Cynthia Loving (born July 3, 1978), also known by her stage name
Lil' Mo, is an American R&B singer, songwriter & record producer.
She is best known for collaborating with artists such as Ja Rule,
Angie Martinez, Sacario, Missy Elliott, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fabolous,
and for her hit single "Superwoman Pt. II."
Born into a military family, Loving was raised primarily on Long
Island, but moved about regularly as her family followed her father's
military assignments. Along with her parents, Bishop Jacob and First-Lady
Cynthia Loving Sr., she lived in Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Fayetteville,
North Carolina before settling in Baltimore, Maryland. Dreams of
becoming a famous singer began early and she always remained focused
on this goal, performing in talent competitions wherever her family
would settle.
In 2001, she met her first husband, Al Stone, Washington, D.C. gas
station; she initiated a conversation and asked for his number. He
proposed to her in May, and they wed on August 29, 2001, after dating
for only 5 months. Just two months later, Loving became pregnant,
and on August 19, 2002, she gave birth to a daughter, Heaven Love'on
Stone. Her second daughter, God'Iss Love Stone, was born on February
24, 2005. In December 2005, she filed for divorce from Al Stone.
She is currently married to Gospel recording artist Phillip Bryant;
the couple welcomed a son, Justin McKenzie Phillip, on January 16,
2009.[1] She currently lives in Odenton, Maryland.
[edit] Recording career
[edit] Beginnings
Signed with Elektra Records Loving entered the music industry as
a protégé of then-labelmate Missy Elliott. Her debut
single was entitled "5 Minutes" from the Why Do Fools Fall
In Love soundtrack, co-written by Kelly Price. She appeared on tracks
for Elliott's Da Real World in 1999. "Hot Boyz" became
Loving's breakout appearance. She was featured in the music video
for the song's remix alongside guest rappers Nas and Eve, and Elliott
subsequently became a trusted adviser and friend. She was featured
on rapper Jay-Z's song "Parking Lot Pimpin'" from the 2000
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album. Not very well known, she was the
female voice on the 2001 hit "Wifey" by Next. She has performed
with and written songs for many artists including Blackstreet, Next,
Bow Wow, Keith Sweat, Canela Cox, 3LW, Nicole Wray, Mocha and ODB.
Loving's next big exposure came in early 2001, when she was featured
on Ja Rule's single "Put It On Me" alongside Ja Rule's
Murder Inc. Records labelmate Vita. The single was a hit on both
urban and pop radio, and reached number eight on the US pop charts,
and more collaborations by Ja Rule and Lil' Mo followed, including "I
Cry", which repurposed The O'Jays' 1978 hit "Cry Together".
In the Summer of 2002 Loving collaborated with label mates Angie
Martinez & Sacario on If I Could Go.
[edit] Based On A True Story (1999 - 2002)
In 2001, Lil' Mo released her debut album Based On A True Story,
on Elektra Records, and had a successful single of her own, "Superwoman
(Part II)." The "Part II" remix, featuring hip-hop
newcomer Fabolous, was an up-tempo, hip-hop flavored record, using
an instrumental track producer DJ Clue had originally intended for
M.O.P. reached #9 on the R&B charts.[2] The video was also a
huge hit on MTV2 and BET. The album's second single, "Gangsta",
contained a sample of Snoop Dogg's "Gin And Juice", was
less successful reaching #57 on the R&B charts.[2]
After a falling out with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti, caused by Loving's
accusations that they now favored using new Murder Inc. artist Ashanti
for collaborations instead of her, she ended all associations with
Murder Inc. in 2002. Since, Ja Rule has taken some shots at former
friend, Loving, calling her a "bitch", and crediting himself
as the reason why she had any hits. She refused to fire back, calling
the whole thing "juvenile."
[edit] Meet the Girl Next Door (2003)
During the mid-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 from Fabolous' Street Dreams LP, was one
of 2003's biggest rap and mainstream pop hits. The other duet, "4
Ever", the first official single from Lil' Mo's own second album,
Meet The Girl Next Door, was a major urban and R&B hit, but did
not achieve pop success.
[edit] Pain & Paper (2007)
Under her independent label "Honeychild Entertainment" she
finally released a new album. Pain & Paper was released on August
28, 2007 with production from Joey Cutless, Bryan-Michael Cox, Jules "Judah," Mike
Moore, Troy Taylor, Adam "Streets" Arwine, Daniel "D-Up" Allen,
Wesley "Mister Wes" Toone, among others. Along with recording
her new album, Lil' Mo, together with Faith Evans, Fantasia, and
R&B-turned-gospel singer Coko (of SWV fame), appeared on the
remake of The Clark Sisters' "Endow Me" from Coko's gospel
album Grateful, released October 31, 2006. Loving's Pain & Paper
was released on August 28, 2007 distributed by Koch Entertainment.
The first single off the album is "Sometimes I" featuring
rapper Jim Jones). The video was directed by Gabriel E. Hart of Drew
Barrymore's "VH-1's Shoot to Kill." She recently announced
that her second single is "Lucky Her." She stated that "Lucky
Her" is the final single from "Pain & Paper".
She is currently working on a new album tentatively titled "Tattoos & Roses:
The Rebellion Against My Pain" (confirmed by Lil' Mo herself
in an interview), a mixtape, and a reality show for 2008.
[edit] 2008 - present
With "Pain & Paper" sales at barely below one-hundred
thousand, Lil' Mo signed to Global Music Group for a two-album contract.
She has said in a recent interview that the album will be a double
disc; half of it being a live production. The album is currently
titled "Tattoos & Roses: The Rebellion Against My Pain".
In a 2010 interview, Mo confirmed that guest appearances on the album
would include MC Lyte, Tweet, Fabolous and other performers that
she has admired in the music industry.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Lil' Mo Discography
* 2001: Based on a True Story
* 2003: Meet the Girl Next Door
* 2007: Pain & Paper
* 2011: Tattoos & Roses
[edit] Albums
Year Album Chart positions RIAA Certification
U.S. U.S. R&B
2001 Based on a True Story 14 6 Gold (442,700 copies sold)
2003 Meet the Girl Next Door 17 4 N/A(383,287+ copies sold)
2005 Syndicated: The Lil' Mo Hour — — Shelved
2007 Pain & Paper 112 14 (101,000+ copies sold)
2011 Tattoos & Roses TBA TBA TBA
[edit] Singles
Year Single Chart positions Album
U.S. U.S. R&B
1998 "5 Minutes" (feat. Missy Elliott) — — Why
Do Fools Fall in Love Soundtrack
2000 "Ta Da" 95 21 Based on a True Story
2001 "Superwoman Pt. II" (feat. Fabolous) 11 4
"
Gangsta" — 57
2003 "4Ever" (feat. Fabolous) 37 13 Meet the Girl Next
Door
"
Ten Commandments" (feat. Lil' Kim) — 101
"
21 Answers" — — Promo Single
2005 "Yeah Yeah Yeah" (feat. Miri Ben-Ari) — — Syndicated:
The Lil' Mo Hour
(Unreleased Album)
"
Hot Boys, Hot Girls" (feat. Lil Wayne) — 28
"
Mother of Your Child" — —
"
Dem Boyz" — 86
2007 "Sumtimes I" (feat. Jim Jones) — — Pain & Paper
"
Lucky Her" — —
2011 TBA TBA
"—"
denotes releases that did not chart.
[edit] Guest singles
Year Single Chart positions Album
U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Rap NL
1999 "Hot Boyz" (Missy Elliott feat. Lil' Mo) 5 1 1 — Da
Real World
2000 "I'll Trade (A Million Bucks)" (Keith Sweat feat.
Lil' Mo) — 36 — — Didn't See Me Coming
"
Whatever" (Ideal feat. Lil' Mo) 102 11 — — Ideal
"
Put It On Me" (Ja Rule feat. Lil' Mo & Vita) 8 2 11 7 Rule
3:36
2001 "I Cry" (Ja Rule feat. Lil' Mo) 40 11 25 —
"
Lay It Down" (Jermaine Dupri & R.O.C. feat. Lil' Mo) — 117 — — Instructions
2002 "Pray For Me" (Mobb Deep feat. Lil' Mo) — — — — Infamy
"
Where's My..?" (Adam F feat. Lil' Mo) — — — 100
Single Only
"
If I Could Go" (Angie Martinez feat. Lil' Mo & Sacario)
15 26 11 — Animal House
2003 "Can't Let You Go" (Fabolous feat. Lil' Mo & Mike
Shorey) 4 2 2 10 Street Dreams
2004 "Thick & Thin" (E-40 feat. Lil' Mo) — 120 — — The
Best of E-40: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
2006 "Endow Me" (Coko feat. Lil' Mo, Fantasia & Faith
Evans) — — — — Grateful
2008 "Bulletproof Love/One Love" (Foxy Brown feat. Lil'
Mo) — — — — Brooklyn's Don Diva
"
Cry" (LL Cool J feat. Lil' Mo) — 119 — — Exit
13
2009 "It Ain't Love" (MSTRKRFT feat. Lil' Mo) — — — — Fist
of God