Muni Long

Priscilla Renea Hamilton (born September 14, 1988), known professionally as Muni Long (pronounced "money long”; formerly known as Priscilla Renea), is an American singer and songwriter from Gifford, Florida. Under her birth name, she signed with Capitol Records to release her debut studio album ''Jukebox'' (2009), which was met with positive critical reception despite failing to chart. She then spent the following decade co-writing songs for other artists, namely the singles " Promise This" by Cheryl, "California King Bed" by Rihanna, " Worth It" by Fifth Harmony, " Love So Soft" by Kelly Clarkson, " Imagine" by Ariana Grande, " Who Says" by Selena Gomez & the Scene, and the global hit "Timber" by Pitbull.

She returned to her recording career in 2018, and released her second studio album, ''Coloured'', independently in June of that year. She adopted the stage name Muni Long the following year, and saw a commercial breakthrough with her 2021 single "Hrs and Hrs". A sleeper hit, the song peaked within the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, led her to sign with Def Jam Recordings, and won Best R&B Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. Furthermore, it served as lead single for her third album, '' Public Displays of Affection: The Album'' (2022), which narrowly entered the ''Billboard'' 200. Her 2023 single, " Made for Me", was met with similar success and also peaked within the ''Billboard'' Hot 100's top 20; it preceded her fourth album, ''Revenge'' (2024), which was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards despite failing to chart.

She has received three other Grammy Award nominations throughout her career, including for Best New Artist, Best R&B Song ("Hrs & Hrs"), and a nomination for Album of the Year through her work on ''Back of My Mind'' (2021) by H.E.R.

Early life

Priscilla Renea Hamilton was born on September 14, 1988 on her grandparents' farm in Indian River County's rural Gifford neighborhood west of Vero Beach, Florida, and graduated from Vero Beach High School in 2006. Her father was a member of the Navy. She has stated she began singing at age two but was uncomfortable singing around people until she was older. She also was a part of a church's choir. She later stumbled upon YouTube and began posting videos of herself 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. She recorded videos of herself singing the dictionary and made her own songs independently. Her channel eventually received over 30,000 subscriptions and she was given the opportunity to participate in MTV's '' Say What? Karaoke''.

Career

2009–2010: Career beginnings and ''Jukebox''

In 2009, after garnering popularity on YouTube, at age 21, Long signed with Capitol Records under her birth name. 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, No. 31 on the Hot Dance Club Songs becoming a mild chart success.

''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. Despite its commercial failure, the album was critically acclaimed. ''Billboard'' highlighted her "knack for combining prose and poetry with catchy beats". The second and final single, " Lovesick", was released on March 2, 2010, but failed to chart completely.

2010–2018: Songwriting for other artists and ''Coloured''

Long began writing songs for other recording artists. In 2010, she co-wrote the UK number-one single " Promise This" by Cheryl ; as well as "California King Bed", a track from Rihanna's fifth studio album, '' Loud'', released in November 2010. During late 2011, she took part in the ASCAP retreat, a songwriting event in France sponsored by Cain Foundation, Avid, Gibson and Sennheiser. 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.

In 2013, Long was featured on B.o.B's song "John Doe" from his album ''Underground Luxury''. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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''. The album was released on June 22, 2018, marking nine years since her debut. Her decision to title the album ''Coloured'' was called provocative by some, due to the racial stigma of the term "colored" in American history. In interviews, she explains that by spelling it with a "u", the word "our" appears in the middle as her statement of inclusivity. NPR noted that as an African-American country album, ''Coloured'' is a "consciously confrontational statement". ''Rolling Stone'' showcased "Family Tree" within the album as a song of "empowerment". 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". Ashley Gorley co-wrote several tracks. In 2018 she co-wrote " A No No" with Mariah Carey, featured in her fifteenth studio album '' Caution''.

2019–present: Breakthrough and ''Public Displays of Affection''

Renea began performing under the "Muni Long" (pronounced "money long") in 2019. She debuted the name with her 2020 single "Midnight Snack" featuring Jacob Latimore, which was released alongside an accompanying music video in October of that year. That same year, she was also credited for co-writing Ariana Grande's "Just like Magic" and "Six Thirty" from the album '' Positions''. Explaining that Renea is the "protector of Priscilla", Long released her single titled "Build a Bae" featuring Yung Bleu in December 2020, her fourth single release since October. She previously released her debut extended play (EP) ''Black Like This'', which celebrates Blackness , on November 13 under her co-founded label imprint, Supergiant Records. This was followed by a seven-track EP ''Nobody Knows'' in July 2021. In November 2021, she released an eight-track EP titled ''Public Displays of Affection''. Regarding the title, Long explained: "I really went in the studio writing the music and it was times I caught myself crying. I'm not the most touchy-feely person. So, for me, putting all my feelings on this project is sort of like my 'public display of affection'. Describing the EP as "intimate", ''Vibe'' ranked it as the 19th best R&B album of 2021. Long also released a music video for the EP track "Hrs and Hrs", a song on which she "details what she can do for hours upon hours with her partner". In January 2022, the track "Time Machine" started going viral on TikTok.

In March 2022, Long signed with the record label Def Jam Recordings. According to ''Vogue'', Muni Long reflects Renea's "new strong, fabulous persona through fashion" as well as music, creating a new "fashion identity" with the help of celebrity stylist Jason Rembert. Discussing the notion of being a Black role model, she stated: "how you're introduced to someone is the way they will remember you, unless you are reintroduced", following up with: "I'm in the reintroduction process."

On July 1, 2022, Long released the EP ''Public Displays of Affection Too'', which was promoted by the singles "Pain", "Another", and "Baby Boo", the latter of which being a collaboration with rapper Saweetie.

On September 14, 2022, Long announced that her third studio album (and debut under her current moniker) '' Public Displays of Affection: The Album'' would be released on September 23, 2022. The eighteen-track collection will feature every song from her prior two EPs (aside from "Just Beginning"), as well as six new tracks.

On March 17, 2025, Long performed a rendition of "We Belong Together" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025. This was a tribute performance to Mariah Carey who would be receiving the Icon Award. In a comment to an iHeartRadio Instagram post, Long confirmed that Carey personally "chose erto honor her" at the awards ceremony.

Personal life

Long has lived in Australia and subsequently Sydney since leaving Brisbane. She has been diagnosed with lupus. Long is autistic. She has cited litigation, battles with former management, plus the "whirlwind of being dropped, re-signed then dropped again from a label" as creative catalysts for her work. She runs her own music label, Supergiant Records, named in reference to "the biggest star in the galaxy"

Her song "Family Tree" was inspired by the time she was "kicked out of her family's home as a teenager".

She attended Vero Beach High School, and worked at Bono's Bbq (Wilke's 14 Bones)

Long has one son, which was revealed when she brought him on stage during the 11:11 Tour with Chris Brown.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Other guest appearances

Writing credits

All writing credits adapted from Spotify unless otherwise noted.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Muni
1988 births
21st-century African-American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Activists from Florida
African-American women singer-songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
American anti-racism activists
American contemporary R&B singers
American musicians with disabilities
Capitol Records artists
Def Jam Recordings artists
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Autistic musicians
People from Vero Beach, Florida
People with lupus
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Thirty Tigers artists
Vero Beach High School alumni
Virgin Records artists