Grammy-winning bassist and musician MonoNeon has an unmatched style and sound; his main message is about self-love and awareness.
MonoNeon spoke with rolling out about his latest song, “Segreghetto,” and things he’s learned from several artists, including the late Prince.
What message did you want to portray in the song “Segreghetto”?
It’s just a testament to the spirit of yourself in your own community — if you are overlooked or misunderstood. It’s one of those songs where you just go through that and just beat it. It’s a song just for that — anybody who’s being misunderstood or overlooked in their community and dealing with systematic situations.
What message do you give to people feeling overlooked or misunderstood?
Just stay on your own path because if you try to catch up with somebody else, you’re going to miss your own steps, so you might as well just carve out your own path in the midst of everything you’re dealing with. Be who you are out there. It’s easier said than done, but it’s important to be who you exactly are. When you’re on your own journey and path, it’s easy to get caught up in some other ships, so just stay focused on what you want to do.
Who are some people you admire in the music industry?
I look up to Tyler, the Creator and how he is, and just anybody that’s out here that’s completely being themselves to the fullest and being successful at it and breaking down walls, breaking down doors, doing what they want to do, and not compromising themselves. That’s what I’m influenced by and inspired by. It can be anybody, it doesn’t even have to be a musician. Just anybody that’s out here just completely being themselves and being successful. That’s the s— to me.
Being around someone like Prince, what are some things that you learned from him?
I know being around Prince influenced me, even though I wasn’t thinking about it while I was there with him. But after he passed, I realized that was a life-changing experience to be around somebody who was vibrating so high like that and really in tune with how they wanted to be in the world, and they were going to go after it no matter what. It was just perseverance. That’s what I got from being around Prince. It didn’t matter what was around him, he was going to be who he was. He was going to do his s—. That’s what I got from him. Just be who you are. As cliché as that may sound, that’s what I got from him. He was vibrating so high, [nothing] was going to change his vision of what he wanted to do in the world.
