Fans of Victoria Monét, rejoice, for her long-awaited album Jaguar II has finally arrived.
The 11-track project, out via her RCA Records label, Lovett Music, includes features from fellow R&B singer Lucky Daye, dancehall giant Buju Banton and legendary soul group Earth, Wind & Fire.
Jaguar II follows 2020’s Jaguar, an album Monét says she created to establish her transition as a songwriter to a full-fledged R&B star.
“Jaguar I and II are relatives, but you see, Jaguar II is an older, more developed, voluptuous older sister,” she said in a statement. “I just really wanted to make it in my eyes better than Jaguar I, which I feel like I’ve done.”
Co-produced by longtime collaborator D’Mile — whose production credits also include H.E.R., Chris Brown, Usher and Silk Sonic — Jaguar II is home to Monét’s hit single “On My Mama.”
It seemed as if the Georgia native shut the internet down when she dropped the song’s music video — a slick and fresh throwback to the early 2000s, mixed with odes to Black culture, the South and pivotal moments in hip-hop history.
Monét created “On My Mama” in 2021 not long after her daughter was born. The 34-year-old star said that while dealing with postpartum depression, the new track was “the first record I did that I actually liked.”
“So, I think of the record as an anthem for affirmations, positive self-talk, manifestations … all of that is kind of in the song, but in a really cool hood way,” she said.
In preparation of Jaguar II, Monét hosted a “release week” on Instagram where she dropped exclusive pictures, videos and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the album.
Jaguar II is available for streaming on major platforms.
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