OPINION: The full-length sequel to 2020’s ‘Jaguar’ is a super lush, vibe-heavy sing-a-long album that jams from the second you hit play.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
My introduction to Victoria Monét came by way of one of the greatest television shows of all time, “Insecure.” Monét did a remake/reimagining of Willie Hutch’s “The Glow” from the soundtrack to the classic film, “The Last Dragon,” and her version closed out the credits of the final episode of season 3 of “Insecure.” At that point, I did a deep dive on Monét. I liked her voice but discovered she was a Grammy-nominated songwriter who has written for artists like Ariana Grande, Chris Brown and Nas, among others. I was sold.
I started checking out all of her EPs and singles, and she became part of quite a few of my playlists. So when she dropped her “Jaguar” EP in 2020, I listened immediately. And loved it immediately. Monét was now part of my musical rotation — an artist whose name I started hearing more and more and whose music could be part of the background of a lot of my activities. So when it was announced that the followup to “Jaguar”— “Jaguar II”—would be released on Aug. 25, I got excited. See, there’s nothing like knowing an artist whose music is consistently enjoyable is dropping a full-length project. And you know what, that project delivered.
I stayed up to listen to the album at midnight on Aug. 24. As soon as I hit play and the song “Smoke” featuring Lucky Daye unfolded, I knew I was getting an album that had exactly what I wanted to hear. Funny enough, “Smoke” was the lead single from the project and released in March but I never heard it until the album was released. The single I DID hear over and over is the social media sensation, “On My Mama.” Accompanied by a video that you have to watch over and over, “On My Mama” is the kind of surefire single that is set to take an album to the next level.
It’s an album worthy of that praise. Produced largely by her “Jaguar” collaborator, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, (with a banger by Kaytranada for good measure), the whole album has a lush, smooth feel and features Buju Banton and Earth, Wind & Fire. One of Monét’s standout skills is her ability to write an amazing hook, and this album is chock-full of them. For instance, “Stop (Askin’ Me 4Shyt)” is 100% a mood and speaks to the inner annoyance we all feel. “Hollywood” (the song featuring Earth, Wind & Fire) and “Good Bye” close out the album perfectly. My favorite song is “Cadillac (A Pimp’s Anthem),” but the song I’ve played the most is “How Does It Make You Feel.” There’s no song on this album I would skip, and I pretty much run the album from start to finish every time I listen to it — which is every day.
It’s rare, these days, that I come across an album that gives me a start-to-finish feeling. Usually, I find songs that I like, add them to a playlist and let the rest go. That won’t happen with “Jaguar II.” Further, I feel it’s an album that I will be listening to for quite some time; I rarely hear albums nowadays that compel me to believe they’ll be in my rotation for a long time. For good measure, the record that had the longest active run as part of my album rotation was Res’ “How I Do” album, which stayed in my car’s CD-changer for five years straight. It remains to be seen if the “Jaguar II” will rise to that level for me personally, but it might.
All I know is that it feels like Victoria Monét’s time in the spotlight. With a banging single that can play in cars and clubs, the album has something for everybody, and I’m excited to see where she goes from here.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio. He writes very Black things and drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest), but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said: “Unknown” (Blackest).
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