Ed Lover
Encyclopedia
James Roberts better known as Ed Lover, is an African-American rapper, actor
, musician
, radio
personality, and former MTV
VJ.
specialty program Yo! MTV Raps Today
with partner Andre "Doctor Dré
" Brown (The main weekend version was hosted by hip hop pioneer "Fab Five Freddy
" Brathwaite). On Yo! MTV Raps Today
, Ed created his own dance called the Ed Lover Dance that became somewhat popular in the 1990s. The Ed Lover Dance was performed to the track "The 900 Number" by DJ Mark the 45 King
.
Ed and Dré—who hosted the high-rated Morning Show with Ed, Lisa
, and Dré on New York's Hot 97 FM from 1993 to 1998—released only one album, 1994's poorly received Back Up Off Me!
The previous year, they starred as a pair of hapless barbers turned police officers in the New Line Cinema
feature film Who's the Man?
, which was well-received and is hailed as "the Hip-Hop whodunit".
He was later a radio personality on New York's Hip-Hop Radio Power 105.1 FM, and was recently reprimanded by Oprah Winfrey
for his use of the word "bitches," leading to an Oprah show on the subject of disrespect in hip-hop to be broadcast soon. He also appeared on the VH1
program 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2002. Lover also hosted a show on HBO in 2000-2001 titled KO Nation
. 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!. He was also the co-host of the morning show on WWPR-FM
(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 (Kiss FM) in New York City.
Club music imprint, Great Jones with their only known recording for the label, "Hump Music" -- an underground sexually-explicit parody
of The Jungle Brothers'
1988 Hip-House classic "I'll House You". No Face would continue recording for another five years, but they only released one album in 1990, Wake Your Daughter Up on their own No Face label, which was operated as an imprint of the Rush Associated Labels division of Def Jam Recordings
.
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. (Their main logo featured two heads with the word "face" written in graffiti-style'
at the bottom of the right face, while the official label logo features three heads with the word "face" in a more proper font.)
Wake Your Daughter Up spawned two singles -- "Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch", an underground cult classic which sampled The Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me
" and featured The 2 Live Crew
, and "Half", an R&B-styled divorce tale which featured the hardcore female Hip-Hop duo, BWP (Bytches With Problems), who were discovered by and recorded for No Face to a slightly bigger level of success for the label than the group No Face did. For reasons unknown, other than possibly to avoid conflicting with his duties on MTV, Ed Lover had left No Face shortly after their time with RAL. His swan song
to the group and to the label was his cameo appearance with partner Doctor Dré in BWP's video for their third single "Wanted" from their one and only album, The Bytches from 1991.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personality, and former MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
VJ.
Biography
Roberts is best known for saying "C'mon, son!" and being the co-host of the weekday version of MTV's hip hop musicHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
specialty program Yo! MTV Raps Today
Yo! MTV Raps
Yo! MTV Raps was a two-hour American television music video program, which ran from August 1988 to August 1995 through its original Yo! MTV Raps name and later by Yo! . The program was the first hip hop music show on the network, based on the original MTV Europe show, aired one year earlier. The U.S...
with partner Andre "Doctor Dré
Doctor Dre
André "Doctor Dré" Brown is an African American radio personality and former MTV VJ.-Career:Doctor Dré is best known for being the co-host of MTV's hip hop music specialty program Yo! MTV Raps with partner Ed Lover. The duo also starred in the 1993 film Who's the Man?...
" Brown (The main weekend version was hosted by hip hop pioneer "Fab Five Freddy
Fab Five Freddy
Fred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
" Brathwaite). On Yo! MTV Raps Today
Yo! MTV Raps
Yo! MTV Raps was a two-hour American television music video program, which ran from August 1988 to August 1995 through its original Yo! MTV Raps name and later by Yo! . The program was the first hip hop music show on the network, based on the original MTV Europe show, aired one year earlier. The U.S...
, Ed created his own dance called the Ed Lover Dance that became somewhat popular in the 1990s. The Ed Lover Dance was performed to the track "The 900 Number" by DJ Mark the 45 King
DJ Mark the 45 King
DJ Mark the 45 King , also known as the 45 King, started DJing in New Jersey in the mid-1980s. The nickname "the 45 King" comes from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records.-Career:...
.
Ed and Dré—who hosted the high-rated Morning Show with Ed, Lisa
Lisa Glasberg
Lisa Glasberg is a radio News person. Glasberg was born on June 6, 1956 and grew up in Woodmere, Long Island, New York. She graduated from Hewlett High School in 1974...
, and Dré on New York's Hot 97 FM from 1993 to 1998—released only one album, 1994's poorly received Back Up Off Me!
Back Up Off Me!
Back Up Off Me! is the only album by Yo! MTV Raps hosts Ed Lover and Doctor Dré. It was released on November 8, 1994, on Relativity Records and was produced by Franklyn Grant, Erick Sermon, DJ Mark the 45 King, Tyrone Fyffe, Marley Marl, Ed Lover, and Doctor Dré...
The previous year, they starred as a pair of hapless barbers turned police officers in the New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
feature film Who's the Man?
Who's the Man?
Who's the Man? is a 1993 comedy film, directed by Ted Demme. The film stars Yo! MTV Raps hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists., it features dozens of cameo appearances from some of the top rap/hip-hop acts of the time, including Busta Rhymes, Eric B., House of Pain, Ice-T,...
, which was well-received and is hailed as "the Hip-Hop whodunit".
He was later a radio personality on New York's Hip-Hop Radio Power 105.1 FM, and was recently reprimanded by Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
for his use of the word "bitches," leading to an Oprah show on the subject of disrespect in hip-hop to be broadcast soon. He also appeared on the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
program 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2002. Lover also hosted a show on HBO in 2000-2001 titled KO Nation
KO Nation
KO Nation was a short-lived television series which featured up-and-coming boxers in a hip-hop format. Shown on HBO on Saturday afternoons throughout 2000 and 2001, the show featured dancers and hip-hop performances, and was hosted by Fran Charles and Kevin Kelley. Ed Lover was the "face" of the...
. 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!. He was also the co-host of the morning show on WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM, also known as "Power 105.1", is an urban contemporary radio station that features hip hop and R&B licensed to New York City that serves the Greater New York area....
(Power 105.1) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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 (Kiss FM) in New York City.
C'mon Son
After 2000, Ed Lover created a series on YouTube titled "C'mon Son," in which he criticizes the errant acts of celebrities.Pre-MTV History
Before reaching fame on MTV, Ed Lover 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 first debuted in 1989 on Island Records'Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
Club music imprint, Great Jones with their only known recording for the label, "Hump Music" -- an underground sexually-explicit parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of The Jungle Brothers'
Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988...
1988 Hip-House classic "I'll House You". No Face would continue recording for another five years, but they only released one album in 1990, Wake Your Daughter Up on their own No Face label, which was operated as an imprint of the Rush Associated Labels division of Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
.
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. (Their main logo featured two heads with the word "face" written in graffiti-style'
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
at the bottom of the right face, while the official label logo features three heads with the word "face" in a more proper font.)
Wake Your Daughter Up spawned two singles -- "Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch", an underground cult classic which sampled The Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me
You Dropped a Bomb on Me
"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is an electrofunk song performed by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons' label, Total Experience Records. It reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts, #39 on the dance charts and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" and featured The 2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
, and "Half", an R&B-styled divorce tale which featured the hardcore female Hip-Hop duo, BWP (Bytches With Problems), who were discovered by and recorded for No Face to a slightly bigger level of success for the label than the group No Face did. For reasons unknown, other than possibly to avoid conflicting with his duties on MTV, Ed Lover had left No Face shortly after their time with RAL. His swan song
Swan song
"Swan song" 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 the Mute Swan is completely silent during its lifetime until the moment just before death, when it sings one beautiful song...
to the group and to the label was his cameo appearance with partner Doctor Dré in BWP's video for their third single "Wanted" from their one and only album, The Bytches from 1991.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Himself |
| 2006 | Hip Hop Hold Em | Host |
| 2004 | The Bahama Hustle | Red |
| 2003 | The Hustle | Various |
| 2002 | According To Jim According to Jim According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father... |
Himself |
| 2001 | Undisputed | Marvin Bonds |
| 2000 | The Jamie Foxx Show The Jamie Foxx Show The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:... |
Lucien |
| 1999 | The Hughleys The Hughleys The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L... |
Cousin Jimmy |
| 1999 | Double Platinum Double Platinum Double Platinum is a 1999 musical telefilm starring Diana Ross and Brandy.-Plot:The story begins with a scene featuring star singer Olivia King leaving her daughter Kayla, who was an infant at the time. It is revealed that Kayla was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but in her later years, she would move... |
Party Ardie |
| 1999 | Battle Dome Battle Dome Battle Dome was a syndicated American television series that aired from September 1999 to April 2001. It combined elements of American Gladiators - inspired athletic competition with scripted antics more reminiscent of professional wrestling... |
Announcer |
| 1998 | Ride Ride (film) Ride is a 1998 comedy film, written and directed by Millicent Shelton. The film stars Fredro Starr, Malik Yoba, and Melissa De Sousa. The film is sometimes confused with The Ride, another film released in 1998.-Plot:... |
Six |
| 1994 | A Cool Like That Christmas | Voice |
| 1993 | Yuletide in the 'hood | Voice |
| 1993 | Who's the Man? Who's the Man? Who's the Man? is a 1993 comedy film, directed by Ted Demme. The film stars Yo! MTV Raps hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists., it features dozens of cameo appearances from some of the top rap/hip-hop acts of the time, including Busta Rhymes, Eric B., House of Pain, Ice-T,... |
Ed Lover |
| 1992 | Juice Juice (film) Juice is a 1992 American crime drama film that stars rapper Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. Additional cast members include Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins, Khalil Kain, Samuel L. Jackson, and features cameo appearances by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Special Ed, Ed Lover, Doctor Dré, Flex Alexander, Fab Five... |
Contest Judge |
| 1992 | The Cosby Show The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992... |
Taxi Driver |
Discography
| Album information |
|---|
| Back Up Off Me! Back Up Off Me! Back Up Off Me! is the only album by Yo! MTV Raps hosts Ed Lover and Doctor Dré. It was released on November 8, 1994, on Relativity Records and was produced by Franklyn Grant, Erick Sermon, DJ Mark the 45 King, Tyrone Fyffe, Marley Marl, Ed Lover, and Doctor Dré...
|