Victoria Monét Seizes the Spotlight with Jaguar II

On a rainy April evening, not even the thunderous downpour could prevent a cacophony of screeches from erupting at an Atlanta venue when a mysterious blonde appears in the crowd. Wearing an all-Black outfit, they casually sit with the rest of the audience to witness U.K trio FLO’s first headlining concert in the country. But, right now, all eyes are on the person causing all the noise.

From across the room, it’s hard to identify who they are. By process of elimination, it seems like it could be someone whose celebrity is big enough for teens to instantly recognize but who would still consider sitting in general admission. Maybe an influencer? The screams become so deafening and distracting that the person eventually has to leave their seat to find a private section to catch the show. “Do you know who that is?” someone next to me asks. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s Victoria Monét,” I say.

Yes, Monét, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and singer, felt like she could easily sneak into the general admission seating of a small venue without making the crowd notice. She’s a bonafide star. But does she feel like one?

“I guess I’m still learning,” Monét said in an interview with ELLE.com in July. ‘It’s just different when you go and experience it because I know my streaming [numbers] and everything has increased, but it’s so different when you go out into the world and see and feel the love.”

She’s loved, indeed. Days before our first Zoom conversation in April, Monét had her first-ever solo concert with a sold-out crowd, and next month, she’ll embark on her first-ever solo headlining tour that’s also already sold out. Her highly anticipated debut studio album Jaguar II arrives on Aug. 25, after years of fans begging for new music. The 34-year-old singer is unassuming in conversation, But on her forthcoming album, she emerges as a voracious superstar who’s ready for her spotlight and never wants to let it go.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Sacramento, Monét always knew she’d be on stage. In middle school, she gave her friends a business card that read “Dancer, actress, musician. Call me at 555-cute.” She drew stars on the background of the card and added a cut-out picture of herself. That intense dedication resulted in her writing songs for artists like Brandy, Blackpink, Diddy Dirty Money and Ariana Grande all before the release of her debut—making her sound as familiar as a close friend though she’s still technically a new artist.

She’s an essential addition to the brilliance of Black women songwriters who’ve decided to prioritize their starpower after shaping the trajectory of pop music with their pen. Like Diana Gordon did before her. And like Missy Elliott did before her.

“I’m just going for it, and no matter how many times people try to deter me or get me off track—I even have imposter syndrome and I do it to myself with self-sabotage—I still have that focus and it’s like I’m going to do it until I die.”

Monét’s first installment of Jaguar was released in the summer of 2020—a bleak time that discouraged the dancing and intimacy required to fully experience the EP. But that didn’t stop fans from instantly connecting to the project’s sweet and sultry fusion of disco and funk as if it was her debut offering (she’d released four EPs prior). Jaguar marked her first project entry on the Billboard chart.

Since then, Monét became a mom, signed to RCA, and has been lauded as R&B’s best kept secret. She describes the difference between the first installment and her new one as “if you listen to me as a freshman in high school and then you listen to me as a freshman in college.” But on Jaguar II, Monét sounds more like the college senior who graduated with honors. Across 11 tracks, she invites listeners on a cathartic escapade that wafts through funk, disco, pop, R&B, reggae and pop while vividly capturing each facet of the singer’s boundless imagination and creativity.

“On My Mama,” the groovy single that samples Chalie Boy’s 2009 hit “I Look Good,” features an infectious hook that makes it one of Monét’s best yet. Glistened by horns that could compete in an HBCU All-Star Battle of the Bands, the song is a grand celebration of “looking fly and looking good.” And the video? It’s a mouthwatering gumbo of Black southern culture that nods to Ciara, Dem Franchize Boyz, and even features a cameo from Chalie Boy himself. But Monét didn’t feel as fly and enthusiastic when she wrote the song in 2021.

“It was the first song I wrote that I liked after having (my 2-year-old daughter) Hazel,” she said. “When I got back in the studio, I was really kind of depressed and still in this postpartum phase and not really feeling confident. I really didn’t have much to say because I was just breastfeeding and putting her to sleep, and my life was so surrounded by it that I didn’t really have much to offer, and I didn’t wanna make a song about breastfeeding. I had to do a lot of imagination and making things up and imagining my future life, my past life and kind of skating outside of myself.”

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Its follow-up track, “I’m the One,” is an extension of that imagination as she further embraces that cocky attitude over pop balladry. On “Party Girls,” Monét glides her way into a playground filled with reggae regalia while enlisting Buju Banton along for the ride. And on the Lucky Daye-assisted “Smoke,” she returns to her R&B roots for a song that sounds so succulent that it can easily fulfill any craving beyond the drug it’s named after.

“Hollywood” is a warm, retro song that’s reminiscent of the ‘80s anthems played at any Black family function. And that’s mainly because Earth, Wind & Fire, a group that ruled the playlists throughout Monét’s childhood, is the featured artist. Monét, who has described the group as an inspiration for Jaguar, said the studio session with the funk behemoths was a full-circle moment. She remembers being in awe of the group’s bassist Verdine White immediately knowing the notes to the song by ear, writing them down and playing them from what he wrote. Monét asked to use the notes as a keepsake, which she later laminated. Still a newborn at the time, her daughter also attended the studio session. Her laughs—some of her first ever—are featured at the end of the track. Monét felt it was an appropriate final touch for a song that embodies the essence of happiness with artists who made her feel happy as a kid.

“I try not to question it because a part of me is like, why would they want to do a song with me, but I also want to be thankful and just receive it and accept and allow it because it’s happened. I just want to celebrate it because it’s something I’ll have forever.”

Jaguar II also draws inspiration from another funk legend, Chaka Khan. Monét wanted the album to feel like a representation of Khan’s 1978 classic “I’m Every Woman” and convey women’s diverse personalities. In return, she unlocked a new level of sexiness that feels empowering.

“Yeah, I can be a great mom, but I can also smoke weed. Yeah, I can be a bad bitch in the club that’s not trying to talk to nobody, but I can also be completely enamored and in love with someone, so I’m really hoping that that feels like a warm hug and encompasses all of the feelings that women and people have within themselves and knowing that all of those things are on the album and they can find themselves somewhere in there.”

The new album marks the end of the Jaguar series—a motif Monét created to prove she was ready to transition from being an acclaimed songwriter to a full-fledged R&B star. And although the latest saga doesn’t feel like a proper conclusion and begs for another chapter in the series, she said she’ll release a deluxe edition before moving to her next era. She’s even considering making an “On My Mama” remix with the hopes of including Megan Thee Stallion. But for now, Monét wants the new album to be a proud moment for her fans, the people who’ve known she was a star from the very beginning.

“When you have this certain craving and you’ll travel the distance to get this certain food and then you’re expecting exactly what you remember to hit you, and it just needs to be perfect, especially since you waited for so long for it, I want to fulfill that desire for them.”