Monee

Interview With Monee

SBS:  Hello and welcome to ya!  It’s always best to start off with some kind of introduction to who you are and what kind of music you make, isn’t it?  Tell us a bit about yourself & the history of your music, and give the people out there reading a couple of concrete reasons as to why they should be listening!

Monee:  Hello.  I go by Monee.  I make late night melodic R&B rooted in real situations, messy relationships, bad decisions, and everything in between.  It’s melodic, moody, and honest without trying to dress anything up.  I’m very early in my journey, lol.  But music has always been how I processed life.  I don’t filter it, I just let it sound how it feels.  That’s why it can come off detached, but there’s a lot underneath if you really listen.  Put it this way, if you ever been caught in something you know you shouldn’t be in, or still figuring yourself out…you’ll get it.  I don’t make perfect love songs, I make what actually happens.

SBS:  While we’re still getting to know you and quite possibly introducing you to these pages of ours, what would you say is the newest and/or most exciting thing you’ve got going on with your music right now?  Is there anything you’ve been working on that just got released, or something happening behind the scenes that you haven’t mentioned yet?  What should your fans be looking forward to this year?

Monee:  Right now everything is building at the same time.  I’ve been dropping records that really lock in my sound, and my latest single “WOR$T OF ME,” is a big part of that.  The single is about someone getting the version of you that isn’t your best, but it’s the only version you can give in that moment.  It’s “toxic,” but it’s honest.  Behind the scenes, I’m working on a project called “MONEEDOINGIT!”  That is where everything is going to come together.  Same raw, real perspective, just more focused and intentional.  I’m not rushing it either.  I want every record to be a vibe and actually mean something.  This year is really about consistency and building everything around the music.  Which means more drops, more visuals, and letting people understand me piece by piece.

SBS:  So far to-date, what do you feel like is the song of yours that listeners respond to the most?  Do you feel like you knew they’d like it when you first created it, or was it just another song to you at the time?  Sometimes it takes a few spins and a bit of time before we realize how special a song truly is.  What is it about this particular track that you feel people connect to?  If someone was to ask you to play one of your songs to get them interested in your music, would you choose the same one that listeners seem to enjoy the most, or would you risk it and choose something different from your catalog instead?

Monee:  Right now, “WOR$T OF ME” is probably the one people respond to the most.  When I made it I knew it had something, but I didn’t overthink it.  It felt natural to me like I wasn’t trying to force a concept, I was just speaking from where I was at.  I feel people connect to it because it’s real in a way that I don’t dress it up and it’s catchy lol.  It’s that feeling of knowing you’re not giving someone your best, but still being in the moment anyways.  LATE NIGHTS, BAD HABITS, & MIXED SIGNALS.  A lot of people don’t say it out loud, but they understand when they hear it.  If I had to play one song to put someone on then I would go with that one.  Honestly, because it reps what I do at the core.  But I’ll probably follow up with something else to show range too, because there’s more layers than just that one feeling.  I want people to stay for honesty, not just one record.

SBS:  Is there a concert you’ve been to…maybe it was the best you’ve seen, maybe it wasn’t, but it was a completely unforgettable moment in time that you might not even see from the same band or artist again if you saw them play in the future?  Know what I mean?  Like, maybe a band you saw was touring a certain album and they never played those songs again…or like, maybe an artist climbed up the frame of the stage like Eddie Vedder did, and of course he’s probably not doin’ that now as an older dude…there are countless examples of amazing shows from the artists & bands we love most that we will never see happen twice.  Tell us all the details you can remember about an unforgettable show you saw, and why you don’t think that if you saw that same artist/band today that it could all happen again.

Monee:  I haven’t really been big on concerts in person, I’m more lowkey, I take things in from a distance, but one moment that always stuck with me was The Life Of Pablo listening party by Kanye West.  That whole experience felt bigger than just music.  It was a listening party, a fashion show, and a cultural moment all at once.  You had Madison Square Garden packed out, a whole line up of influential people in the building, and the music playing for the first time in that kind of setting.  It felt like you were watching history happen in real time.  I don’t believe something like that can really be recreated the same way.  It wasn’t just about the songs, it was the timing, anticipation, and how everything came together in that moment.  If it was done again, it wouldn’t hit the same, because that energy was specific to that era.  That’s something I pay attention to as an artist.  Not just making songs, but creating moments people feel like they had to be there for.  Even if they were just watching from the outside like I was.

SBS:  I’ve heard it said many times that it’s harder to write a song in a happy mood than to write one when you’re feeling down.  Of course, for some folks, the opposite is just as true…I guess maybe that’s a reflection of who we are on the inside perhaps?  From YOUR perspective, what’s the particular emotion you associate with the most, or connect to the strongest when you’re creating your music?  How does it play a role in what you write & why do you feel like that specific emotion gets the best songs out of you?

Monee:  For me, it’s definitely the sadder side of things.  Not even just sadness by itself, but everything that comes with it like overthinking, detachment, regret, and wanting something but not knowing how to handle it the right way.  That’s where most of my music comes from.  I think it’s the best out of me, because it’s honest.  In a good mood, I can still make something, but it may not hit the same level.  In that darker space, I’m not trying to impress anyone or sound perfect, I’m just telling you how it is or how it was.  That’s when the melodies feel natural and the words mean something.  Most of my songs sit in that gray area, where it’s not just “I’m sad,” it’s more like “I know what I’m doing isn’t right, but I’m still in it.”  That emotion feels real to me, and I think people connect to that because they’ve been there too.  So yeah, I’d say the sadder emotions don’t just inspire the music, but they kind of define it.

SBS:  Let’s ask ya this…would you rather create a massive hit song that the whole world knows and sings along with, or risk toiling in obscurity for the length of your career to fully keep your artistic integrity intact?  Is it really that much better to be one of those artists or bands that are only known for one song, or is it better to build a whole catalog you can proudly stand behind that might not be known at all?  One-hit wonders tend to get judged pretty harshly and are often crushed under the weight of constantly trying to find that second hit – but the flipside of that coin is the right hit song can be so financially lucrative that it can often be enough to build a whole career around.  Still…I have to wonder whether or not that would suck all the joy right outta the craft…maybe it’s really better to have no hits than one hit – what do you think you’d prefer and why?  Do you feel like creating a hit song is truly crucial to a music career?  If it’s not, what’s the alternative?  Can you still have a career without really becoming known?

Monee:  I wouldn’t trade everything just for one hit.  A big record matters, but not if it comes at the cost of who I am as an artist.  I rather build a catalog that actually means something and lasts.  If a hit comes from that, then it’s real and not forced.  You don’t need one song to have a career anymore.  You can build a core audience, stay consistent, and grow over time.  So of course, I want hits, but not at the expense of my identity.

SBS:  Alright.  Personal taste.  It’s a weird thing right?  Impossible to predict, isn’t it?  We always talk about A-sides and B-sides when it comes to making music, and I like to believe that albums are generally put together with the artist or band bringing their best (theoretically, the A-sides) to an official release.  But once a song has been put out there into the world, it takes on all kinds of different meanings to every set of individual ears listening, doesn’t it?  For example – I’ve heard plenty of songs on what are considered to be B-side albums, or second songs that came along with a single that I might like even more than an A-side.  On the same side of that coin, just about every artist and band I know of tends to like certain songs they release much more than the ones their fans respond to the most.  So…I guess the question is…is there really such a thing as an A-side or a B-side to begin with?  What’s the point in worrying too much if everyone out there will draw to their own conclusions about what they like anyhow?  Should we just put absolutely everything we make out there online & let people be the judge?  When we label something as an A-side or a B-side, doesn’t that somewhat limit the listener’s objective ability to assess how they feel about a song on their own?  Who really decides what’s an A-side or a B?

Monee:  I don’t really look at songs as A-sides or B-sides like that.  Once it’s out, it’s not mine the same way anymore.  People decide what it is to them.  I might have a favorite, but that doesn’t mean it’s what connects the most.  I think the “A-side” is really just what you choose to present first.  After that, the listener decides what matters.  At the same time, I’m not just dumping everything online either.  I rather be intentional, put out what represents me the best and let people find their own favs from there.

SBS:  Who’s someone you would be able to pinpoint as an influence on your music, or who you are as an artist, that even your fan-base might not have expected?  How has that person affected the way you make your music, and do you really feel like the influence ends up showing up in your sound, or not?  Maybe it’s something they said, maybe it’s something they did, maybe it’s something they accomplished that you hope to as well someday…maybe they’re simply iconic, or have become legendary.  Tell us why this particular inspiration matters to you & how they made an impact on how you view the art of music.

Monee:  Artists like Kanye West, Future & Drake have shaped me the most.  Kanye showed me that music can be bigger than just songs, that it can be a full moment, a statement, something people remember.  Future made me realize you can lean into your flaws and still make it feel powerful and melodic.  Drake taught me how to balance vulnerability with catchiness, where people can feel it and still run it back.  Those influences show up more in how I approach music than how it sounds.  It’s in the honesty, mood, and the intention behind what I’m creating.  They showed me it’s about building something people can connect to over time.

SBS:  I’m going with a motto of being unafraid to fail this year, because I think even though I’ve failed in so many things that I’ve tried, maybe I still haven’t failed enough to have learned to not be so afraid of it yet, you know what I mean?  We can learn so much by failing…by trying different things…by stretching outside of our comfort zones – and heck, we don’t even know if we can find success at all unless we’re really willing to see what we’re capable of, right?  So let’s ask you this – what do you consider to be your biggest failure with your music to-date, and ultimately, how did that experience actually end up helping you later on?  What did you learn from whatever mistake you made & how did it assist your evolution?

Monee:  One of my biggest failures early on was overthinking everything.  Waiting for songs to be “perfect’ instead of just putting them out.  I’d second guess the sound, lyrics, and how people might take it.  All of that slowed me down.  Looking back, the hesitation cost me time and momentum more than anything.  But it helped me realize that growth comes from actually releasing and learning in real time, not sitting on records.  Now I move with intent, still focused on quality, but not scared to let things go and build as I go.  That shift changed everything for me.  It made the process feel real instead of pressured.

SBS:  As I always like to remind people participating in our interviews, there is no such thing as an interview that has ever covered everything that someone would want to talk about, this one included.  We cover that here at sleepingbagstudios by offering you the ‘open floor’ at the end…a space where you can talk about anything else you want to.  You can mention anything we didn’t bring up.  You can talk politics if you want to.  You can swear.  You can tell us which websites we should go to in order to listen to your music.  You can tell us your favorite movie if you like.  Heck, you can full-on repeat yourself and say something you’ve already said if you feel so inclined – it’s YOUR space to say whatever YOU would want to say to the people out there, completely free of our influence on the conversation…all I suggest is that you take it for a ride and make good use out of it.  Thank you so much for talkin’ tunes with us!!!

Monee:  FUCKKKKKKK!  Hahaha.  I’d just say if you’re tuning in, take your time with the music.  Don’t just skim it, let it sit with you.  A lot of what I make isn’t just surface level, it’s moments, it’s feelings, it’s things you might not catch on the first listen.  “WOR$T OF ME” is out now and “Blender Boy” is a feature I’m on as well with my close friend E-K.  More music is on the way, the project “MONEEDOINGIT!” is coming together the right way.  No rush, just making sure it’s honest.  I’m building this from the ground up, so if you’re here early…it means something.  Just stay locked in with me.  You can find me everywhere under Monee for streaming.  And for Instagram, X & Snapchat it’s @moneeunruly, for TikTok it’s @1moneeunruly.  Appreciate you for taking the time.  Thank you.  It’s OUR MOMENT!

Find out more about Monee at this multi-link here:  https://linktr.ee/moneeomu

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