Victoria Monét sees herself as one thing of a musical jaguar — significantly in the way in which she has written for different acts (like Ariana Grande and Fifth Concord) throughout her profession. “I really feel like I’ve been behind the bushes and within the background, and I believe jaguars themselves stay in that manner,” she explains. “They discover the suitable second to assault — and get what they need.” With Jaguar II, the forthcoming sequel to 2020 EP Jaguar, the singer-songwriter pounces upon completely different kinds, from dancehall to Southern rap. The primary three singles give a glimpse into the mission’s selection. “These had been the three that embodied what the remainder of the album would sound like,” she says.
“Smoke” That includes Fortunate Daye
The album’s first single is the ultimate product of an unfinished observe created throughout Monét’s Jaguar periods: She began with a tough melody and hook earlier than including horns and fleshing out the manufacturing along with her go-to producer, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II. Monét then determined that the hazy track wanted one other dynamic: “I believed Fortunate was the proper alternative,” she says of his characteristic on the sultry R&B observe. “It seems like one thing he would make. I felt like [he] was the male model of myself.”
“Occasion Women” That includes Buju Banton
When D’Mile performed the bassline for “Occasion Women,” Monét instantly envisioned Caribbean flare. She honed in on the sound and stepped out of her consolation zone by DM’ing Jamaican reggae and dancehall veteran Banton, asking if he wished to hop on the track. To her shock, he was already following her — and shortly after, the 2 video-chatted on WhatsApp so Banton may play her his verse. Monét and D’Mile then reworked the manufacturing to make the track lean much more into dancehall. “ ‘Occasion Women’ offers you the opposite facet that’s extra grounded, road and uncooked,” she says.
“On My Mama”
Monét added Southern twang to “On My Mama” by sampling Texas rapper Chalie Boy’s 2009 observe, “I Look Good.” She constructed the track round “the wonky guitar you hear originally,” saying that when she first heard it, it instantly recalled the unique, which peaked at No. 13 on the Scorching Rap Songs chart upon its launch. “It was only a random thought,” she says. “It felt like that track might be part of the melodies and the manufacturing we had been engaged on.” At first, Monét wasn’t positive if she would truly embody the pattern, however she says including it gave the track a stability of masculine and female power — which she says that Chalie Boy and his workforce in the end cherished, too.
This story initially appeared within the June 10, 2023, situation of Billboard.
