Victoria Monèt is (finally) releasing her long awaited album she calls “Jaguar II”. The album is set to be out August 25th. This project is a follow up to her highly lauded EP “Jaguar” released in 2020.
Pitchfork declared “Jaguar” “a sleek cocoon of funk-tinged R&B that excavates what it means to be in control.”
Jaguar featured records like the TikTok viral “We Might Even Be Falling In Love (Interlude)” and “Experience” featuring Khalid and SG Lewis in her first album. The singer-songwriter announced her forthcoming project Thursday to excited fans.
“We’ve waited 3 years, don’t let this flop 😂” she wrote in her post caption.
Lead Singles
As a lead up to her soon-to-be released work, Monèt has put out a number of singles to introduce the sonic landscape of “Jaguar II”. While “Jaguar” combined disco and contemporary R&B, “Jaguar II” seems to tap into influences from dancehall and rap. The singles she has released, which will also feature in the upcoming projects, include “Party Girls” featuring Buju Banton, “ Smoke” featuring Lucky Daye and “On My Mama.”
Monèt worked behind the scenes, writing songs for Ariana Grande and Fifth Harmony before pursuing music herself. As she tells Billboard, “I feel like I’ve been behind the bushes and in the background, and I think jaguars themselves live in that way”
“They find the right moment to attack — and get what they want,” she says.
Exciting Collaborations
Monèt hasn’t released an official track list or shared details about other collaborations she has coming out in the new record. But while speaking to Billboard she talked about what it was like working with artists like Daye and Banton.
“I thought Lucky was the perfect choice. It sounds like something he would make. I felt like [he] was the male version of myself,” she said, referring to the lush, sensual soundscape of their song “Smoke.”
And about Banton with whom she worked together on “Party Girls” a dancehall song she had never explored before, she says, “Party Girls’ gives you the other side that’s more grounded, street and raw.”