Monica takes the trip of a Lifetime... in her own words

Monica gives me the exclusive

I think that it was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire career. As an entertainer we get to see things when we travel but we don’t often get to experience them. It was a 21 hour flight to Brunei. The sultans’ son Azim (the Prince) invited me out there for his 24th birthday party. One of Azim’s favorite songs was, “Angel of Mine” which was an extreme compliment. You just never know how far your music makes it. We rode around on the Empire in vans that played, “The Boy is Mine”, it was just a crazy experience. The trip was well worth it. I surprised Azim by performing at his party. And for the next 3 days we just walked through the Empire and took in the experience.

Being on the Empire
It is such a tremendous difference from the United States. For number one, there is really no crime. This is a place where they are still beheading people. So you can walk around however you wanted to and just enjoy the scenery. People were very respectful of each other and it was a pleasant reality check. In the U.S., when you’re wealthy people tend to take on certain roles. But the people there were so humble; you’re talking about people whose allowances could be up to a million dollars a month. It was nice to see them so humbled and appreciative. I love the way the great their mother; they kiss her a certain amount of times and greet her with a large amount of respect every time she walks into the room.

Business becomes a true friendship
At first, it was more of, “Here is her check and this is when she should get here.” But once I got there and began to converse with the Sultan and the Prince’s we’ve built a friendship. I didn’t pay for anything while I was there. They would start of with a series of gifts. I was given this incredible 12 karat ring with a mixture of diamonds and colorful jewels. It just blew me away because here in the states, you just get your check and that’s it. They brought in masseuse, manicurist and pedicurist. I didn’t have to lift a finger for anything.

What was it like on the Empire
It was rain season around the time that I was there. And I must tell you that the Empire was up against the beach and you couldn’t even see the end of it. You had separate palaces where each of King Sultan’s children lived. They had their own theatres; not the ones where you walked down into your living room big, they had their own theatre’s, where people actually worked. They have their own Benz dealership on the Empire. So anything that you thought you may have wanted possibly was right there.

Monica's Wish
I honestly hope that they are able to come to the states to see what my life entails, especially now that we’re friends. I think that it would be interesting for them to come and visit me because just like their life was a shock for me, I’m sure that my life would be a shock for them.

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Interview done by: Will "Deshair" Foskey of Diligence Magazine ww.Deshair.blogspot.com / XPOZ magazine
Photo taken by Brian Mapp of Fire Magazine and Allhiphop.com
Full feature of this interview will be in XPOZ Magazine