5 Things to Know About Rising R&B Star Journey Montana

Ashanti’s Ja Rule-assisted R&B-meets-hip-hop collaborations are something of a perennial marker for the arrival of summertime in New York City — or at least warmer weather — and that’s exactly the energy rising R&B star Journey Montana is tapping into with her new Really Jaewon-assisted “Best One” remix.

Originally released at the top of the year ahead of her Lucky Girl Syndrome debut album, which dropped on Jan. 31 via 10K Projects, “Best One” finds Montana exploring the thrills and benefits of speaking words of affirmation over your own life. Camper — who won the 2019 best R&B album Grammy for his work on H.E.R.’s self-titled album — executive-produced Lucky Girl Syndrome, gifting Montana a luscious, endlessly layered soundscape for her airy vocals to paint across. The record also features a duet with Georgia-bred singer Maleigh Zan.

Last week (July 18), Montana tapped Really Jaewon, son of Billboard chart-topping rap icon Jadakiss, for a new version of “Best One” that captures the malleability of ’90s and early ’00s R&B/hip-hop remixes. The “Best One” remix largely retains the original beat; instead, the two new-gen musicians rearrange the track’s structure, sprinkle in a host of new ad-libs, and steep the whole affair in their undeniable chemistry. “Let’s fall into each other’s worlds, don’t worry bout no other chicks/ Damn I’m a running squirrel, gon’ and get my nut and dip/ But you, I’ll build something with,” Jaewon spits over the groovy, guitar-inflected beat.

“He sent me [his verse] the same day I sent him the open,” she tells Billboard. “We actually ended up getting in the studio again in person, and we massaged the record into a remix. I didn’t want to mess with the beat too much, but he ended up re-cutting his whole verse, and I re-cut my whole part. It was so much fun!”

With “Best One” perfectly primed to take over summer playlists, here are five things to know about Journey Montana.