On Friday night in City Park Nave Monjo had Manhattan locals out of their seats and in front of the stage getting down to his R&B and rap set.
Monjo is a Kansas native, born in Kansas City, who has toured to perform his music all over the country. Friday June 10 he visited Manhattan and performed a two hour set full of crowd interaction, high energy, and a unique sound.
Monjo took an interest in music at an early age, his dad was the choir director at their church, and his whole family had a love of music. Monjo said he started making beats as early as fourth grade, and kept the momentum going until he was out of high school and able to become an audio engineer. The singer eventually moved to New Orleans where he found a special inspiration to become better at his craft.
“You could go down to Bourbon Street at 3 o’clock in the morning and see a lady singing,” said Monjo. “Then you could see someone in the corner playing the guitar, it’s a vibe. They’re out there enjoying their life playing music that makes them feel good, so I would take that and go back to the studio to use as my inspiration.”
During his time in New Orleans, Monjo’s career began to take off. He made the song “Royal Blue” in 2015 around the time the Royals made it to the World Series, and gained national attention for the Kansas City Anthem. From here, more opportunities seemed to pop up and the rapper he went on to tour with artists like T-Pain and one of his personal biggest influences, Tech N9ne.
“Shout out my boy Tech 9,” said Monjo. “I’ve been on his stuff from 2008 and up, and they just inspired me to perform better and they had the lights and cameras and action. I toured with him 2018 and 2019 doing shows everywhere and just really watching that guy do it is amazing. He would always let me come up and do my song with him.”
Monjo said his time with T-Pain was also influential and the “GOAT” taught him a lot not only about performing but how to interact with the crowds and engage with people outside of the show.
Despite the many interesting places Monjo’s career has taken him, the L.A. based performer always loves being back in Manhattan. He said he loved performing outside under the setting sun on a beautiful night, and even felt inspired to go back home and do an outdoor show on the beach. Monjo also said he loved the energy Manhattan was giving him.
“They make me feel important every time I come here,” said Monjo. “You guys just show me really good energy and love every time I come out here and I’ll always come up here just because of the love that they give me.”
Monjo noted that when people come to his shows he simply wants them to leave feeling more full of life. For him its about getting people dancing and giving them a feel good moment.
“Music brings out life in your soul, and your spirit, and giving that energy to the people is great,” said Monjo.
On Friday, he certainly did that. Kids danced in front of the stage until the very last song, and Monjo was right there lost in the moment with them.