We had the pleasure of catching up with Sydney ARTIST MUNGMUNG to talk about her recently released EP FEI, musical inspos and our shared love of 00s hip-hop.
MUNGMUNG is one of those artists that people seem to struggle to put in a box genre wise, so I began by asking how she would describe her music:
“I wouldn’t say that I’m creating a specific genre, per se, but maybe, let’s just frame it in a way where I love hip hop and R&B so much, and I’m contributing to that with my own touch, with my own little swagaliciousness, with my own story to tell.”
Missy Elliot’s name comes up multiple times throughout our conversation, and it’s easy to draw the parallels between the two artists. Missy was also an artist people struggled to categorise and was keen to pull at the seams of what came before her. I think if I’d asked Missy Elliot the same question, she’d respond in a similar way, struggling to quantify herself against industry imposed genre guidelines but knowing broadly that hip-hop was the jump off point, the lens through which it all started and everything else is an augmentation on this, to make her music uniquely hers.
MUNGMUNG continues “I wouldn’t say I’m trying to do something crazy new… it’s just like, we pay homage to the greats, the past, they’ve paved the way for us now, you know? And so I want to carry that forward and kind of do my own thing with it and contribute to the space because it’s always been about community.”
This notion of doing her own thing and of being authentic weaves consistently through the conversation. Touching on her recently dropped EP FĒI, I was curious to know how she felt about releasing it into the world:
“this sounds so meme-like, but perhaps not a thought in there. The reason why I say that is because I feel like, FĒI is a project where it is more of a super party, party vibe. It’s really bringing it back to clubbing and going out and capturing that excitement – That warmth, that feeling, that buzz that you get”
“A lot of the songs came out really easily. So, so easily in terms of writing. The process was so fast, just because I tried to not overthink the lyrics or melodies. I just did whatever felt good, and I hope that that translates”
“I can’t really get away with hiding behind too much of a persona when it comes to writing lyrics for me personally” she confesses. Part of this is staying true to the path of hip-hop artists she admires, and a desire to emulate their storytelling and vulnerability. But it’s also more than that. Whether it’s her peers in the industry or her own music, MUNGMUNG has to feel that deep connection to thrive. She alludes to this in her relationship with producer Taka Perry who she worked with on FĒI:
“Taka, the producer that I worked with for the overall project, embodies that spirit too. He always does say his own approach to creating tracks is just doing whatever feels good. I feel like that kind of rung around in our heads and that’s pretty much what happened. I just want people to get sweaty, get messy, and dance it all out”.
MUNGMUNG certainly achieved her goal with this – FEI is such a feel good record. Looking to the future she confesses she’s not motivated by accolades or awards, and she draws on the inspo of another hip-hop great, Tyler, The Creator:
“No, seriously, my favourite, favourite artist of all time is Tyler, the Creator, and I would look to him for this attitude that he has. He still rides his bikes around LA with the same friends he’s had since high school or something! He’s kind of done everything that he’s loved and he’s still doing it at a larger scale, but he’s never changed. I think I really want to embody that philosophy to take it back to the roots of the art and then just having fun with it all, you know!”
We conclude by discussing her inspos, and I guess it’s here where, while her work is deeply rooted in hip-hop, you see the eclectic sources she’s drawing on, as she reels off everything from Glen Miller and Billie Holiday, to hip hop greats such as The Notorious BIG to Mariah Carey, j-pop and the latest artists she’s feeling on TikTok (Amelia Moore or Ryan Trey). She’s particularly passionate about the track Mutual Butterflies. Honestly there were sooo many inspos I’m hoping to bring you more on this in a separate feature soon – watch this space!!
And her final thoughts:
“The moral of the story is just have fun, but be safe, look out for one another, and fuck what people think if you’re listening to your favourite song and jamming along! It should be fun! Stay FĒI and stay fresh. That’s all I got to say”
You can find out more about MUNGMUNG here.
And listen to FĒI here.