Victoria Monét makes R&B and funk her playground on her long-awaited debut album, Jaguar II. Released on Friday (August 25), the 11-track LP follows Monét’s 2020 EP, Jaguar. Features on Jaguar II include Lucky Daye on opener “Smoke,” Buju Banton (“Party Girls”), and Earth, Wind & Fire (“Hollywood”). Monét’s 2-year-old daughter, Hazel, also appears at the end of the slow groove.

“I listened to him as a kid through my mom and her musical tastes; she was always playing it on days that really felt good, like a Sunday or a good day during the week,” Monét told Teen Vogue about Banton. “I never forgot his voice. When we made the song I remember just wanting it to have an island feel, and when we were writing the tracklist, we just wrote ‘Party Girls’ featuring Buju before we even reached out to him.”

Victoria Monét – Smoke (Official Video) ft. Lucky Dayewww.youtube.com

Victoria Monét – Party Girls (Official Video) ft. Buju Bantonwww.youtube.com

Victoria Monét – On My Mama (Official Video)www.youtube.com

As a celebration, Monét and Jaguar II executive producer D’Mile hosted The JAGUAR II Listening Party on Amazon radio show Amp, where the Grammy-nominated songwriter spun tracks from the album and shared personal stories behind the songs.

The third single from Jaguar II, “On My Mama,” dropped in June, followed by a Sean Bankhead-choreographed music video that released this month. Monét will keep the dance vibes going in September, as the 34-year-old will embark on her first headlining tour, which begins September 6 in Detroit. The Sacramento-raised singer-songwriter will also hit New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago throughout the multi-city tour, before ending the shows in London.