Priscilla Renea opens up about her journey to becoming Muni Long

Priscilla Renea released her debut album, Jukebox, in 2009, which got a positive reception but failed chart-wise. She decided to embark on a journey of being a songwriter, creating some of the greatest hits in music history. Songs including California King Bed by Rihanna, Imagine That by Ariana Grande, Worth It by Fifth Harmony, Love So Soft by Kelly Clarkson, and Timber by Pitbull were all written or co-written by Priscilla Renea.

Priscilla wasn't satisfied with being a name behind the scenes. In 2018, she decided to return to her recording career. In 2019, she went through a total rebranding, changing her name from Priscilla Renea to Muni Long. In 2021, the singer got her big break from her hit single "Hrs and Hrs."

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Priscilla Renea talks about her journey to becoming Muni Long

Priscilla opened up to People Magazine on her rebrand, saying:

"I truly had things that I wanted to say the way I wanted to say them. I didn't want to be beholden to anyone else's vision."

She cleared her Instagram page and gave herself a new look, a new name, and a new type of music, all without any prior notice. She stated:

"I'm the type of person who is very aware of the perception of myself, not that it matters. But I'm just aware of it; I definitely sensed along this journey that if I was going to transition from my previous life or iteration seamlessly to Muni Long, I was going to have to do it in silence."

The 36-year-old singer said she had made a clean cut from her songwriter persona.

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She said:

"I just instinctively felt that if I made this announcement and if I tried to use, like, all of the things that I had done in my past as a platform or a foundation or a base for this artistry, that it would just get written off."

She continued:

"Nobody would take it serious, right? Because the songwriter to artist pipeline is frowned upon in the music business."

Priscilla went emotional when she got her first Grammy nomination. She explained that by the time people started linking Muni Long to songwriter Priscilla Renea, she already had a place in the industry, and their opinions didn't matter.

"As soon as people found out that Muni Long was the former Priscilla Renea, exactly what I said started to happen; I remember hearing, 'Oh, she needs to stay a songwriter. She's not an artist. She's not a performer. She's not this. She's not that.' And I just think it's so dehumanizing to tell someone that they should stay in any place."

Muni Long continues:

"I have people that want to work with me now that treated me so horribly in the past," she revealed.

Fast track to 2025, Priscilla Renea, now acknowledged as Muni Long, has two Best R&B Performance Grammy Awards and four Grammy nominations to her name. She has topped the US R&B charts and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for 'Hrs and Hrs' and 'Made for Me.'

Muni Long has won a Give Her FlowHERS Award and a Soul Train Music Award in addition to her Grammy Awards.

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