Ed Lover
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James Roberts (born February 12, 1963), better known as Ed Lover, is an American rapper, actor, musician, radio personality, and former
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
VJ. He hosted "The Ed Lover Show" on
SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
's
old-school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...
station
BackSpin In racquet sports and golf, backspin or underspin refers to the reverse rotation of a ball, in relation to the ball's trajectory, that is imparted on the ball by a slice or chop shot. Backspin generates an upward force that lifts the ball (see M ...
. As of April 12, 2018, he hosts the morning show at classic hip-hop "104.3 Jams"
WBMX WBMX (104.3 FM, 104.3 Jams) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a classic hip hop radio format. WBMX's studios and offic ...
in Chicago. He is also widely recognized for being the first person to announce Tupac Shakur's death at a
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...
concert in 1996.


Biography


Pre-MTV history

Roberts was born in Brooklyn, New York. Before reaching fame on MTV, he was part of an eccentric and deliberately enigmatic hip hop collective called No Face, primarily with fellow members Kevon Shah and Mark "Mark Sexx" Skeete, who served as the main producer. No Face debuted in 1989 on
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
' Club music imprint Great Jones with its only known recording for the label, "Hump Music"—an underground sexually explicit
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of The Jungle Brothers' 1988 hip-house classic "I'll House You." No Face would continue recording for another five years, but it only released one album in 1990, ''Wake Your Daughter Up'' on its own No Face label, which was operated as an imprint of the Rush Associated Labels division of
Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...
. Though Ed Lover was clearly recognizable throughout parts of the album, his name was not credited on the album and he was not featured on any album or single covers during this period, thus rendering Ed Lover the "no face" part of the group. Its main logo featured two heads with the word "face" written in
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
-style' at the bottom of the right face, while the official label logo featured three heads with the word "face" in a more legible font. ''Wake Your Daughter Up'' spawned two singles—"Fake-Hair-Wearin' Bitch," an underground cult classic that sampled
The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, an ...
's "
You Dropped a Bomb on Me "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is a funk song performed by the Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons's label, Total Experience Records. In addition to the single release, the song was featured on the band's 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. ...
" and featured
the 2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luke Campbell, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and Br ...
, and "Half," an R&B-styled divorce tale that featured the up-and-coming hardcore female hip-hop duo BWP (Bytches with Problems), which was discovered by and recorded for No Face to a slightly bigger level of success for the label than the group No Face did. Ed Lover is featured in the video for "Half," which regularly aired on ''
Yo! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-90s and on MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Peter Dough ...
'' during his tenure as co-host. For reasons unknown, other than possibly to avoid conflicting with his duties on MTV, Ed Lover left No Face shortly after its time with RAL. His
swan song The swan song ( grc, κύκνειον ᾆσμα; la, carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful so ...
to the group and to the label was his cameo appearance with partner Doctor Dré in BWP's video of its third single, "Wanted," from its one and only album, ''The Bytches'' from 1991.


''Yo! MTV Raps''

Roberts is best known for saying "C'mon, son!" and being the co-host of the weekday version of MTV's hip hop music specialty program '' Yo! MTV Raps Today'' with partner André "
Doctor Dré André "Doctor Dré" Brown (born December 5, 1963) is an American rapper, radio personality and former MTV VJ. Early life André Brown was born and raised in Westbury, New York, on Long Island. Career In the early 1980s, Doctor Dré was a DJ ...
" Brown. (The main weekend version was hosted by hip hop pioneer "
Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...
" Brathwaite) On ''Yo! MTV Raps Today'', Ed created his own dance called the Ed Lover Dance that became somewhat popular in the 1990s and was performed to the track "The 900 Number" by
DJ Mark the 45 King Mark Howard James (born October 16, 1961) professionally known as The 45 King (also known as DJ Mark the 45 King), is an American hip hop record producer and disc jockey (DJ) from The Bronx borough of New York City. James began DJing in The Bron ...
. He appeared as a guest on MSNBC's
The Beat with Ari Melber ''The Beat with Ari Melber'' is an American news and politics program hosted by Ari Melber, who is the chief legal correspondent for the network MSNBC. It airs weekdays at 6 PM ET. Guest hosts for the series include Mehdi Hasan, Jason Johnson, ...
on June 1, 2018, along with Yo! MTV Raps co-host Dr. Dré. During their segment they promoted the re-boot of the show.


New York and Philadelphia radio

Ed and Dré—who hosted the high-rated ''Morning Show with Ed,
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
, and Dré'' on New York's
Hot 97 FM WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...
from 1993 to 1998—released only one album, 1994's poorly received ''
Back Up Off Me! ''Back Up Off Me!'' is the only studio album by ''Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Ed Lover and Doctor Dré. It was released on November 8, 1994 via Relativity Records. Production was handled by Franklyn Grant, Davy D, Erick Sermon, Jolly Stomper Productio ...
'' The previous year, they starred as a pair of hapless barbers turned police officers in the
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
feature film ''
Who's the Man? ''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993 thriller buddy comedy film directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars ''Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances from s ...
'', which was well received and was hailed as the hip hop whodunit. He was later a radio personality on New York's Hip-Hop Radio Power 105.1 FM starting in January 2003 until January 2010
and was reprimanded by
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
for his use of the word "bitches," leading to an Oprah show on the subject of disrespect in hip hop. He also appeared on the VH1 program ''100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders'' in 2002. Lover also hosted a show on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in 2000–2001 titled ''
KO Nation ''KO Nation'' is an American television series which featured up-and-coming boxers in a hip-hop format. Shown on HBO every Saturday afternoon (later moved to late-night in January 2001) from May 6, 2000 until August 11, 2001, the show featured ...
''. Ed is currently the host of the hit TV show ''Hip Hop Hold 'Em'' along with the self-produced web show called ''C'mon, Son!'' edited and post production by BrowCo. He was also the co-host of the
morning show Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a lo ...
on
WWPR-FM WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. WWPR-FM is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is lo ...
(Power 105.1) in New York City until he was released from the station on Friday, November 19, 2010. In 2011, Lover became the host of his own show called "Friday Night Flava" on
WRKS WRKS (105.9 FM, "The Zone") is a radio station licensed to Pickens, Mississippi, although its studio is located in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Launched on July 2, 2009, the station's format is sports, with programming from ESPN Radio. WRKS is own ...
(Kiss FM) in New York City. On June 21, 2014, Ed Lover became part of the Old School 100.3 FM family in Philadelphia with his own "The Ed Lover Show". He later joined 107.9 in Philadelphia on a show with
Monie Love Simone Johnson or Simone Gooden (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love curre ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography


References


External links

*
Ed Lover TVEd Lover Cmon SonJet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lover, Ed 1963 births African-American male actors American male actors African-American male rappers African-American television personalities American radio personalities Boxing commentators Columbus Horizon players East Coast hip hop musicians Living people People from Hollis, Queens Rappers from New York City Relativity Records artists VJs (media personalities) 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people