Lil' Mo

Cynthia Loving (born July 3, 1978), also known by her stage name Lil’ Mo, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She is best known for collaborating with artists such as Ja Rule, 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.

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 Keli Nicole 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, 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».

Unfortunately, not everyone was as thrilled with Lil’ Mo’s success as she, her friends, and collaborators were. Just before her debut was set to hit record store shelves in the summer of 2001, a man attacked the singer in San Francisco just outside the Warfield, a theater where she had just finished a performance. He used a champagne bottle to club the singer’s head. At the time Loving was unaware of the extent of her injury. Reportedly, she seemed more concerned about her broken designer shoe. She ended up with almost two dozen stitches. A majority of the publicity appearances scheduled for the following month, which had been specially timed to coincide with the release of her debut, had to be canceled until she regained her health.

Later that year, 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… 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», but failed to find an audience.

Despite the after effects she suffered, the singer persevered and continued to sing and write. Months later, she started working on air at Baltimore’s radio station WXYV, where she hosted a highly-rated drive time music program. She remained as a radio DJ until leaving in June 2002 to await her first daughter’s birth and devote more time to her singing career.

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.»