It’s hard to miss Monaleo. Whether you’re dazzled by her larger-than-life personality or her jaw-dropping bars that speak to her infinite amount of talent, it’s safe to say she’s an icon in the making. While she’s managed to mesmerize her constantly growing fanbase with her effervescent glamour, reminiscent of the leading ladies who led Hollywood’s golden age, it’s safe to assume that she’ll continue to rise through the ranks of becoming her very own leading lady of hip-hop.
As the Houston native continues to release awe-inspiring anthems with visuals to match, she’s ensuring that her legacy transcends the confines of music. By using her platform to encourage healthy boundaries and mental health practices, the femcee is normalizing these conversations in and outside of hip-hop.
Monaleo stopped by Blavity News to discuss the differences between her real life and artist persona, the importance of being transparent with her fans and why she believes staying the course has been such a monumental lesson for her.
How she's adjusting to fame
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When Monaleo released “Beating Down Yo Block” last year, the entertainer was immediately thrust into the spotlight. The music video, now with around 20 million views, not only proved her obvious skillset as a rapper but her staying power as well. For Monaleo, her transition into being a burgeoning superstar is one that she’s still getting used to.
“It’s definitely something that I’m still adjusting to and trying to get acclimated to, just transitioning into this full-blown artist lifestyle and just trying to balance my personal and professional life,” Monaleo told Blavity News. “I feel like the artist’s life is so invasive when it comes to trying to maintain a personal life. A lot of the things just kind of overlap, so I’ve really been trying to figure out how to create boundaries in my personal life and in my professional life.”
For Monaleo, spending quality time with herself is one of the ways she keeps herself grounded amid such a hectic lifestyle.
“If I feel like I want to be alone, then I will do just that while exercising my right to do whatever I feel like doing. I feel like part of what affects my mental health is just trying to accommodate so many different people,” she said. “Some days I just have to reiterate certain points or things that are important to me. I feel like that’s been helping me stay grounded and rooted in who I am and not lose myself in the midst of all of this chaos.”
Why she believes in being vulnerable with her fans
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In July, the 21-year-old performed at Rolling Loud Miami but not without an important message for the attendees. Monaleo candidly admitted that she was nervous about her performance — an admittance that resulted in fans praising her for such honesty. For Monaleo, sharing her truth at that moment was a way for her to connect with her fans even more.
“It’s a learning process for me, and I want people to be aware of that so that they can know and understand who I am as an artist, who I am as an individual and how difficult it is to really go out there and perform in front of a whole bunch of people and perform for a live stream,” Monaleo said. “There’s just a lot that people see online that they don’t really understand what goes into performing, so I just said that, like, ‘y’all, I’m nervous.'”
Monaleo also believes in being transparent inside and outside of music because it allows her listeners to separate her humanity from her artistry.
“I want to be able to feel every emotion that I’m feeling so that I can properly heal because I was dealing with s**t before I ever became an artist that I still didn’t have a lot of time to heal from,” Monaleo told Blavity News. “I’m just trying to balance both and be transparent with people so that they can come on this journey with me. Just so they can understand why I am the way that I am.”
Monaleo, the alter ego
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While the rest of the world has come to know Monaleo as this fierce reckoning of a music artist, it’s actually her alter ego.
“Monaleo is the alter ego and Leo is the regular person, the everyday girl who’s dealing with things. Leo is super emotional in a sense of, like, everything’s just a really big deal to her. Monaleo is more aggressive, assertive and can’t be walked over,” she said. She doesn’t really deal with those sad emotions. She comes in on the more aggressive side and is protective of Leo because she knows that Leo is, like, super vulnerable.”
Staying the course
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“I feel like everything in this world is kind of set up for you to get discouraged, but it’s the people who prevail and it’s the people who are able to take those blows and keep it moving that really succeed,” Monaleo said. “Beyoncé is a perfect example of being able to take blows while still being able to push forward for her love for the music and for her passion. That’s the biggest lesson that I’ve learned, and I’m still actively learning. To just keep moving forward no matter how difficult, just keep moving forward. Never stop moving.”
To keep up with Monaleo and her artistry, follow her on Instagram.
