Muni Long
Priscilla Renea Hamilton (born September 14, 1988), known professionally as Muni Long (pronounced "money long"[2]), 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, including the hit singles "Promise This" for Cheryl, "California King Bed" for Rihanna, "Worth It" for Fifth Harmony, "Love So Soft" for Kelly Clarkson, "Imagine" for Ariana Grande, "Who Says" for Selena Gomez & the Scene, and the global hit "Timber" for Pitbull.[3]
Muni Long
Priscilla Renea Hamilton
September 14, 1988
Gifford, Florida, U.S.[1]
- Singer
- songwriter
2008–present
- Def Jam
- White Rose Garden
- Thirty Tigers
- Supergiant
- Capitol
- Virgin
Returning to her recording career in 2018; she released her second studio album, Coloured independently in June of that year, which saw Hamilton exploring Americana and country soul genres. After adopting the stage name Muni Long,[4] she saw her commercial breakthrough with her 2022 single "Hrs and Hrs", which peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led her to sign with Def Jam Recordings. The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance and served as the lead single for her third album, Public Displays of Affection: The Album (2022). Her 2023 single, "Made for Me" was met with similar success and peaked within the chart's top 30.
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.[5]
Early life[edit]
Priscilla Renea Hamilton was born in 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.[6][7] Her father was a member of the Navy.[8] She has stated she began singing at age two but was uncomfortable singing around people until she was older.[1][9] She also was a part of a church's choir. [10] 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.[11] 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.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Long has lived in Atlanta and subsequently Los Angeles since leaving Florida.[45][46] She has been diagnosed with lupus. Long is autistic.[47] 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.[48][49][50] She runs her own music label, Supergiant Records, named in reference to "the biggest star in the galaxy" [51]
Her song "Family Tree" was inspired by the time she was "kicked out of her family's home as a teenager".[36]
She attended Vero Beach High School, and worked at Bono's Bbq (Wilke's 14 Bones)[52] [53]
Priscilla Renea/Muni Long discography
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