ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴍʏ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍs ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʀʀʏ ᴍᴇ.

IN THE KINGSTON JAMAICA NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE MONICA WRIGHT WAS BORN FAME AND FORTUNE SEEMED LIKE A DISTANT DREAM AT BEST. THE HOUSE THAT THE NEWBORN SHARED WITH HER MOTHER, BETTE, AND HER GRANDMOTHER WAS LOCATED IN THE HEART OF TRENCH TOWN AND DIDN’T POSSESS INDOOR PLUMBING. UNABLE TO WORK DUE TO DISABILITY MONICA’S GRANDMOTHER COULD NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE BILLS, BUT INSTEAD PROVIDED CHILDCARE FOR HER ONLY GRANDBABY WHILE HER DAUGHTER CONSISTENTLY WORKED TWO JOBS, AS A COCKTAIL WAITRESS AND TOUR GUIDE.

MONICA’S FATHER DON, AN AMERICAN LIVING ON THE ISLAND, WAS ARRESTED, INCARCERATED AND DEPORTED ON DRUG CHARGES ALL BEFORE HIS DAUGHTER WAS BORN; WHILE THE SHEER VIRTUE OF HIS PATERNITY WAS IN GIFT IN TERMS OF GAINING U.S. CITIZENSHIP, DON STIVERSON NEVER PROVIDED MUCH MORE HELP FOR HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER BEYOND THAT AND WHAT THE COURT SYSTEM COULD SHAKE OUT OF HIM. EVEN NOW, A FULL 26 YEARS AFTER HER BIRTH, MONICA HAS ONLY BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HIM ON A HANDFUL OF OCCASIONS AND MET HIM A GRAND TOTAL OF ONCE.

NOT LONG AFTER MONICA’S SEVENTH BIRTHDAY HER LIFE BEGAN AN UPSWING FOR THE BETTER, WHILE WORKING ON A TOUR HER MOTHER MET AND ATTRACTED YET ANOTHER AMERICAN TOURIST. UNLIKE MO’S FATHER THIS MAN, REGGIE, WAS MODERATELY AFFLUENT AND AFTER A SHORT, THREE-MONTH COURTSHIP MARRIED MO’S MOTHER AND MOVED BOTH MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TO LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. ONLY A YEAR LATER MO’S YOUNGER BROTHER ISAIAH WAS BORN AND HER STEP FATHER’S SMALL FURNITURE BUSINESS WAS BOOMING. IN ORDER TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY REGGIE GAVE GUITAR AND PIANO LESSONS AND OCCASIONALLY ALLOWED MONICA TO SIT IN ON THE SESSIONS AND TAUGHT HER THE INSTRUMENTS IN SPARE TIME THROUGHOUT HER CHILDHOOD, FOSTERING AN UNPARALLELED LOVE OF MUSIC IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD.

WHEN MO WAS 12 TRUE TRAGEDY STRUCK HER WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME, CLAIMING THE LIFE OF HER 4 YEAR OLD BROTHER ISAIAH IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN WHICH HER STEPFATHER WAS THE SOLE SURVIVOR. THE LOSS TOOK A MAJOR TOLL ON HER ENTIRE FAMILY AND ESPECIALLY ON HER MOTHER’S MARRIAGE, BETTE DIVORCED REGGIE LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND MOVED WITH HER DAUGHTER BACK TO KINGSTON TO ONCE AGAIN LIVE WITH HER MOTHER.

THE NEXT YEAR WAS A WHIRLWIND OF SCHOOL AND TALENT COMPETITIONS FOR MONICA WHO’D GOTTEN HER FIRST TASTE OF SUCCESS AT A LONG ISLAND FESTIVAL AS A TEN YEAR OLD. HER TALENT DISCOVERY WAS BY VIRTUE OF LUCK A MUCH AS ANYTHING WHEN HER MOTHER WAS HIRED TO GIVE A PRIVATE ISLAND TOUR TO A TALENT MANAGER WHO AGREED TO MEET WITH MO AND WAS IMPRESSED BY THE 13 YEAR OLD’S ABILITY TO ENTERTAIN AS WELL AS SING AND PLAY PIANO. THROUGH HER MANAGER MONI SIGNED HER FIRST RECORD DEAL WITH A JAMAICAN LABEL AND WORKED THROUGHOUT HER FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL ON HER DEBUT RELEASE.

MO’S FIRST ALBUM, MUSIC OF THE SUN, WAS FINALLY RELEASED ONLY A FEW MONTHS BEFORE HER 17TH BIRTHDAY AFTER HER DEMO WAS SHOPPED AROUND TO SEVERAL LABELS AND FINALLY PICKED UP BY DEF JAM RECORDINGS. IN WHAT CAME AS A SHOCK TO EVERYONE THE ALBUM’S LEAD SINGLE “PON DE REPLAY” CAPITALIZED ON THE POPULAR DANCE HALL MOVEMENT OF THE TIME AND CATAPULTED THE RECORD TO DEBUT IN THE BILLBOARD 10 WITHOUT MUCH MARKETING. THE REST OF THE ALBUMS SONGS FAILED TO GENERATE THE SAME SUCCESS BUT STILL HELPED LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR PERMANENT MOVE TO THE U.S. AND CEMENTED MO, WHOSE NAME BECAME STYLIZED AS MONI BY HER LABEL, AS A DRIVING FORCE IN THE R & B WORLD.

SINCE THE RELEASE OF HER FIRST ALBUM MONI HAS GONE ON TO SELL MILLIONS OF RECORDS WORLDWIDE AND PERFORMED LIVE ON EVERY INHABITED CONTINENT. SIX OUT OF HER SEVEN STUDIO ALBUMS HAVE NOW GONE PLATINUM IN AMERICA AND SHE BECAME THE PROUD RECIPIENT OF SIX GRAMMY AWARDS. STILL SHE HAS OVERSHADOWED HER ON STAGE SUCCESS AT TIMES WITH BEHIND THE SCENE ANTICS. MO IS WELL KNOWN FOR BEING OUTSPOKEN, STRONG-WILLED, EXPERIMENTAL AND HIGHLY SEXUAL – A COMBINATION WHICH HAS COME TO A HEAD IN THE MEDIA MANY TIMES, NOT LEAST OF ALL THROUGH THE DRAMA OF HER ON AGAIN/OFF AGAIN RELATIONSHIP WITH A FELLOW CELEBRITY. MO’S HARD PARTYING WAYS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE HAS BEEN WHISPERED ABOUT IN THE INDUSTRY AND RUMORED IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, THOUGH NEVER CONFIRMED.

INTENSELY PRIVATE ABOUT HER LIFE, MO MAINTAINS A RESIDENCE IN LOS ANGELES BUT PRIMARILY LIVES IN HER TRIBECA CONDO WHEN NOT ON TOUR OR RECORDING. TWO YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE OF HER MOST RECENT ALBUM MO HAS ALMOST COMPLETED WORK ON HER NEXT RELEASE AND IS SLATED TO BEGIN PROMOTIONS IN 2015 AMIDST NEGATIVE GOSSIP ABOUT HER SPECULATED DRUG USE, TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIP AND PRECARIOUS STATUS AS A ROLE MODEL FOR YOUNG WOMEN.