Monét returns with her heartfelt new single, ‘been dat way.’ The singer-songwriter combines her beautiful vocals with a choppy beat that was inspired by St Louis rapper Smino.
The new single is a stark contrast to her previous single ‘Wanna Know’ – which was a smooth track that had elements of R&B and Jazz. This encapsulates a young artist with a fearless approach who is constantly looking to evolve and experiment with new sounds and push herself to new heights.
Monet Drummond grew up in the London district of Peckham, a hotbed of local talent. The singer-songwriter is proud of her local community and inspired by the big names that have come before her like Giggs, Asher D and more recently Kwengface.
“I love my area. I love being from Peckham and it’s a great community and there is a lot of talent and it’s nice to know there’s so much talent nearby and people I can work with,” said Monét, “I’m proud [to be from here] and I have some songs coming out soon that push the Southside agenda.”
Monét always dreamed of being an artist but was determined to make it big, regardless of whether it was through music or writing.
If music wasn’t going to take off in the way that she had hoped, she needed a backup plan. Therefore, Monét enrolled at The University of Roehampton to study journalism as it provided her with a creative outlet that combined her two passions of music and writing.
During her studies, Monét took a brief hiatus from music as she “didn’t have the mental capacity” to balance university and music.
“I didn’t strategically choose to take a break, it just happened. I am glad that now I’m out of that space and my mind is a bit clearer, I can refocus on what it is I’m trying to do,” She said.
After graduating, Monét felt compelled to chase her dream of being an artist and picked up the pen and started to write music once again.
She noticed a drastic difference in her songwriting after her hiatus as she believes the more she matured as a person this was subsequently reflected in her music.
Monét has a beautiful songwriting style that is both honest and raw. However, this level of vulnerability and introspection is something that she initially found incredibly difficult.
“I had to realise that we are all human. I like being open because when I get feedback people will tell me that they can relate to [my music] and it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing,” said Monet. “A lot of the things I’ve experienced, everyone else has too. Some people find it harder to express [emotions] more than others and when you’re listening to music people can put into words how you are feeling better than you can.”
Monét described the process of songwriting as cathartic and almost like a form of therapy as music gives her a creative outlet to express her emotions.
“I used to find it really hard to express myself and music was the only way that I felt like I could,” said the songwriter. “Nowadays, I journal a lot more and know how to have better control over my feelings but music is 100% an outlet for me.”
Whilst Monét is developing as an artist, she is determined to experiment with different sounds and productions as she looks to “solidify her sound.”
“I don’t really stick to a certain sound. I’m still on that journey where I’m trying to figure out how I mould the sounds together to make it sound more solidified,” She said. “I love R&B, Jungle and Soul so if I can find a way to mould the sounds that I like into one then that’d be great.”
She added: “Artists don’t need to stick to one sound, they move around. Music is very fluid so there is no right or wrong thing that you can do with it.”
The South London artist has Synesthesia – which means she sees specific colours when listening to music. As a result, she believes that the visual aspects of her craft like cover art and videos are just as important as the music itself.
“Whenever I see colour when I’m listening to a certain song I’m making, I already know that colour has to make its way into the visuals somehow because it just adds another layer to it,” said Monét.
She is inspired by the likes of Tyler the Creator and Solange who have an innate talent for visuals as they “create their own universe” through the intrinsic relationship between music and art.
Monét has had an exciting 2023-24 as she has received praise for big publications like Wonderland, Clash and Mixtape Madness and performed at prestigious venues like Southbank Centre and Cafe KOKO.
As she develops as an artist, it will be exciting to see where her fearlessness and determination will take her as she carves out her own space in the thriving R&B scene in the UK.
