ATLANTA — Monie Love is best known as a trailblazer in hip-hop, a passionate music lover, and an energetic radio personality on Kiss 104.1 FM in Atlanta.

Sunday marks the 51st anniversary of hip-hop. Monie Love reflected on hip-hop and the legends who paved the way for her and countless others in the music industry.

Growing up in London, England, Monie Love, whose real name is Simone Johnson, said she fell in love with music at a young age.

“Music was a part of our household growing up,” she said. “I could be listening to anything from Miles Davis to anything in my father’s record collections. My dad used to put on Dizzy Gillespie records. Around the house, he would play with those records. A lot of Bob Marley we would listen to. I learned Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” when I was maybe 7. Music was a heavy part of the household.”

She learned to play the drums and the flute when she was growing up. Monie Love says she discovered hip-hop around the time it came to England in 1984.

“By the time it got to us in England, it came in the form of B-boying and break dancing,” she said. “We got it by way of watching footage of what was going on in New York. Films like “Wild Style” we got into the culture. We created our own pseudo style of what was going on.”

When she moved with her family to New York, she says it was a “culture shock.”

“I’m comfortable with not doing much talking and doing more listening. That is what I did when I first moved to the states. It was a quiet learning experience,” she said. “I really got serious about wanting to be a part of the culture in 1984. I saw a movie called “Peachtree and decided that’s what I wanted to do. The girls that I saw rapping in the movie Peachtree was Debbie D, Sha Rock and Lisa Lee. There was a scene where they were in the gym and they performed a song called “Us Girls.” They were among my first women influences that gave me confidence. Another one was Roxanne Shanté.”

“New York influenced me before I moved there because I was listening to so much hip-hop, absorbing so much from New York that had crossed over to the UK. By the time I got to New York, I was already absorbed.”

Monie Love listed Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Queen Latifah, Kool Moe D, and LL Cool J as among other influences in her career.

“The feeling of creating my first record was very fulfilling. It was less nervous about what other people would think and it was more like an accomplishment,” she said.

Monie Love was a part of the hip-hop group Juss Bad, which featured DJ Pogo, MC Mell’O, and MC Sparky Ski.

“It was awesome being a crew. It was awesome creating together,” she said.

Her hit songs “Monie in the Middle,” and “It’s a Shame” were nominated for Grammy awards. She has also released other classics such as “Grandpas Party” and “Full Term Love.” In 1991, Monie Love was featured on the remix of Whitney Houston’s hit “My Name Is Not Susan”

Monie Love recalled the process of creating her debut album, “Down to Earth” in 1990 and says she is more appreciative of the process of creating music.

“It was a very cool experience being in the creator seat and writing songs that would amount to be an entire album,” she said. “At that time, your standard full-length album would’ve been 10 songs. It was definitely a proud of myself moment. I felt a large level of accomplishment. I also felt I learned a lot during the process such as how studio time works, how mixing level worked, and how recording levels work. I was very humbled with the process.”

Monie Love said she is happy to be acknowledged as among the women in hip-hop who have paved the way for generations. She mentioned people like Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, among others.

“I do realize that I am among the women who helped pave the road for where the girls in hip-hop are now. It’s a pretty cool thing to understand and to embrace. I’m proud of that fact that there could and should be women out there who are able to stand on the shoulders of myself and many women who came before me. It’s an honor.”

She spoke about the evolution of women in hip-hop and paving the way for the new generation.

“I see women in hip-hop are doing their thing,” Monie Love said. “They’re commanding their stages. They’re commanding respect. They’re in charge of their own narratives and I love to see it. I would like to see more women in more diverse areas of hip-hop do the same. Missy [Elliot] was different to everybody when she first came out. She’s still doing her thing to this day.”

Monie Love also talked about the evolution of hip-hop and making a mark in the industry.

“If an artist comes out and they aren’t authentic to their craft, it’s going to ultimately show its head years down the line whether they are a remembered artist or not,” she said. “You’ve got to walk into this with an authentic state of mind in regards to the culture itself. There might be a girl somewhere who is afraid to take a different route. Maybe she feels if she takes a different route, it won’t be as successful. To that young lady, I’d like to say take a risk.”

She fondly recalled the man who persuaded her to transition into being a radio personality in New York.

“There was a gentleman named Steve Smith who passed away a couple of years ago. He flipped a radio station from a pop format in New York, to a hip hop format. He called my manager one day and asked if I’d be interested in being on the radio. He asked me if I ever thought about being on the radio and I told him no.

Smith persuaded her to consider being on the radio and said he would teach her everything she needed to know.

“I was shown and taught the ropes and started working on weekends on Hot 97 in New York,” she said. “Here we are 30+ years later, I’m still in radio. Without even realizing it, I gained a muscle that I didn’t have before. Now, I’m able to do that as well as be an artist and tours and do shows. Steve Smith knew what he was doing.”

Being a veteran hip-hop artist has helped her become a better radio personality.

“It allows me to sprinkle a little bit of the music industry and tour world into the radio.” she said. “A lot of folks who listen to the radio find it interesting. It’s like they get a view into the touring world, the performance world, the artist insight. It works in that sense being on the radio.”

“Hip-hop is life to me,” she said. “I knew it was going to be life for me from the moment that I embraced it in 1984 when I was 14. I knew my children would be raised in the culture. I knew it was going to be a life journey. God-willing, I get to celebrate many, many more.”

In addition to being a hip-hop pioneer, Monie Love has also appeared on The Rickey Smiley Reality Show, Little Women of Atlanta, and Growing Up Hip Hop. Fans can follow her on all social media platforms by searching @Darealmonielove.

On Sept. 1, Monie Love is scheduled to perform at Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre in Mableton with Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, Chubb Rock, and Rakim. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking here. She also says she is working on new music.

Fans can tune into Atlanta’s Kiss 104.1 FM on weekdays to listen to Monie Love.