Born to parents who happen to sing, in her formative years, Priscilla Renea knew she was destined to be a recording artist. The Los Angeles-based musician put in the self-work, and eventually signed to Capitol Records where she released her debut album, Jukebox.
Yet Renea's words had the most resonance; as a songwriter, Renea used her pen to generate salable radio-played singles for artists including Kesha, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and others. In 2019, Renea made a challenging career choice to transition away from recognizability and into a new phase of her life.
“A lot of people didn't want me to change my name,” Priscilla Renea says over Zoom. “They were like you are [Priscilla Renea], you've built such a reputation and that name holds weight. [But] that was as a songwriter and that was not my ultimate goal.”
The young artist reintroduced herself as Muni Long to the music industry in 2020, steering clear from her past as a creator for others. She even developed her own independent label, Supergiant Records, during the initial stages of the pandemic.
Muni Long has been building the infrastructure of the creative house in which she can thrive from the ground up, even funding for her own art. The resulting debut EP, Public Displays Of Affection, was released in November 2021 and has been a bursting musical channel for lovers and dreamers. Yet TikTok was the real ignescent digital force that sparked Muni Long’s explosion into the mainstream (and to its now platinum status), bringing "Hrs and Hrs" (pronounced "hours") at the forefront of internet virality.
The romantic, singalong serenade led to an explosion of loving cyberculture within the app and spurred users to #HrsandHrs in celebration of their partners. Muni Long’s velvety croon was a unifying voice for multiple generations, and re-enforced the power of digital tools to give artists a larger platform. "Hrs and Hrs" went from a few hundred thousand plays on Spotify to over 50 million in just a few months. The single recently surpassed RIAA’s Gold status ranking and is Muni Long’s most-streamed song.
The aftershock of Muni Long’s hit solidified the now, 33-year-old’s ascent towards longevity as a recording artist. With patience and steady fortitude, Muni Long is enduring a soulful metamorphosis to reinvent her art and herself for the promising future that is ahead. Long connected with GRAMMY.com to talk about her philosophies on love, why she redirected her career, and the chartbusting influence of social media.
The loving message behind the chorus definitely re-surged that nostalgic sound in soul music that was needed back then to make a sensational R&B single viral in today’s day and age. How has your life changed since "Hrs and Hrs?"
I definitely get a lot more opportunities now. In the beginning, when I started [my label] Supergiant Records, I was trying to find people to fill the different needs. It was tough because number one, we were at the beginning of a pandemic. We started in January 2020 and it was literally just me and two other people. A year and a half later, now having a giant hit shows me that it is possible. All the ups and downs and people quitting or not having the right energy was worth it.
All of these things that I was dealing with behind the scenes; it really was kind of difficult for me. [With "Hrs and Hrs"] I can breathe now and can celebrate a little bit. My hand is in every pot as an independent artist… overseeing everything and just making sure that it was authentic. True to me, not allowing other people’s judgments to affect mine.
August 2019 is when I decided that I was going to change my name and, then January is when I put it into action. I can relax a bit and just enjoy the success. It isn't too good to be true. It's here, it's not going anywhere as long as I continue to be consistent with my creativity, my expression. Be respectful.
I'm just super excited. It's just a really awesome thing to hear people say… [I am] inspirational. I'm 33. I'm singing R&B music, spending my own money and these are all things that people said weren't possible.
TikTok has given many artists and creatives the platform to share their art. I believe it can be perceived as a tool, in light of there being more saturation in the music industry. Living through the early-to-booming digital age of music-making, what has influenced your perspective on the music industry?
I did get discovered on YouTube, so before viral was even a thing before it was even a word…I did have a few things that went viral, but that wasn't what we called it back then.
I think what the internet has done is allow people to have freedom of expression. The most important thing is, just, I want to express myself freely and I think the more success you have, the more people sort of back off trying to limit you. Yeah, they give you more resources, they give you more space. They even contribute their own resources and relationships to your expression so that you can make the biggest and best thing that you can possibly make.
The goal for me is to be able to freely express myself and inspire people the way that Queen inspired me, the way that Pink inspired me, the way Tina Turner inspired me.
With your EP, Public Displays of Affection reaching high numbers after your virality explosion from "Hrs and Hrs" and making your TV debut on "the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," how are you approaching this chapter of your career?
Just being more mindful.
I am learning to search myself for answers before I go outside and seek others. No additional approval or validation or help, because if you pay attention you will just make decisions based on the purest intention. Versus making a decision that's going to make things faster for you or bring you the most money…because you're blinded by your ambition.
Making sure that I stay rooted and grounded and being able to make the purest decisions. Do things for the right reasons and do no harm.
If you could go back in time and tell younger you about the success you would see now, what would you try to echo to your younger self?
Be patient and work on you every day.
Do something every day to improve your perspective. Forgive people; I do believe that has a huge part to do with success that I'm having my internal work done.
Do you have a dream collaboration?
I want to work with everybody, like I really do. I believe in collaboration. I miss the time when artists would do duets and sing together. Those were amazing moments and it's just all about the intention.
Nowadays, people just want the money. I do think that sucks a little bit of creativity out. I want to work with everyone literally from Elton John to Beyonce to Kanye West to Teezo Touchdown, who's an incredible new artist on tour with Tyler, The Creator right now.
Posthumously, even if I could get my hands on some of those sessions with legendary artists.
You have entered your Muni Long era as an identity switch. I feel like the name is suitable for you, considering how abundant your career will certainly be from 2022 and onward. Is there a moment of inspiration behind your artist name change?
I told my husband about what I was reading and he was like, you should pronounce it “money.” My intentions are always coming from within, my decisions come from within.
What I was reading about was in regards to meditating, reaching nirvana through meditating for hours, sitting in one spot, and the Filipino meaning of magmuni-muni is to think deeply within.
The translation was very much part of my mantra, my belief system as an individual, just to make sure that all of my decisions and my perspective is self localized and all my choices are. Because that's what I want to do and not because somebody else is telling me that's what I should be doing. I'm doing it from the pure desire in my heart.
What do you do to get yourself in that zone to create?
I'm constantly doing something every day. I love to read. Relaxing; I get enough rest and I don't go in the studio every day.
There are a lot of artists who go in every day. I was speaking with Ty Dolla $ign. He literally goes in the studio all the time. I don't do that per say, but I will go through beats and maybe find instrumentals that are like stockpile ideas.
Sometimes when I hear a track, I'll make a playlist of things that I miss hearing. Then when I hear tracks, I'll try to create that same energy that I felt in those songs, not necessarily chords and melodies. The essence of the song that makes you feel happy. That song that makes you want to be in love.
Speaking of your lyric-making process and shrimp and lobsters towers, what would you say is your favorite dish to have on a romantic date with your husband?
I like crab legs. Lobster ravioli. Love seafood obviously.
How has your experiences in music helped inform your personal philosophies on love?
Honestly, I feel like it's the other way around.
I'm super confident because of my relationship. I had to learn to be a whole person by myself before I could, like, really properly love someone, or just interact in a relationship because it's tough.
Especially when you have two strong personalities. My husband and I both are very strong personalities. [My music] helped me become a better individual, which in turn affected how I am in the world and my business relationships.
I don't really care what other people think about me, although we want to, I always treat people fairly and kind.
Lastly, with you really taking charge of reviving R&B what are you hoping your music does for people who listen?
I hope they are inspired. I hope my music makes them want to do something like pursuing their dreams wherever that may be.
Hopefully, it just fills a void because I do think there is a wide range of music that I miss anyway and hopefully, I can help fill that.