%201.jpg)
Victoria Monét could very well be the musical genius who puts all “R&B is dead” debates to rest. Nearly three years after Monét’s 2020 EP Jaguar, the Sacramento native returns with Jaguar II, a full-bodied album that drips with sensuality, allure, and futuristic funk delight — a continuation of its resplendent origin.
Fans who’ve known Victoria Monét since her songwriting heyday for Ariana Grande, Chloe x Halle and BLACKPINK — and her 2014 and 2018 EP series’ Nightmares & Lullabies and Life After Love — are still down for the ride. But Monét’s “Some Cut” dance challenge going viral this spring has also introduced her, in all of her multi-talented glory, to new audiences. The professional dancer turned singer-songwriter has made the most of the full circle moment, interpolating it in recent performances.
“To be able to have fun dancing and seeing everyone that I know ask me to teach them the moves, it was a really good time,” Monét tells Teen Vogue over Zoom about the dance break, which samples the 2004 Trillville song of the same name. “One of my friends called me and told me they heard ‘Some Cut’ on the radio, so I feel like because of the challenge, it gave the song another life as well.”
The new attention isn’t just on Monét’s choreography, but the star’s long-awaited Jaguar II, which releases August 25. While Monét pounces into more dance-worthy terrain, she also cements herself as one of music’s most versatile acts, the album teeming with eminent nostalgia and innovative production. Unadulterated electronic bass pulsates on “Alright” from producer extraordinaire KAYTRANADA; the buttery smooth earworm “Cadillac (A Pimp’s Anthem)” permeates with women’s empowerment and euphonious horns; glittery album centerpiece “How Does It Make You Feel?” exhibits her show-stopping legato vocalization. Like Monét’s retro-lite sound, many of the visuals for Jaguar II are vintage serves.
Fans might be surprised by Monét’s collaboration with the legendary R&B, funk, and progressive soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, who appear on the penultimate track “Hollywood.” With 1970s music and aesthetics making a mainstream comeback, Monét’s sound partially hinges on the decade when EWF made their introduction.
“When I think of the ‘70s I think of the foundation of a lot of really, really innovative Black music. I think about all of the live instrumentation and how empowered all of the artists looked and felt; they all felt very individualized and unapologetic,” says Monét. “You'd see men in sparkly bell bottoms, and then you'd see women in these extravagant outfits — it just felt like they were having fun and turning some of the sorrows that were around at the time into really iconic, blissful, musical moments that we could still be inspired by.”
%252010x10.jpg)
The Jaguar II rollout began back in March, when Monét tapped fellow R&B torchbearer Lucky Daye for the lead single “Smoke.” The two were vocally lifted on the soulful Mary Jane anthem, and an easter egg in the music video teased Monét’s follow-up single “Party Girls,” a dancehall fusion record that takes nightclub flirtation to the dance floor. Monét manifested dancehall and reggae legend Buju Banton as the song’s feature before meeting him.
“I listened to him as a kid through my mom and her musical tastes; she was always playing it on days that really felt good, like a Sunday or a good day during the week,” says Monét. “I never forgot his voice. When we made the song I remember just wanting it to have an island feel, and when we were writing the tracklist, we just wrote ‘Party Girls’ featuring Buju before we even reached out to him.”
Monét credits the predestined collaboration to her history of penning as a songwriter. “I know the power of writing things down, so in a way, I think we manifested the future, and I subconsciously might have been manifesting it since childhood,” she adds. “I do love the major dancehall and reggae records of the 2000s, but also just felt like his voice would fit perfectly in my world. We kind of juxtapose each other because his voice has this grit and energy to it, and mine is pretty soft and sultry. I like the opposition of us coming together.”
Both “Smoke” and “Party Girls” lay the carefree and leonine foundation of Jaguar II, and the LP completes Monét’s Jaguar saga, which she originally intended to be a trilogy. Pre-Jaguar II singles “Coastin’” and “F.*.C.K.” are missing from the project (“They just really didn't fit within the world sonically to me,” Monét admits); so instead of oozing with sexuality like its 2020 forerunner, maturation and candor are heard throughout the 11-track masterpiece, which Monét calls “an older sister of Jaguar.”
“I try to not think so much about the comparisons. But it’s really hard not to when a project is received really well and people call it a classic in its own right, and timeless and that they loved it so much,” says Monét. “You kind of want to repeat that process and give them some more music that they love and enjoy and want to take with them throughout life.”
Monét strays from attempting to replicate her previous work during the songwriting and recording process, and instead wants the Jaguar II jungle to be proof of her evolution. “I definitely, internally, always am in competition with no one but myself,” she says. “I guess it's healthy to want to be better and progress, but I try to keep it out of my mind when I'm actually in the studio, because your brain gets busy, so I try to stay in that moment. But now that the project's done, I can sit back and be like, ‘Yes, I think it's better than Jaguar.’”
Part of Monét’s artistic and personal growth is attributed to her 2-year-old daughter, Hazel Monét, who the singer gave birth to only months after Jaguar’s release. Monét describes Hazel as her “biggest fan” and a precocious “musical baby” for her adorable renditions of “Party Girls” and “Coastin’,” as seen on social media. It was only seven weeks after Hazel’s birth when Monét was determined to return to the studio and begin new material.
%25201.jpg)
“I was bringing her and breastfeeding in the studio and trying to balance the new mindset with my old life, what I've been doing and connecting with. It did take me a second mentally; I was having a hard time,” says Monét. “I did have postpartum depression, and at a time that's supposed to be the happiest time of your life, my hormones were just not allowing for that space — so that was coming out in song form.”
Monét resented her brief writer’s block, but eventually poured it into a matriarchal reinterpretation of Chalie Boy’s 2008 single “I Look Good” — which would become the third single from the album. Baby Hazel even appears in the Y2K-inspired music video. “‘On My Mama’ was the first song that I wrote after giving birth that I loved,” Monét shares. “It's another way that I manifested the feeling that I have now. The lyrics are talking about looking fly and looking good, and that is absolutely not how I felt at the time of writing it.”
Monét knows Hazel is watching her, which makes speaking positive self-talk into existence even more important. The 3-time Grammy-nominee aims to be a constant inspiration to her daughter while also being honest about her womanhood.
“I want her to know that mommy prioritizes her, of course, but mommy also loves herself. I think it's an important sentiment because I've heard [about] a lot of mother-child relationships [being] soured by the fact that they weren't able to pursue what they really wanted to pursue because of having children,” says Monét. “So I just want to promise myself to not have that narrative. I think it creates some resentment. When she looks back, she’ll know that even though it was very hard, I was able to give her the world that she wants, but also give myself the world that I want, and nobody's dreams and goals are compromised.”
Now, one of Monét’s biggest goals has materialized: headlining a sold-out tour. Monét’s Jaguar performances were limited to a mid-pandemic virtual session and festival spots. Upon announcing The Jaguar Tour in mid-July, dates sold out in minutes, prompting Monét to add more stops across the pond. The demand echoes Monét’s kickoff of Spotify’s R&B First Nights concert series, which was held in L.A. in March. The engagement doubled as Monét’s very first headlining performance, and the El Rey Theatre was packed with attendees, including many of Monét’s R&B counterparts like Kelela, Joyce Wrice, Ambré, Muni Long, and Ravyn Lenae.
“It's really dope when you see not only people supporting your music as fans, but also your peers coming out,” Monét gushes. “It's another level of respect when people who also do what you do admire your work and want to support you. It hits different, so I was really thankful.”
Weeks later, Monét extended the love to British R&B and pop trio FLO, who the artist surprised onstage and gave flowers to during their first Atlanta concert. Monét, who was once in the Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins-curated girl group Purple Reign, has nothing but high hopes for the “Fly Girl” act.
“I do hope that they stay on the path that they're on; it's already looking paved with gold right now. I love it when artists are just as sweet as they are talented, and they're just really really good, nice girls, and their music and their voices really speak for themselves,” says Monét. “I know as far as styling, harmonies and what it takes to be in a group — I can understand it somewhat because of my beginning — I definitely am applauding them and excited to see all the success that I know is coming through them.”
With her sun-kissed glow, blonde tresses, and warm brown aesthetic intact, Monét’s radiant energy matches her ambitious Jaguar II era, where she explores diverse aspects of herself and continues to shake up R&B.
“As a person I've grown, and also [from] all of the different reflections that a woman would see in herself,” says Monét. “From a party side, to an empowered side, to a completely-engulfed-in-love side, to reflecting on the status of the world right now, there's all kinds of things within the album. I'm hoping that people are able to really find themselves and no matter what mood they're in, know that that’s okay and it's a part of their diaspora.”
