Victoria Monét credits Nas for being among the first artists to see her potential as a future star.
The R&B singer-songwriter, who released her sophomore album Frequency of Love last week, recently appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show and discussed her 2012 collaboration with Nas, titled “You Wouldn’t Understand.” The song appeared on the rapper’s tenth studio album, Life Is Good.
“Honestly, I think the first time from-songwriter-to-artist recognition happened was with Nas,” the three-time Grammy winner told Hudson.
She credited Bruno Mars’ “Nothin’ On You” collaboration with B.o.B. as the launchpad that inspired her to write and perform hooks with popular artists during the 2010s.
“I was like, ‘What if I just do that and try to just only write hooks and sing them so well that hopefully some artist will want to keep me on the record?’” she said.
While making her rounds as a go-to artist for hooks, Monét eventually landed in the studio with Nas, who kept her voice on “You Wouldn’t Understand.”
“So it was my first major feature and I was like, ‘Thank you so much for seeing me.’ He brought me on [The Arsenio Hall Show] to do a live performance of the song and I was so thankful.”
On Life Is Good, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has been RIAA-certified Gold, a then-burgeoning Monét was featured alongside heavy-hitters like Mary J. Blige, Rick Ross, Miguel and the late Amy Winehouse.
