Get To Know: Monét

Recently, New Wave Magazine caught up with singer-songwriter and rapper Monét to talk about her latest single, her artistry and life as an upcoming artist.

Hailing from South East London, Monét describes her music as ' warm' and ' very chill' and how she “makes music in the hopes that people can relate with and connect to”. The singer-songwriter's journey into the world of music was definitely one of passion and influence. From growing up on soul and jazz, to funky house and garage, and a Godmother who is also a singer and performs alongside the choir for BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, the love for music was ignited within her from young as she explains how she's “been singing since she was a little child”. She recalls on her early memories of entering talent shows and writing poetry and how it made her make a pursuit in music and song writing: "I've been singing since I was a little child. Being in the talent shows in primary school and stuff, that was me. I used to make cheesy music back then too, but it's been a journey. Started to write a lot more poetry in secondary school and take song writing more seriously too. So it all tied in together for me."

Whilst growing up, the 22 year old was subject to a neurological condition called 'Synthesia', a condition where someone is able to experience one of their senses through another. And in Monét’s case, she is able to see colour when she hears music. With this condition, Monét uses her relationship with colour to her advantage to allow tones to produce feelings in her artistry: "I feel like my condition has given me a new layer of understanding of colours and how sonics can be combined into one. Which is why I'm really excited to share my visuals that are upcoming."

When it comes to artistry, Monét made it clear on how important it was to her. Serving as her own creative director, Monét takes great pleasure in being the artistic visionary behind her own sound, style and music videos. Also, being amongst many artists that are upcoming and on the rise, we wanted to know the pressures of being a new artist and ways of transcending, differentiating from others and make their own stance in the scene. "All I can really do is continue and be myself whilst developing visually, sonically and artistically. It's never about looking at what other people are doing, because I know it's very easy to be swept and follow the crowd when it's getting the response that you want. But with me, it's all about authenticity, and eventually, it will get you to where you need to be."

Monét dropped her latest single 'hunnitdegrees' produced by GYPTXVN featuring underground artist OG KEMi. The 2 minute 30 second track consists of Monét singing on a mellow beat and channelling themes of self empowerment and promoting a carefree approach to life. OG KEMi takes the same stance on the song, raps about his admiration for his looks, style and body and the thrill from the attention from girls. Recorded in the summer, the creation of the track was described as 'fun' and 'organic' by Monét as she goes on to explain the making of the song and how OG KEMi was able to come up with 2 verses for the song within 5 minutes. "I went to the studio with producer GYPTXVN and we were going through beats and we came across this one. So I laid down a little melody freestyle with the chorus and once I finished the chorus and the verse, I was like yeah, I definitely want KEMi on this. I sent what I had already done to him and within 5 minutes he sent me two different verses. And yeah that's how it happened. Very organically". Monét also recently featured on an episode of Nuprint Magazine's NUSOUNDS, giving a debut performance of hunnitdegrees and can be checked out down below.

When asked who her musical inspirations were, Monét answered with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Ojeremie, Alexandria, FKA Twigs and Solange, with Solange being an artist she admires and looks up to the most. Monét says " The artists have definitely provided ingredients for me in terms of inspirations and my sound. I love how they are all so different and unique. There is no one that really sounds quite like them, and that uniqueness is something that I strive for." Uniqueness is a quality that you can definitely tell Monet strives for. Being a 90's baby and a triple Virgo, Monét doesn't fail to show her 90's influence in her style of clothes or her 'earth sign' like passion and creativity either: " My style is quite inspired from the 90s. I really like baggy clothes and minimalistic kind of outfits. Bold colours but not doing too much. I do have a specific style that has been born from my interests and personality, and I've decided to stick with that."

Talks of COVID-19 and worries of another lockdown was brought up and how it might impact music or song writing. However, like the previous lockdowns, Monét always finds it within her “to dig deep and find another source" if outside is closed again she explains. She continues: " Plus I have a good support system too. I have a lot of blessed and talented friends that do music too, engineers, producers, artists, They all uplift me and inspire me too. So I'm very grateful for them." Not only is Monét an independent artist, but she is also a student in her 3rd year of University studying Journalism. She expresses how music and university are both a priority for her. But what happens when it comes too difficult to balance the both ? Does Monet ever feel like giving up music at times ? She says: " Like I said earlier, my friends in music uplift me and keep me going, but my own music keeps me motivated too as I know I can get better. Making music and putting it out there is what reassures me that my hard work is never going to waste and I'm going to get something back in return."

As our conversation circles to a close, we wanted to know what was next for Monét. Over the past two years, the singer-songwriter has dropped a debut EP entitled ' Off The Record' which received radio plays on Reprezent Radio and Rinse FM, a feature in GUAP magazines 'Fresh Faces' and Mixtape Madness' 'Hidden Gems'. Monét reassures us that she is 'really focusing on releasing a project' and how we could hear from her again 'as early as next year'. While we wait on Monét next releases, all there's left to do is take in her most recent single 'hunnitdegrees' out on all platforms !