Before the Grammy wins, a studio session with Nas gave Victoria Monét a chance to show her voice belonged in the spotlight.
Mike Winslow • Oct 7, 2026 @ 10:01 PM
Victoria Monét credits Nas with giving her the confidence to transition from songwriter to artist.
During an appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” the singer said the legendary rapper helped drive her career breakthrough.
Monét explained her strategy for getting noticed in the music industry. She studied how Bruno Mars collaborated with B.o.B on “Beautiful Girls” and then launched his own successful career.
She decided to focus on writing and singing hooks so well that artists would want to keep her on their records as a launching pad for her own career.
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“Around the industry, I became like the girl people would call for hooks,” Monét said. “And so, one of those people was Nas. I went in that studio, I tried to sing it as good as I can, and he kept me on his Life Is Good album.”
That feature marked her first major breakthrough moment.
Nas didn’t just include her on the album; he brought her on his “Arsenio Hall Show” appearance to perform the song live.
The support meant everything to her at that critical moment in her career.
“I was like so thankful,” Monét recalled. “So, along the way there were plenty of artists who saw me and was like, you got this, very encouraging, and that was really helpful to build confidence.”
Validation from someone of Nas’s stature showed her she had what it took to make it in the industry.
Beyond her music career, Monét has been expanding her talents. She recently graduated from culinary school, and She’s also taken up ballroom dancing, working with a coach named Leah to master the posture and technique.
