Victoria Monét is well on her way to becoming a musical juggernaut.
The singer, songwriter and producer has not only written songs for stars like Ariana Grande and Machine Gun Kelly, but she's also made a career for herself as a performer.
"I've always been, from inception, writing for myself and wanting to perform and dance," Victoria explained during E! News' series, "Ones to Watch: Celebrating Black Voices." "Music and being an artist was one way I could combine all of my passions into one, and so I just feel like songwriting was more successful first."
As more of the music industry took notice of her talents, she said "many other doors" opened for her as an artist. Victoria released her first EP, Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1, in 2014, and she's since added five additional records to her discography—all without the help of a label.
"Being able to tell my own story is really," she said, "it's a beautiful luxury for me right now." However, as she noted, "being an independent artist is definitely not easy."
"It is not something for the weak because it's not some button that someone could press at a label that's been around for centuries and everything happens, you know?" Victoria continued. "So it's definitely, it makes me proud to be where I am today, independently."
The "Moment" singer also credited her team—made up of "so many women"—for her success. "I really love to look to my left and right and see other strong women," she said, "especially women of color, and it makes me really happy and proud."
She wants the same for other artists, too. "It's really important to see more representation of Black people and especially Black women," she added. "Whenever you're able to see yourself in art or see yourself in someone, it can really change your life and have such a huge impact on how you navigate everything. So when you don't see yourself, it makes you feel this insecurity...I feel like art should always be a reflection of the times."
Thankfully, Victoria does believe progress is being made. "the shift in music and people of color being represented is already happening," Victoria told E! News. "I think we're oftentimes the inspiration behind a lot of things that are popular and successful, and so now one thing that's really helping it is us being hyper aware of it and making our contributions to personally change some of these things in our circles."
Fans don't need to "singlehandedly change the world," as Victoria put it, but there are smaller steps they can start taking today.
"It's hiring Black, it's posting and supporting things and people that are Black, and it's acknowledging influences, crediting people correctly," she explained, "and slowly but surely, whether it's a trend or not, it will definitely pay off for generations to come."
That part of the equation—working to make the world a better place for future generations—is particularly important for Victoria as she's now a mom. She and her boyfriend John Gaines welcomed a daughter, Hazel Monét Gaines, in Feb. 2021.
"I've definitely learned how to be more efficient with my time and wear multiple hats as women are able to do," Victoria said. "My artist career and my career in general means so much more to me, just looking at a legacy; what I can leave behind to my daughter and my family. I have more to lose and more at stake, and it makes everything ten times more important."
It may sound like she's putting a lot of pressure on herself, but in reality, nothing could compare to what Victoria felt "before coming out as bisexual," she explained.
"I felt more pressure not seeing myself represented in a certain industry and light to kind of fold and conform," Victoria said. "And it's much easier to just be yourself, so I feel a lot less pressure and relieved, now knowing that truth is and authenticity is going to take you much further than trying to conform and become something you're not."
Victoria's currently working on Jaguar Pt. 2, a follow-up to her 2020 album of the same name, which she plans to release this year in addition to touring.
Hear more from Victoria Monét in the above "Celebrating Black Voices" episode.