Meaning of “Monopoly” by Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét

“Monopoly” is a song based on the success of Ariana Grande and her homegirl and frequent collaborator, Victoria Monét. And for the most part, they are bragging about their finances and standing in the music industry while dissing semi-associates in the process.  Indeed the song even climaxes with them throwing shade at ‘hos’, as in female competitors.

Thus the first three verses – which are basically identical yet performed respectively by Monét, Grande and then the two of them together – find them comparing their movements, in a favorable light, to the person(s) they are singing to. This ends with them exclaiming that ultimately they don’t particularly care for this individual. The fourth verse also features both singers, this time relishing their friendship while reminiscing on the fun they had creating Grande’s 2019 hit album Thank U, Next together.

The chorus features the singers rebuking “bad vibes” as well as the “fu*kery” that is usually associated with such negativity. It is also in the chorus that they actually give a shoutout to the classic board game “Monopoly”, upon which the title of this song is derived. Specifically the way players of that game collect properties is similar to how Grande and Monét go about achieving their goals, the whole time staying focused on the dough.

But it is the post-chorus of this song that has attracted the most attention from fandom. In it, the pair state that they “like women and men”, with this statement of course being interpreted as a possible admittance of bisexualism. Later in the post-chorus is also when the artists brag the most about their wealth. In regards to Monét, it is through her interactions with the bank and subsequently making investments. While Grande boasts that even though she lost 90% of the songwriting royalties for her hit song “7 Rings”, she’s still so paid that if she gave someone her bank PIN code they’d be “straight for life”.

Facts about “Monopoly”

• Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet penned “Monopoly” along with songwriters Tim Suby, Charles Anderson (“Scootie”) and Michael Foster (“Mikey”).
• The song was produced by the pop duo Social House (which is made up the song’s co-writers Scootie and Mikey). Music producer, Tim Suby, is also credited as a producer on “Monopoly”. Suby is also one of the song’s co-writers.
• April 1, 2019 was the official release date of “Monopoly”.