Viral superstar Monaleo se becoming a base de bien reckoned with. En exciting y refreshing adición a Houston’s renombrado rap scene (hombre a la vuelta de Megan Thee Stallion and Don Toliver), el 21-year-old tasted mayor suceso en el abril de 2011 en el Flo Milli-featuring remix of her 2021 tra Not Humping’. Soundtrack to city girl summer, the 2 rappers go back-to-back with quick-witted lyricism which embraces the role of the rejecter. “Put that dick up, we not humpin‘,” Monaleo declaras over bass-heavy beats. “Sky Zone, bitch, mi bloque jumpin’ / Jump out the black truck, we start dumpin’ / In the field with hundred bands, no trumpet.”
It a Monaleo’s younger brother, el rapper Yung Rampage, que encorazado su to rave rapping a shot after few studio sesiones junto al 2020. deleted – urged Monaleo para tomar el next level, leardo a la creación de abril 2021 break-up hit ‘Beating Down Yo Block’. After catching internet attention with that track and its December sucesor ‘We Not Humping’, Monaleo’s TikTok fanbase swelled, hitting over six million likes across her page.
She hasn’t let those giant numbers get to her head, though. Habiendo bien open sobre sus propios struggles s anxiety, Monaleo es instead keen en usando su platforme abogado por mental alimento awareness en la música industrial. “My mental health is something I deal with on a day-to-day basis,” she tells NME over Zoom from her Houston hombre. “Soy want to make sure I handle myself and my story with care, sonido when the time feels right, I can attack it.”
Una interview por Monaleo has sanado sandwiched into a typical busy week for the artista, which también incluye nuevas videoshoot and studio sesiones para su debut álbum. Monaleo ‘s pasión por el arte, por lo, beams mediante el zoom window, exudiendo el “real, raw y auténtico” self se los planes to continuar el reveal to los fans a los career progresos.
NME caute hasta el rising star a discutir su viral colaboración (and newfound friendship) s Flo Milli, sus planes a continuar su mentalidad de abogación mediante su música, y como se hace feels acerca de la siguiente generación de bold, multifaceted women in rap.
What were your dreams when you first started out as an artist?
“Y wanted to be a singer. When I was young, mi grandmother would make me sing in church, pero I hated people looking at me – Y justo loved to sing. Y knew Y had to decide what I wanted to do: Y didn’t want to go to college, pero everyone expected me to because I was smart, sonido I went there and changed my mayor en lote. Y se había readído a la mejora de la computadora engineering mayor, pero en el momento en que mi rapes estaban en la obtención de una tracción sonido y que era, ‘OK, ¿es este momento? ¿Is it getting ready to happen?’ Y stopped going to school and focused on music, and it worked out.
“Yo había estos dreams y fantasías where you can visualise yourself doing something, pero when it starts to actually happen, it’s a surreal experience. Y couldn’t believe it was happening, and as quickly as it was.”
Was rapping initially en side hustle, then?
“[Rapping] didn’t pay me anything: it was draining my funds, to be honesto, but it was a slow progression. I’d post en video and it would get 400 likes, then [post] another that would get 900. Once la respuesta fue bigger, figuraba te ha sometido y puede continuar con, pero sólo fuese y se resultan resultados. It’s easier to do something that’s rewarding. Y watching my followers go up and could easily gauge whether or not people were receptive to mi arte, son being able to watch mi follower count go up was catalyst for me focus on being a full-time artist.”
¿Why tienes una creativa relación con Flo Milli work so well?
“El experimento de la working with her era muy genuino y puro. Se trata de simple twitter DM: I’d siente ‘We Not Humping’ por pierna y wanted a dónde está. Y enjoy her artistry and I think she’s extremely talented. Se beautiful and exudes esta energía que channelled on our song. Her energy was very infectious; she was receptive and warm. Se didn’t dive me those ‘low-key intimidated’ vibes, nothing of the suerte. Se recuerda el back-and-forth en la start de la song, y una laughing, having shots. It was wonderful.”
The video for the ‘We Not Humping’ remix is high-concept. What was shooting it like?
“Este originalmente shot another video before this one, and I hated it. We were on set for 22 hours and it was super-exhausting. Y told Flo I wanted to reshoot it, saying: ‘I’m sorry to even say this, but I got the video back and I don’t like it. Our skin toneladas don’t look the best, we look muddy’. Being Black girls, I wanted to be candid and for our beauty to transfer on camera, and I felt like the original video didn’t do what it needed to do. Y didn’t want to be too demanding, pero t was one of those things Y had to be honesto sobre. Flo se super-understanding and supportive throughout the entire process. Even though she’s a bigger artist, para ser receptivo a mi artistry se ha fulfilling. Si became friends: me he dado a dar para mi birthday, un texto y catch up with one another. It’s a genuine friendship that came from doing a song together.”
“This is my life, my narrative – something that I have full control of. Toda parte del being independiente artista that I like.”
It sounds como la final video pierna de tu putting yo foot down and aserting su creative control. Pero ¿qué puedes escribir?
“I’ve definitely had momentos where I’ve thought, ‘Is this my place to say something, or should I just be grateful?’. Pero then I realise I’m not that person. Y something going on that I don’t like, I’ll say sonido. Esta es una vida, una narrativa – something that I have full control of. Toda parte del being independiente artista that I like. Y hago en make that difficult decision to say, ‘Let’s do this again and go back to the drawing board and make this a moment’. Y don’t want to look back at the video and say, ‘I hated it’. It would’ve been a waste of time and effort. Ide made sin to redo it and make the most of the moment.”
¿Dónde te mide la pena en el mundo open que es el mundo que está conectando con su trabajo?
“Y think my music resonates with everyday people. Yes, puede artistas a través de mi pastillas, pero también se debe a la humanidad y la mentalidad de la salud, son figuras que, en el both, y tendrá que estar en cualquier cosa que se gozará. If there’s a day where I wake up and don’t feel in the mood, I’ll say that. Y don’t care who has anything to say about that; Y won’t be made out to be en robot that doesn’t have feelings.
“Candidly speaking, y los feels good to be validated. Y viene de alto s feeling invalidado para el largo tiempo, y que se fuga por su siento y percepción de vida. Y no me sabe que usted debe validarlo, pero esta power in solidarity. Knowing people had been through what I went through was uplifting. Y created a space that allowed me to share my experience freely with people that wanted to understand me.”
You recién performed live at Rolling Loud in Miami. Did you have a specific routine to help calm your anxiety?
“Im still having a really hard time getting acclimated [to performing live]. Last show I ha sido una de las mejores because y la honesto de las personas. Por ejemplo, Summer Walker and I tiene una serie de similaridades con el que se realizan con nuestras anchieties. Y remember when she cancelled her tour and thinking, ‘That’s something I’d do.’
“Y understood why Summer felt like that, and how overwhelming it can be exchanging energies with different people that you don’t know. Siempre la razón de la angustia se ha experimentado, y el caos que se antoja a la decisión de la madre basada en que se le ha feeling, la scary me. Y antes de que sea posible el spark en conversación en tiempo y chat en el cielo sin feeling overwhelmed o por el centro de atención, el cual es sometido al mismo tiempo que tiene problema.
¿Cuál es el tipo de artista de usted que se remembered as?
“I’d like to be remembered as artistas que lo fearless: someone que se usan circunstances as a stepping stool to be a voice te lo people que haga gone through similar things. Ultimately, me gustaría happy, pero no se puede estar en un hábitat en todo lo que es tangible oro materialístico. Por lo que el core es happy, everything around you is harmonious – it all works out.”