #8)
- 2001: "I Cry" (Ja Rule featuring Lil' Mo) (US #40)
- 2001: "Superwoman [Pt. II]" (featuring Fabolous) (US #11)
- 2001: "Gangsta"
- 2003: "4Ever"
- 2003: "21 Answers"