Priscilla Renea Hairston (née Hamilton; born September 14, 1988), known professionally as Muni Long (pronounced "money long"), is an American singer and songwriter.[3] Under the name Priscilla Renea, her solo debut studio album, Jukebox, was released through Capitol Records in 2009. She then spent the following decade co-writing songs for other recording artists, including the singles "California King Bed" by Rihanna, "Worth It" by Fifth Harmony, "Love So Soft" by Kelly Clarkson, "Imagine" by Ariana Grande, and the global chart-topper "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha.
Muni Long |
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 Long in 2022 |
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| Birth name | Priscilla Renea Hamilton |
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| Also known as | Priscilla Renea |
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| Born | September 14, 1988 (age 34) |
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| Origin | Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.[1] |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
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| Website | www.priscilla-renea.com |
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Returning to her career as a solo artist, her second studio album, Coloured (2018), was released via Thirty Tigers and Sony Music, and saw Hamilton exploring Americana and country soul genres. After adopting the stage name Muni Long,[4] she experienced major commercial success as an independent artist with the single "Hrs and Hrs", which reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100; which led to her signing a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. She has also received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year through her work on Back of My Mind (2021) by H.E.R.[5]
Born Priscilla Renea in rural Vero Beach, Florida in 1988. Her father was a member of the Navy.[6] She has stated she began singing at age two but was not comfortable with singing around people until she was older.[1][7] She later stumbled upon YouTube and began posting videos of her singing in her room. Her first video was a rendition of "Cry Me a River" she submitted to a contest whose winner would sing with Justin Timberlake at the Grammy Awards, albeit she did not win.[8] She recorded videos of herself singing the dictionary, and made her own songs independently.[1] Her channel eventually received over 30,000 subscriptions and she was given the opportunity to participate in MTV's Say What? Karaoke.[7]
2009–2010: Career beginnings and JukeboxEdit
In 2009, after garnering popularity on YouTube, at age 21, Long signed with Capitol Records under her birth name.[9] Her debut album was due for an October 20, 2009, release but was delayed for additional recording to occur. The album was preceded by the single "Dollhouse", which was released on August 18, 2009. The single failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 but did reach number eleven on the Heatseekers singles chart,[10] No. 31 on the Hot Dance Club Songs becoming a mild chart success.[11][12]
Hamilton performing in December 2009
Jukebox, was released on December 1, 2009. The record sold a mere 1,200 copies in its first week and failed to reach the Billboard 200. However, it did reach number twenty-three on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart, staying on the chart for one week.[13] Despite its commercial failure, the album was critically acclaimed.[14] Billboard highlighted her "knack for combining prose and poetry with catchy beats".[15] The second and final single, "Lovesick", was released on March 2, 2010, but failed to chart completely.[16]
2010–2018: Songwriting for other artists and ColouredEdit
Long began writing songs for other recording artist. In 2010, she co-wrote the UK number-one single "Promise This";[17] as well as "California King Bed", a track from Rihanna's fifth studio album, Loud, released in November 2010.[18] During late 2011, she took part in the ASCAP retreat, a songwriting event in France sponsored by Cain Foundation, Avid, Gibson and Sennheiser.[19] She continued her songwriting career, landing credits on 2011 and 2012 albums by Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Mika, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Chris Brown and Little Mix.[20][21]
In 2013, Long was featured on B.o.B's song "John Doe" from his album Underground Luxury.[22] In 2014 she also contributed to Fifth Harmony's debut album Reflection, by co-writing the song "Worth It", being the album's third single; the song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17][23] Long co-wrote Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert's 2014 hit duet, "Somethin' Bad", which was nominated for a Grammy Award, and reached number one on Billboard's Country Chart.[24] The song was later chosen by NBC Sports to replace "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett as the opening theme for its National Football League. Like Jett's song, "Somethin' Bad" was reworked to fit the broadcast's narrative as "Oh, Sunday Night" and was performed by Carrie Underwood, who recorded the original with Miranda Lambert.[25]
Long appeared as the vocalist on the 2015 single "Be Right There" by Diplo and Sleepy Tom. The track was given 'the hottest record in the world' title on the Annie Mac BBC Radio 1 Friday night show. The lyrics in "Be Right There" were taken from the 1992 single "Don't Walk Away" by Jade. In 2016, Long collaborated with Pusha T and Meek Mill on "Black Moses". The song served as part of The Birth of a Nation soundtrack album.[26][27]
In 2017, Long featured on Train's song "Loverman", from their album A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat. On April 6, 2018, Long released "Gentle Hands" and "Heavenly", the first two singles from her then-forthcoming album, Coloured. Music videos for both singles premiered online via Paper Magazine.[28] The album was released on June 22, 2018, marking nine years since her debut.[29] NPR noted that as an African-American country album, Coloured is a "consciously confrontational statement".[30] Rolling Stone showcased "Family Tree" within the album as a song of "empowerment".[31] The song "Land of the Free", according to NPR, serves as "an appeal for empathy toward those who live in fear of racial profiling and police brutality".[32] Ashley Gorley co-wrote several tracks.[33]
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