Album Review: Victoria Monét – Jaguar II: Deluxe

With Jaguar II being a Grammy winning album and Victoria Monét’s career levelling up as a result of that, it would make sense for her to release a Deluxe edition of it. Except, this Deluxe edition of Jaguar II isn’t really a Deluxe edition at all.

Baby. This is Jaguar III.

It’s funny that this year we got Tension II from Kylie Minogue. A terrible and unnecessary sequel to an album, which should have just been a Deluxe edition of Tension. We also got SZA releasing a Deluxe edition of SOS, with an albums’ worth of new material which don’t feel like they belong with SOS, yet aren’t really strong enough to be a standalone album. And then you have Monét, releasing a Deluxe edition of an album with songs so good they should have been released as a standalone sequel album. There are ten new tracks — eight of which are full length songs. None of which feel like fillers or leftovers. These new songs collectively are more than worthy of bearing the title ‘Jaguar III’, so that’s what I’mma be referring to it as from here on out. The third installment of the punani saga. So treat this as a review strictly for the Jaguar III cuts and not the Jaguar II Deluxe edition as a whole. If you wanna know what I think of Jaguar II, please check out my full review of it, as I won’t be fully getting into those songs here.

Victoria Monét – Jaguar II: Deluxe | RCA Records

Jaguar III has its own narrative, which is semi autobiographical. Between the release of Jaguar I and Jaguar III, Victoria broke up with her baby daddy, and she channels this into the first half of the album. She declares that she’s newly single, out in the streets and after some good dick on the leading song “Dick at Night”. And, what a way to start an album. “Dick at Night” is a really fun lounge jazz, 70s game show style ditty about just wanting some dick — the juxtaposition of which you can’t help but smile to. It’s like the song is channelling Lucille Bogan’s “Till the Cows Come Home”. It seems like such a silly song, but it’s also a great intro to Monét for those who perhaps are coming into this fresh, which is also why I think these new songs shoulda been put out as Jaguar III. Then there is “Don’t Sleep”. A song where Monét talks her shit — reminding herself, potential lovers and side dicks that she is fine for their thing to be what it is. But that she also has dreams, aspirations and a trajectory for her life and career that they need to be able to keep up with. Big yikes to her baby daddy. Perhaps baby boy wasn’t able to keep up, and that’s part of why he and Monét parted ways. The theme of dreams and ‘making it’ also carries through into the album closer “The Greatest”, where Monét takes a moment to look back at her achievements and say ‘D’you know what? I am that bitch.’ It very much feels like a sequel to Jaguar II’s “Hollywood”. Where “Hollywood” was a song about Monét having dreams of maybe making it, “The Greatest” is about her having made it. It’s a great and fitting song to close the album with. An album starting with a song about throwing ass in the club and wanting dick and closing with a song about being that bitch, followed by loving voice notes of affirmation and encouragement shouldn’t work, but it does.

Jaguar III really highlights how much Monét’s life has changed in a relatively short space of time, both personal and career wise. I doubt when Monét released Jaguar II in 2023 that she ever thought it would actually win Grammys, that she would meet Beyoncé and that she would re-release the album with a lead single featuring Usher. Fame and careers going from 5 to 500 in seconds is a big topic in pop today. Chappell Roan has been very vocal about struggling to adjust to how much her life has changed in the space of not even a year, following the viral success of “Gold Luck, Babe!” and her previously ignored debut studio album finding a whole new audience a year later. Charli XCX experienced the same thing with how Brat blew up and went far beyond her fanbase. Sabrina Carpenter is going through the same shit, off the back of the mammoth success of “Espresso”. It’s a real shame that Monét’s name isn’t mentioned in the same conversations and think pieces when it comes to perceptions of fast fame and tipping point moments when a pop star goes from kinda known to globally known and Grammy nominated. And bear in mind, Monét is a Grammy winner. But we all know why. [Leans in and whispers] Because she’s Black. But that’s a whole other post.

Something I really appreciated and didn’t expect, is that the Jaguar III creates a very clear bridge to Jaguar I. Not to say that Jaguar II didn’t feel connected to Jaguar I, because it did. The soul, the funk, the 70s and the signature horns of Jaguar I were still there. But there was a very clear shift with Jaguar II, which made sense given that Monét’s life had changed significantly between Jaguar I and II. She was in a serious relationship (with the guy who featured in her music video for “Moment”). She became a mother. She got herself a new house built. She signed a deal with RCA. And there was a sense that Monét knew she was on the precipice of ‘making it’ and that this was her one shot to really push everything, so there was a greater sense of commerciality with Jaguar II as a package. Jaguar III feels much closer to Jaguar I in sound, vibe and energy by comparison. Perhaps because Monét is closer to where she was then in some sense. A whole lot less pressure, because this isn’t ‘the debut’ or ‘an album’ — which is probably why she didn’t make this Jaguar III. She’s single again. The pussy is purring.

With Monét being so intentional with her music and particular about the Jaguar package as a whole, it wouldn’t surprise me if she approached these songs like they truly were for Jaguar III in her mind, but chose to make them feel like a bookend of Jaguar without committing to it being a ‘Jaguar III’. Monét is also a business woman. So there is probably also a part of her which intentionally threw the vibe back to Jaguar I to bring everything back full circle, but to also remind people that Jaguar I exists, which is why the inclusion of “We Might Even Be Falling in Love” was genius. Because despite Jaguar II having a big ass II in the title, I feel that not as many people who jumped in at Jaguar II went back to check out Jaguar I. And those who haven’t, really should. Because Jaguar I is really fucking good and NONE O’ DIS would exist without it. I still listen to “Experience” and think about an alternative reality where that song was the smash hit that it deserved to be. If y’all can make Roan’s old-ass “Hot to Go” hit, you can do the same for “Experience”. And off the back of the amazing video for “Alright”, I listen to “Jaguar” and wonder how a music video would look were it choreographed by Sean Bankhead and directed by Dave Meyers. As much as I liked Jaguar II, there was something about Jaguar I which I preferred. Not only am I infatuated with the album title track, but I feel Jaguar I works better as a whole than Jaguar II did. So I like that Jaguar III hearkens back to the beginning of the Jaguar journey. And the Jaguar III cuts could easily sit alongside Jaguar I’s. “Don’t Sleep” quite literally feels like a sonic bridge between “Moment” and “Dive”. It’s a shame that because of legal and record label shit that we may never get a Jaguar complete collection, which has all of the Jaguar songs sequenced together. But that’s cool, ‘cos I’ve already done it.

Victoria Monét – Jaguar II: Deluxe | RCA Records

I’ll be honest. When I first checked out Jaguar III, I skimmed through it. I know, I know. I became part of the problem in today’s age of music where people just skim albums and don’t fully listen to them. But I always intended to listen to Jaguar III at some point. However, skimming the album, I didn’t think much of it. Nothing really jumped out at me, aside from how “1900s” and “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” sounded like Kaytranada joints. Y’all. I really thought Kaytranada was a producer of at least one of these songs, but NOPE. Monét pushed the hell out of “On My Mama”, but we all know “Alright” was THE song of Jaguar II — so it woulda made complete sense for Monét to call him again and revisit that sound for Jaguar III. But I guess he was busy, because we get D’Mile and xSDTRK doing their best Kaytranada impersonations instead. But, I digress. “1900s” and “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” were the only songs that really jumped out at me, and not necessarily because I thought they were good. So that was where I stood with Jaguar III until I’d heard it in full. But eventually I got around to listening to it in full, and…I was kinda blown away. As should be the case with all albums, Jaguar III needs to be listened to all the way through from top to bottom. It really is not an album you can skim or cherry pick on a first go-around the way I felt you could with Jaguar II — where “Alright” and “How Does It Make You Feel” immediately jump out. You need to consume it as a body of work, which is why it should have been released separately as one, instead of just dumped at the end of Jaguar II. I wasn’t all that keen on “SOS (Sex on Sight)” when it first dropped as a single. I thought ‘It’s just a Jaguar II leftover’. But as part of Jaguar III, it hits differently, because it’s sequenced as part of the narrative of Jaguar III and is also sandwiched between “Don’t Sleep” and “2Sexy”, which frame the song so much better than when you just listen to it on its own. But I completely get why it was released as the lead single. Because, Usher — who sounds great on the song.

Whether Monét was aware of it or not, or whether she did it intentionally — which she probably did — Jaguar III is a flex. Not just because of the Usher and Thundercat features. But because it’s Monét letting people know that Jaguar I and II were not flukes. And the song that really brought this home for me was “Everybody Needs Someone”, where Monét once again delivers a great soul ballad to sit alongside its Jaguar II sibling, “How Does It Make You Feel”. “Everybody Needs Someone” is a highlight on Jaguar III, despite a vocal performance I’m not super keen on. But we’ll get to that. Monét writes great soul ballads which sound so immediately classic and familiar. I would really like to see a shift back to artists releasing ballads as singles, and people responding to this by sending them to the top of the charts. Ballads in pop, R&B and J-pop used to be a thing y’all, and I miss it. There are still great ballads being written and recorded, they’re just not being released as singles any more. Even K-pop who stayed on the ballad train longer than most, is bumping ballads off of albums. So I really do hope that Monét considers giving a ballad a push for her next album, in addition to putting that pen back to work for Ariana Grande and writing one for her to release. Because if Grande released a ballad, then it would definitely push record labels to start following suit.

Now. Let’s talk about that vocal performance I was not keen on. “Everybody Needs Someone” is a great song. But Monét’s performance unfortunately does not contribute to its greatness. “Everybody Needs Someone” is the one and only Monét song I have listened to and thought ‘This would have worked better with somebody else’. A song like this needed a bigger, richer and more fluid voice. It needed a singer who could effortlessly glide over the music and have their voice swell and pull back when the music does the same. “Everybody Needs Someone” is such a clear nod to the days of Motown, Burt Bacharach and Hal David and it needed a singer who could take on this song the way Marvin Gaye, Dionne Warwick ‘n’ them would have. But Monét just doesn’t have this type of vocal ability or musicality and she is aware of it. You can hear how careful she’s trying to be because she knows she doesn’t have the range or skill to give the song the vocal performance it needs. When she hits that ♪ Everything is gonna be OKAAAAAAAAY ♪, it sounds crusty. And also like her voice has been pitch shifted or had something done to it. But despite this, “Everybody Needs Someone” is still a great song, because Monét’s pen and the production skills of Tommy Parker, Camper and Justus West are adamantium. But a great vocal performance would have really made this song soar and made it feel more single ready. And I think this is why “How Does It Make You Feel” also didn’t quite stick at large in the same way, because Monét’s performance didn’t give the song the extra something that it needed to take it out into the stratosphere. Soul ballads need a strong vocal y’all. So Monét needs to start working on her voice and / or arranging these songs in a way where the music can better meet her where she’s at. Because I still want her to keep delivering soul ballads. She clearly has a thing for them and a skill for writing them. And I don’t want her to only write them for others.

Victoria Monét – Jaguar II: Deluxe | RCA Records

Jaguar III continues Monét’s trend of laying her inspirations out clearly and respectfully. And here, Monét honours Sade with a cover of “Love Is Stronger Than Pride”. Monét covering Sade isn’t too much of a shock in retrospect. Monét and Sade have similar soothing types of voices, and both their music just oozes sensuality. And I’mma just say it. I prefer Monét’s version of “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” over Sade’s. Sade’s version is beautiful. But Monét manages to achieve a great balance of drawing out elements which were there in the original and building a new version of the song around them, whilst also taking the song in a new direction which makes it truly feel hers. Sade’s version is standing around in a dress of free flowing fabric, as a mysterious wind blows it around. Monét’s version is shaking ass in a jungle during a full moon, with the wet wig on. It would not surprise me in the slightest if there are fans listening to Jaguar III who have no idea that “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” is a cover, because it really does feel like a Monét original. The sound of it sits in between “Jaguar” and “Alright”, and you could easily mix it into both. So I’m already excited to see what Monét would do with this song on a tour.

Another clear inspiration of Monét’s is Michael Jackson. Big surprise. Who in R&B doesn’t have Jackson as an inspiration!? Not only does “1900s” interpolate his 1983 hit “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, but Jackson’s vibe and energy permeates this entire album. The influence of Jackson is present across Jaguar as a whole. But the spirit of Jackson’s wig feels VERY present on Jaguar III. And then there’s the partnership of Monét and D’Mile. The same way that Jackson and Jones were able to make magic, Monét and D’Mile do the same. The chemistry between them is undeniable. Even when Jones had nothing to do with a Jackson song, his presence was still felt, and it’s the same with Monét and D’Mile. Even on the one Jaguar III cut which D’Mile didn’t produce, he still has a presence on it, because of the motifs and vibes he had first established back on Jaguar I being cited on the Tommy Parker and Camper productions.

Monét is in a unique place where her fans and even people outside of her fanbase are tapping into her artistry in its entirety and not just latching onto one song — not through lack of her trying to make “On My Mama” that one song — which puts her in a really great place. Especially given that she has a sound and a vibe which isn’t tied to a particular tempo or even genre. There is a sound and a thread which runs through “1900s” and “Everybody Needs Someone” despite one song being a pussy popper and the other being a swoony soul ballad. But, this music thing is a game of signature songs. And I guess if there was a downside to Jaguar III from a commerciality perspective, it’s that it doesn’t have that one song, the way Jaguar II had “On My Mama” and “Alright”. Then again, this is me looking at Jaguar III as a separate thing and not part of Jaguar II. But the one thing Jaguar III does highlight, is that Monét very clearly has a sound. But these new songs also push the boundaries of Monét’s sound in ways which make me really excited as to where she could go with future albums.

Victoria Monét – Jaguar II: Deluxe | RCA Records

Monét really did not have to do all this for Jaguar III. But I appreciate the fact that she did. It was clear from Jaguar I that Monét was incredibly serious about her craft and the type of artist she wanted to be and how she wanted to be seen. And Jaguar III feels like Monét putting her stamp on this definitively for those who didn’t get the memo with Jaguar I, the original release of Jaguar II and the Jaguar Tour. Jaguar III won’t get the attention that it deserves, but that doesn’t make the effort Monet put into it any less admirable or special. She’s truly a real one. And each new Jaguar she puts out just further cements her place in music and that she will be here to stay. Jaguar III is a great bookend to what has been an amazing chapter in Monét’s career, which also gets me excited about what will come next.