From GRAMMY Nominated Songwriter to Platinum selling artist, Muni Long Gets Candid [Interview]

For many, Muni Long is best known for her viral hits ‘Time Machine’ and platinum track ‘Hrs & Hrs’ however real fans of the singer songwriter will know her career spans way over a 10-year period, and she has racked up a healthy discography as songwriter during this time. Many of the pop hits we know, and love today were written by the songstress, like Rihanna's 'California King Bed', Ariana Grande's 'Imagine' and global hit 'Timber' by Pitbull ft. Ke$ha. Muni has also written for the likes of Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez and was even nominated for a GRAMMY last year, when working on H.E. R’s album Back of My Mind. Speaking with Muni made us realise her genuine passion for her craft as a creative, as you read on, you’ll find out it goes beyond singing.

I’d firstly like to ask after being a songwriter for some of the world’s biggest artists, like Rihanna, Mariah Carey and what made you want to pursue a career as a singer?

I think I always knew I wanted to perform and eventually become an artist, however when I first started out in my career, I was very naïve to a lot of things. When I broke out into the music scene, I was first discovered on YouTube and was later signed to Capitol records. After putting out an album in 2008, the label was very insistent on pushing my song writing, which I am now so grateful for as it helped me launch my own label. As well as launching my own label, song writing has funded my general maintenance as a woman from my hair to my nails. Although my government name is Priscilla, I feel like I am my true self when I am Muni Long. When I look at my career as a songwriter, I see a Priscilla woman who was often behind the scenes and a lot more reserved compared to the person you see today. When I was working as a songwriter, I wasn’t allowed to fully express myself through my appearance whether that was my outfit choice, or the amount of make-up worn. During these moments of reflection, I quickly realised If I wanted to be seen, I had to tap into my talents as an artist, instead of standing in the shadows of musicians, and that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing over the past two years.

Do you wish you continued your career as a singer during the decade you’ve had within the music industry?

I think everything happens as it should, I am so much stronger as an artist and person. I have also never been as sure of myself as I am today when it comes to my craft and music. Not everyone knows the attention to detail needed for a mainstream song, even for my latest track ‘Baby Boo’ with Saweetie I recorded all my own vocals, normally I would record with Kuk Harrell, who vocally produced ‘Hrs & Hrs’, but this time I did it alone. I’m an artist who is extremely proud of my craft and I’ve really enjoyed this process of growth, I now know what a track needs to sound good, who needs to be mixed by, who it needs to be produced by, this is how I want it to feel, I think what a lot of people don’t see is the attention to detail needed to each track, even from the first hand clap you hear it’s the little things that’ll make your track standout and thrive successfully. I am so invested in the musical process to the point that I even bring my own mic to the studio, I direct my own music videos and if that isn’t possible, I make sure I have as creative input as I can. Whether I’m writing music or putting my ideas together for a music video, I am constantly hands-on within each process and I believe that is key for an artist to seek success. Another thing I’ve realised within the music industry is that you waste time trying to get credit, sometimes it’s just about the overall outcome of a piece of art. For me there are so many other ways a person can be creative, you can express yourself through the way you dress, doing my own nails is also another way to be creative, photoshoots and merch.

I love your unique stage name, what was the inspiration behind Muni Long?

I do a lot of reading and studying, as I love to learn new things. There was a time where I was reading this book and I came across this story of an ancient saint named Muni. In a nutshell his story was that he spent long hours until he would reach nirvana. I later looked up the meaning of the name Muni in Filipino and it translates to think deeply from within, this definition is something that aligns with my beliefs, I do also believe it’s better to have your own localised ideas and ambitions no matter what others around you may think. When speaking with my husband, I discussed a variety of names and pitched Muni to him, he loved it but thought I should pronounce it like Muh·Nee (money), I googled it and there was no one else with the name Muni so I chose that but still needed to add something else to it. When coming up with the last bit of my name, I was listening to ‘Different’ by 2 Chainz who also happens to be one of my favourite rappers, he raps a line that says, ‘Hair long (Long), money long’ and it instantly clicked after that.

Tell me about your latest track ‘Baby Boo’ and how did the collaboration with Saweetie came around?

Being from Florida means I have a very strong country accent which can heard in my latest song ‘Baby Boo’, it’s very up tempo and little different to the music I usually make but I had to make an exception and pay homage to my childhood, as it is evident the track was inspired by the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Growing up I loved 69 Boys, Kp & Envyi and Ghost Town DJ. I wanted to add that flavour into my music, I wanted to create a track that would make you want to dance, skate and bop.

The collaboration with Saweetie originally came together as we were both working on our projects in the studio, I was doing my thing and she was working on her album. I played 'Baby Boo' to Saweetie and initially she was unsure about it, but while we were in the studio various people were coming in an out and giving their opinion on the track, they all liked it of course and eventually Saweetie came around but we made a deal that if she was going to be on one of my track’s, I’d be on one of hers, I said yes and later on that week we headed to the studio. When working on 'Baby Boo' I was super impressed with Saweetie’s range, as she rarely sings on her tracks, the last time she did that was probably on 'Back To The Streets', which is one of my favourite tracks.

Making 'Baby Boo' gave me a very nostalgic feeling.

Besides the classic artists you've mentioned, were there any other musicians that influenced your music?

I grew up watching B.E.T, VH1 and MTV, all the artists from the 2000’s pretty much makes up my whole aesthetic. You can see especially through my social media and music video’s how much that era really influenced me. It is an expensive aesthetic to keep up as it’s glossy, there’s bright lights and just my choice of styling but I’ll continue to work hard in order to maintain that. Projecting my love for the 90 and 2000’s is another art form for me, and I love every aspect of it.

How did you feel when your tracks 'Time Machine' and 'Hrs & Hrs' went viral on TikTok?

It’s so funny because when the track initially went viral, I thought it was the chorus, but it was the last few seconds of the track where I was just goofing around in the studio with Kuk (Producer) and people went crazy for it online, it was a good feeling, but I was so confused because it wasn’t even the main part of the track. I made this TikTok where I was exaggerating the feeling of taking out big earrings, I used the part of the song where I sing ‘I wish I had a time machine’, I was just being super silly and goofy and people started doing their own renditions, the TikTok later racked up over 3 million views.

After so much devastation, frustration and just the overall feeling of being stuck at home during the pandemic, I think people needed to be reminded of love, human connection and intimacy, my track 'Hrs and Hrs' came out at exactly the right time. However, I still cannot believe how much it blew up.

Muni Long has just released her latest rhythmic track 'Baby Boo' with ‘Back to the Streets’ rapper Saweetie it’s a complete bop and you should stream it now, for more Muni music expect a 5 track EP titled ‘Displays of Affection too’, which is a follow to her 2021 album ‘Public displays of Affection’.