And now … meet Lil' Mo

Interview, Nov, 1999 by Evelyn McDonnell

Introducing a singer with a roof-blowing, glass-shattering, temperature-raising voice

It's 100 degrees outside, New York City is smothered in ozone, and there's no AC in the photographer's studio, so everyone's moving at half-speed. Until the song "Right and Wrong," from Lil' Mo's forthcoming debut album, based on a True Story (EastWest/Elektra), detonates the speakers. Then Mo springs into motion, pantomiming her planned video for this tale of infidel desire. Although the twenty-one-year-old Queens-based R&B artist nee Cindy Levin doesn't rap on her album, she still calls herself a rapper-singer, because when she steps up to the mike, her body rocks, swings, and stomps with an MC's urgency, not a diva's drama. She packs so much energy into her four-foot-eleven frame, she seems like she's going to explode and the eleven tattoos (at last count) on the right side of her body look like they're about to come alive. That animism could make Lil' Mo big. The former army brat got her first break touring with the rap group Gangstarr; she has since written lyrics for hip-hop and R&B writer-producer Teddy Riley and the female R&B trio 702, toured with Missy Elliott, and sang (and rapped) the song "5 Minutes" on the Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998) soundtrack. And on True Story, she unleashes a voice as athletic as an Olympic gymnast.

EVELYN MCDONNELL: When did you start getting tattoos?

LIL' MO: About two years ago. I graduated from high school and I thought instead of having kids, I should get tattoos!

EM: Where did you grow up?

LM: Mainly Long Island. My dad's in the army, so I've been all over: North Carolina, New Jersey, Georgia, Texas, Maryland. We didn't even unpack our clothes. It was like, What's the sense unpacking when you know you're going to move?

EM: How did you get the name Lil' Mo?

LM: When I rapped in high school, people called me Monie Levin' [after the rapper Monie Love]. Then they shortened it to Mo. And I'm always asking for a little more something: [in a high voice] "Can I have a little more juice? Can I have a little more reverb?"

EM: When did you start singing?

LM: When I was five I started singing in church. Then in junior high and high school I wanted to be a rapper. But after that people started telling me, "Yo, you should sing. Do you realize you have the voice of an angel?" I always thought I looked too tomboyish to sing. They said, "Girl, we could fix that." So now I sing and rap and write.

EM: Were there singers as well as rappers who inspired you?

LM: Yeah: [gospel singer] Karen Clark, [R&B singer] Shirley Murdock, my aunt Sheila. And a lot of people in the church that I grew up under. They used to tear it up; people would be crying.

EM: Your parents are preachers and you say you were inspired more by gospel than R&B. Do you consider yourself religious?

LM: I consider myself spiritual because I love the Lord. Nobody but God can judge anyone.

EM: How do you feel about rapping versus singing?

LM: I like rapping more 'cause you can jump off of stuff and into the crowd. It's more emotional. The way R&B goes these days, a lot of people sound alike. But people can always tell it's me when they see me, because every riff I do, every song I sing, I act it out. I think you have to show people what you're saying. I can't wait until I perform on tour because I'm gonna be jumping on the speakers.

EM: How come you don't rap on the new record?

LM: There are too many girl rappers out there. There's more longevity in singing. Rappers, they die out.

EM: But nobody says there are too many guy rappers out there.

LM: That's true. That's because men rule the world!

EM: How did you feel when you heard Sylvia Rhone [president of Elektra Records] wanted to sign you?

LM: When I heard that I didn't care what deals I had on the table; I was going with her. She showed me so much love that I was kind of shocked. She made me feel comfortable. I think people may not be ready for a lot of the things I say. With Sylvia, I don't feel pressured to please. I see a lot of male artists get away with everything - "Oh my God, look what he has on. Listen to the way he sounds." But he's a man, so he's allowed to do it. Meanwhile I'm struggling to stay in shape. Men don't even have to lose weight - you know what women go through. I'm happy that she [Rhone] lets me do basically what I want. But I make sure I'm coming correct, that I'm not coming half. I'm not going to let her down.

EM: What are some things that you've done that you were afraid maybe people wouldn't be ready for?

LM: "5 Minutes." That really happened to me. A girl really came to my house to fight over a boyfriend.

EM: And did you guys physically fight?

LM: No. Actually, my boyfriend's mother told me, "Just think about it. Is this one thing worth risking your life or going to jail for?"

EM: The album is called based on a True Story. What's the story?

LM: The album goes through all the different relationships I've been through - all two and a half of them.

EM: Is it hard for you to write about relationships if you've only had two and a half of them?