Monet192 in an interview: “I am a person of heart”

The path is clear: Karim Russo, alias Monet192, released his first track “Tout le Jour” at the age of 19“. The song “Papi” with Badmómzjay followed in 2019, marking the trained nurse’s breakthrough. He soon cemented his name in the scene with his debut album MEDICAL HEARTBREAK – and since then he has released at least one LP every year. Now his compilation CUFFING SEASON is released, in which he examines all possible facets of love and toxic relationships.

Monet192: I am a very emotional, sensitive person. I think that I quickly understand the people around me. However, I’m also withdrawn and don’t like to talk about my stuff, which is why I always try to focus on other lives. Nevertheless, I am 100 percent a person of heart – something I would never have said about myself before.

I was never the best at school or at sports or anything like that. But I always had this drive to find something I love and become the best at it. When music came into my life, I saw it as an opportunity to show people that I could be very good at something too. That gave me a ray of hope again at the age of 17.

You have to think of it like this: You have the opportunity to make money with music. But as a rule, you don’t know anyone around you who can do it, which is why you have to get used to it. You don’t have anyone to mirror yourself with. And creative work isn’t something you do every day; you can’t force ideas. In the early years of my career, I still tried because I saw other people getting up and going to work at eight in the morning. At first I thought I had to do the same. But only when you work on a song for a certain amount of time do you develop a feeling for it and that gives you more security.

This time was very difficult for me because it is also incredibly unpleasant when you are so irritable over small things. I felt like I was losing control of myself. It took me a long time to understand where this came from. In the end I came to the answer that I have always been someone who gives a lot to others and is there for them. However, my own needs are often ignored, which can lead to everything boiling up all at once and I become totally frustrated.

It is a hard process because behind it are character traits that cannot be changed overnight. I initially did the exact opposite of what would have helped me. I barricaded myself and didn’t trust anyone anymore. This turned me into a stone, which I didn’t want to be. After all, I’m actually an open person. In order to get out of it again, I have decided to approach people again, but also to actively pay attention to red flags in the other person, because certain basics have to be right. For example, if you fundamentally cannot communicate properly with a person, you should immediately distance yourself. You have to be able to talk about certain things, otherwise both of you will end up drowning at some point.

My inner child cannot defend itself because it is always very open. So I have to give him protection and security. That’s why it’s even more important to walk away immediately if someone disrespects you. After all, I can’t tell my inner child that it’s okay to treat him badly because then he’ll believe me. Understanding what “little Karim” needs has led to me now setting my boundaries early on and being mentally healthy.

Yes. The only question is how noticeable it is. I had to deal with my child in order to even be able to perceive him properly. Many people don’t do that and when they feel bad, they don’t know where it comes from. We humans have the gift of being able to lie to ourselves. We always manage to talk about a clear situation either well or badly. We often lie to ourselves so that we can continue to be the person we imagine we are. Conversely, this means nothing other than not accepting yourself. For me, this came primarily through social media. But you feel better when you learn to accept yourself as you are.

There are different types. Often one person gives all the love and the other just fills it up. The two of them don’t notice that they are slowly getting tired of giving or that they are already overwhelmed with love. This is the main principle of toxic love: one always takes more than the other can give. This shows up in many ways, such as manipulation and gaslighting. Constantly making the other person feel guilty for strange things and keeping them close through love bombing. It’s an addiction to control.

I asked myself the same question in the song. I think it’s a learning by model: your parents always took from you and now you take from others because you don’t know any different. But tolerating such behavior also comes from having been treated this way in childhood.

Humans are skilled at forgetting events. When you add rose-colored glasses to the mix, you don’t really notice that you’re in a slump. This only becomes apparent when you reach the bottom. Also because the high usually comes from the other person at the right moment, making the bad phase before it blur again. And even though people always talk about only one person in a relationship being toxic, if you allow yourself to be treated badly, you also have a problem. You don’t just find yourself in this position because of other people. They both got themselves there.

When I have a problem with myself and start to be unfair to myself, I try to imagine if I would tell “little Karim” that too. With a child, an adult would neither improve nor deteriorate something – they would explain to them how it is. When he messes up, you usually tell him to just try again. You would feel abnormally bad if you talked to your little self like you often do as an adult. Today’s self is also “little Karim”.

CUFFINGS SEASON in the stream: