Victoria Monet Wants To Launch Her Dream Album With Kaytranada & Why There Won't Be a 'Jaguar III'

Imagine the thrill of receiving a message from Janet Jackson. Plus, Beyoncé gives you flowers after your Usher tribute at the BET Awards. This is the current reality for three-time Grammy winner Victoria Monét, who is still basking in the success of her debut album Jaguar II after reshaping her ten-year career.

“It's crazy,” Monét says hours before her Sunday (July 28) set at Broccoli Fest. “I just wonder if I could travel through time. I would love to hear from the child version of me and how excited that little girl would be — because I still feel like that person. I'd like to hear her, like, “How are you feeling right now?” Because — can you believe this is your adult life? It's really, really special for me to hear from people you look up to.”

Always touted as a talented songwriter, Monét is enjoying her second stint as an in-demand performer. After a scintillating performance at Coachella, which saw fans chirping about how she deserved a headline spot, Monét reignited the conversation at this year's BET Awards when she and Teyana Taylor's tribute to “Bad Girl Usher's had taken social media by storm.

The tributes didn't stop there, as Monét recently released the video for her Kaytranada-produced song “Alright” from Jaguar II. Working with director Dave Meyers and choreographer Sean Bankhead, Monét channeled the spirits of Michael and Janet Jackson to reprise their classic videos for “Smooth Criminal” and (of course) “Alright,” respectively, for her video centered around dance.

Advertising sign spoke to Monét about paying tribute to her heroes, wanting to start her dream album with Kaytranada and bartending for Megan Thee Stallion during their studio session.

What made you decide to honor Michael and Janet Jackson for your “OK” video?

When we first worked on the “Alright” music video, that wasn't the plan. I told Sean Bankhead that I knew the kind of dance I wanted to do was more house-based – using the feet. When we got into the studio, the moves just started coming. We were like, “We should definitely wear suits.” When the suits came, there was one that was a little short and you could see my socks. I had my socks on from rehearsal and we were like, “Oh. I think we should just go there,” — “because we're talking about my favorite artists of all time. So let's lean in, no pun intended, and show them the respect they deserve. It was definitely a Jackson inspired video.

Did Janet hit you after the video came out?

He did, but not for the video. We exchanged numbers — and honestly, I gave her my number. I went to check out her Essence set. So after Essence I was able to see her again and gave her my number. I was just waiting for him to text me and only a few days ago. I understood that he texted me. [Laughs.] I was totally shocked and said, “How did I miss that text?”

I'm going to put a little pressure on you with this question, since you've talked about wanting it to happen before — were you and Kaytranada able to talk about finally making this album together?

You know what; I still think that's the goal. We do have enough music to have a project, to be honest, but if we're going to work on one, I definitely want to go in with that intention — because the music we have is just piled up from [old] sessions. If we do a project, I want it to have consistency, and it's a certain energy that we put into it. I want to work on many more songs with him and narrow them down to the best. I would love this. He is unbelievable. Get this energy.

Jaguar it was originally supposed to be a three-part project. Because of its success Jaguar IIwould you entertain the idea of ​​a trilogy again?

I just felt that after the time between the two projects — because I didn't expect them to be two years apart — I felt that Jaguar the story had kind of receded, especially with Jaguar II winning a Grammy, I'm like, “How can I come back with a third?” It looked like the ribbon in the present. There will be one Jaguar II luxurious, so you could see it as the third small part — but technically, there won't be Jaguar III. I think it's time to get out of the jungle and see the city, maybe. [Laughs.]

Any idea when the deluxe is coming?

Soon. Very soon.

You had some dope features this year with Bryson Tiller (“Persuasion”) and Megan Thee Stallion (“Spin”). What was it like for you to be back in that zone?

You know, he's like the old Vic. Because a lot of my early features – starting in 2013 – my first film was with Nas, then TI, Meek Mill and BoB I was the hook girl. A lot of rappers called me a hooker. I feel like I'm back in that bag. And it's nice to have collaborations — especially with Meg, because I've wanted it for a long time.

I heard you played the part of the bartender in the studio when you did “Spin”.

I was really just trying to make it a really fun experience. I think maybe I'm trying to create the party environment where we would listen to our record. Even though it was just me, her and the engineer, I just wanted her to feel that uptempo energy that you feel. So I walked into the studio with the ingredients for an espresso martini, but with tequila. This is how we make our espresso martini — and it worked! I feel like we have great vibes and I loved it. I want to see it [played at] Magic City, to be honest. This is my goal. [Laughs.]