Victoria Monét's 'Frequency of Love' is out, and it's everything her fans hoped for
The three-time Grammy winner delivered her 22-track sophomore album on October 2, and the early response from critics, radio, and streaming has been fierce.
In brief
Victoria Monét's 'Frequency of Love' has landed, and the response is immediate
Three years is a long time to sit on a follow-up, especially when your debut went platinum, won a Grammy for Best R&B Album, and turned "On My Mama" into a bonafide moment. Victoria Monét did not rush. And judging by the first few days, she was right not to.
Frequency of Love, out October 2 via Lovett Music/RCA Records, is a 22-track album featuring SZA, Bruno Mars, Leon Thomas, Bryson Tiller, Lucky Daye, Chlöe, and Monét's daughter Hazel Monét, according to The Source. That tracklist reads like a wishlist someone printed and then somehow actually got made.
Billboard, which ranked all 22 tracks, described the album as "a stellar sophomore studio album" across tracks "that swell with sweeping strings and pulsating synths," and noted the project moves away from the brassy, horn-forward approach to '70s-nodding R&B that defined Monét's Jaguar era. That's a real shift. Jaguar II had a very specific groove, tight and retro. This one opens the room up.
Variety, in a feature published this week, reported that Monét and her executive producer Camper, known for his work with Usher and Brandy, said they "really believe that this album could be played as a classic for years." The resulting project is, per Variety, a 22-track exploration that shifts in mood and genre, built around love of self, love of others, and love for her daughter Hazel.
The album is not short on ambition at the sample level, either. According to Rated R&B, the opening track "All I Need" nods to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1968 recording written by Ashford and Simpson; "Come Back To You" pulls from The Isley Brothers' 1977 "Voyage to Atlantis"; and "Almost" flips Brandy's "Almost Doesn't Count." Monét has been vocal for years about her love of classic R&B, and this album backs that up with receipts.
The road to this record was harder than it looked
Variety's profile this week revealed something Monét had not publicized widely: the road to this album involved battling vocal issues. Monét told Variety that Frequency of Love opened a new chapter not with an upbeat track in the vein of "On My Mama," but with the ballad "Let Me", describing it as "an opportunity for me to be vulnerable and lead with voice," while acknowledging there was real discourse around that choice. Leading with a slow song when you can clearly do so much more is a risk, and she took it.
Billboard confirmed that "Let Me" topped Adult R&B Airplay for three weeks, and that the KAYTRANADA-produced follow-up single "Reach Out" built on the production language of 2024's "Alright." Now "Reach Out" is climbing the Adult R&B Airplay chart (currently at No. 17) and the Rhythmic chart (No. 24), per Billboard's tracking.
The personal stakes on this record run deeper than chart positions. Speaking to the Associated Press, Monét said: "I'm really, really, really passionate about love. A lot of it was just reflective of what I was going through or feeling while dating. The album covers many bases, including love for my daughter, love for the world, what I want to see for it."
The rollout included a moment nobody saw coming
The album's arrival on October 2 landed the same day as Quavo's QRÖMELIFE. According to iHeart, hours before the album dropped, Monét teamed up with Quavo for a non-AI-generated recreation of Quavo and Takeoff's "Hotel Lobby" performance for A COLORS SHOW, with the two artists linking up to promote their projects releasing the same day. That pairing hit differently given the weight Quavo has been carrying publicly, and the clip moved fast.
Alongside the album and tour, Monét is launching The Frequency of Love Foundation, a youth-focused education and wellness initiative providing children with knowledge about food, agriculture, culinary arts, and wellness, according to The Source.
The tour hits D.C. this fall
There is a concrete next chapter. According to The Source, Monét's Frequency of Love Tour launches October 27 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and travels across North America with stops in Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Seattle, closing December 17 in San Francisco.
As Variety noted, Monét spent much of September wrapping up her supporting slot for Bruno Mars on the European and UK leg of his Romantic Tour, that relationship clearly carried over into the album's most talked-about collab slot. The Bruno Mars feature, per Apple Music's editorial notes, sits on a track called "That's Why I Love You." Four minutes and 38 seconds. That is the one people are going to replay.
First-week chart numbers are still incoming, but Jaguar II, Monét's debut, peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200 per Billboard, a number this project, with its star power and pre-release radio momentum, has a real shot at clearing by a wide margin. The Adult R&B tracking suggests the audience is already there.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
