Victoria Monét Talks 'Jaguar II,' Motherhood, Perfectionism: 'Rather Be Underrated than Overrated' (Exclusive)

"I feel like there's so much more to be said, shown and seen," the R&B singer says of her upcoming August project

Becoming a mother has made everything feel "brand new" for Victoria Monét — because in her daughter’s eyes, it is.

In between her breakthrough 2020 EP Jaguar and next month’s long-awaited follow-up Jaguar II, Monét welcomed her first child Hazel in February 2021. She may not have realized it at the time, but Monét was also welcoming her biggest fan, and as she explains to PEOPLE before the release of her new project, a little “A&R” who isn't afraid to share some music advice with her mom.

“I see her learning rhythm, trying to catch different cadences and what she's attracted to in songs,” Monét, 34, says of her "gifted" 2-year-old daughter, who is featured on the project. “I just really get re-inspired by that innocence and that curiosity about music.”

While she was piecing together her upcoming album, Monét even played Hazel her lead single “Smoke," which was an instant hit on car rides. “Smoke” — a ‘70s inspired cut all about lighting one up, and featuring a guest appearance from Lucky Daye — also reminded her that maybe Hazel could use a “Kidz Bop” version or two.

“When I took her to this restaurant, we had gotten out of the car and she was in her stroller and she was trying to tell me, ‘I want to go back in the car and listen to Smoke.’ But she was saying, ‘Mommy, let's go smoke. Go smoke.’ I'm like, ‘Oh my God, this sounds terrible to everyone right now,’” Monét laughs. “I just had to give everyone a disclaimer like, ‘We do not smoke together. I have a song called 'Smoke' that she has heard.’”

“Smoke,” released back in March, kicked off the rollout for Monét’s long-teased Jaguar follow-up, marking the R&B singer’s first-ever release via RCA Records since signing with the label.

Executive produced by her go-to collaborator, Oscar and Grammy winner D’Mile (a partnership she calls a “non-negotiable” on her projects), and featuring assistance from Kaytranada, Buju Banton, and Earth, Wind and Fire, the new album is a culmination of all Monét has been inspired by since the initial Jaguar release, including motherhood and, of course, plenty of classic ‘70s records.

Related: Victoria Monét Welcomes Her First Child: 'Mommy and Daddy Love You So Much'

After earning notoriety as a songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK and Chloe X Halle, Monét's Jaguar II continues her story as a solo artist worthy of all the love she’s gotten in recent years for her craft, both online and in person at her first-ever solo shows. Initially intended to be made up of three separate EPs forming a trilogy, Jaguar will conclude as just two projects — with the latest stacked entry being a testament to Monét's growth.

And as she explains herself, some of that growth — her expanding fanbase specifically — has been built by word of mouth over these last three years.

“There's been a lot of talk on Twitter that I'm underrated, and I really always appreciate that because I feel like it means that people see more for me than I currently have, which is always good,” she says. “I'd always rather be underrated than overrated. I feel like there's so much more to be said, shown and seen.”

“I like that some people feel like they were early," she adds. "They're like, ‘I knew about her years ago,' which creates some pride and camaraderie and then gives people an incentive to spread the word, too."

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If Jaguar II proves anything about Victoria Monét, it’s that being a "perfectionist" when it comes to her solo music — and taking as much time as she needs to retool and eventually deliver the follow-up project — is going to work in her favor. Taking cues from Jaguar, Jaguar II is loaded with reminders that Monét has been writing and grinding for years, from a playful Chalie Boy interpolation within “On My Mama,” to some stop-you-in-your-tracks dreamy harmonies on “How Does It Make You Feel.”

While the project may also feel consistent with its predecessor thanks to some familiar D’Mile magic, its lyrical content isn’t what many may expect from a new mother, Monét says.

“It’s not so linear,” she says of the subject matter. “After having a baby, maybe you would expect the project to be more about family, more about motherhood or positive, really clean things. But I go from heartbreak to being in love and enamored by a partner to wanting to go out and party. It's all of the feelings that I felt combined.”

“I feel like the project rounds up how women and people feel in general,” Monét adds. “We can embody more than one emotion and be more than one type of person. You don't have to be so stereotypically one thing.”

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Continuing her story beyond Jaguar II, Monét officially announced her first-ever headlining tour this month, aptly titled The Jaguar Tour. The two-month run kicks off in Detroit this September and wraps with an international date in London.

“When it's your show, it's just so many people that have been there from the beginning that are rooting for you, that want to see you win, and you're just absorbing all of that energy, everyone's facing you and giving you so much love and gratitude,” Monét says of touring.

“Then you give it back by performing your best for them. And it's just like this love language that's really, really cool," she continues.

Now less than a month before the release of what she considers her best project yet, Monét says she hopes fans can see her continual growth as an artist and enjoy what she hopes to be a "timeless" new project for those who have been longtime fans, and those just catching on now.

“And I'm hoping to obviously outdo this [album] with the next thing. That's all I hope for as long as I'm alive, just to get better, be better and learn new things. So I'm really mostly confident about the fact that Jaguar II is a really, really great body of work. I think that in a lot of ways it's timeless, so that's why I feel it'll be around.”

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