Victoria Monét’s writing credits on two late-2010s Ariana Grande juggernauts in particular—“thank u, next” and “7 rings” with its “I want it/I got it” refrain—suggest that she has a skill for boiling self-empowerment down to a few unforgettable words. All the same, Monét, a former Apple Music Up Next artist, took a little while to emerge. Born in Georgia in 1993 but raised in Sacramento, CA, Victoria Monét McCants found her way into the industry by winning a spot in a girl group, Purple Reign, formed in 2009 by pop/R&B producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. The project fizzled but she quickly found she could make a living selling hooks to others (Nas, T.I., Fifth Harmony, Grande), and continued to do so while releasing four EPs between 2014 and 2018 that evoked the pop ambition of Janet Jackson and the sultry poise of Sade. But in 2019, Monét stepped out as her own artist. Her songwriting levelled up as she drew strength from the Black Lives Matter movement and coming out as bisexual. And as her cowritten hits fired up women the world over, Monét released a motivational body-positive anthem, the lushly produced slab of funk-kissed soul-pop “Ass Like That.” Soon after came 2020’s opulent R&B set Jaguar, a debut album that, as she told Apple Music, was meant “to take power back into our hands, to say things we think about and talk about when women get together.” Graciously, she let some fellas into the conversation—“Experience,” featuring Khalid and SG Lewis, not only highlights Monét’s ability to bring nuance to the topic of love, but with its disco flare shows off another talent: using the building blocks of the past to construct a more melodically radical future.