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Janelle Monáe

January 13, 2023

Janelle Monáe Robinson (/moʊˈneɪ/;[10] born December 1, 1985)[11] is an American singer, rapper and actress. She[a] is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations.[12] and has won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010. Monáe was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018.[13] Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 "Janelle Monáe Day" in recognition of her artistry and activism.

Janelle Monáe
Monáe at the 2019 Paris Fashion Week
Background information
Birth nameJanelle Monáe Robinson
Born (1985-12-01) December 1, 1985 (age 37)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
  • actress
Years active2003–present
Labels
Member of

Monáe's musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition. In 2007, Monáe publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase).[14] It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in 2010, through Bad Boy Records, Monáe released a first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album and sequel to her first EP.[15][16] In 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.'s single "We Are Young", which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monáe a wider audience. Monáe's second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven-part Metropolis concept series.[17]

Monáe's third studio album, Dirty Computer, also a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications; it earned Monáe two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.[18] It was accompanied by the science fiction film of the same name. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monáe's Dirty Computer Tour.[19] In 2022, she wrote the cyberpunk story collection, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, based on the album.[20][21]

Monáe has also ventured into acting, first gaining attention for starring in the 2016 films Moonlight and Hidden Figures. For portraying engineer Mary Jackson in the latter, she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since starred in the films Harriet (2019) and Glass Onion (2022), and the television series Homecoming (2020).

Early life

There was a lot of confusion and nonsense where I grew up, so I reacted by creating my own little world. [...] I began to see how music could change lives, and I began to dream about a world where every day was like anime and Broadway, where music fell from the sky and anything could happen.

—Monáe, on her childhood musical inspiration[22]

Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in Quindaro, a working-class community of Kansas City.[23] Her mother, Janet, worked as a janitor and a hotel maid.[23][24] Her father, Michael Robinson Summers, was a truck driver.[25] Monáe's parents separated when Monáe was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker. Monáe has a younger sister, Kimmy, from her mother's remarriage.[23]

Monáe was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church. Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church, the Baptist church, and the Church of God in Christ.[23][25] Monáe dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age,[22] and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence.[26] The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Monáe bought two copies of with her first check, was another source of inspiration.[27] She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows, winning three years in a row.[23]

As a teenager, Monáe was enrolled in the Coterie Theater's Young Playwrights' Round Table,[28][29] which began writing musicals. One musical, completed when she was around the age of 12, was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants".[29]

Monáe attended F. L. Schlagle High School,[25] and after high school, moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she was the only black woman in her class.[28][29] Monáe enjoyed the experience, but feared that she might lose her edge and "sound, or look or feel like anybody else".[28] In a 2010 interview Monáe explained, "I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn't want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person."[29]

After a year and a half, Monáe dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta, enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University. She began writing her own music and performing around the campus.[28] In 2003, Monáe self-released a demo album titled The Audition,[30] which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant.[28] During this period she worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan's e-mail using a company computer, an incident that inspired the song "Lettin' Go", which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi.[29]

Career

Career beginnings (2005)

Monáe appeared on the Purple Ribbon All-Stars album Got Purp? Vol. 2 as well as on OutKast's 2006 album Idlewild, where she was featured on the songs "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams".[31] Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monáe, of whom at the time Combs had not yet heard. Combs soon visited Monáe's MySpace page and according to a HitQuarters interview with Bad Boy Records A&R person Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell, Combs loved it right away: "[He] loved her look, loved that you couldn't see her body, loved the way she was dancing, and just loved the vibe. He felt like she has something that was different – something new and fresh."[32]

Monáe signed to the label, Bad Boy, in 2006. The label's chief role was to facilitate her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and music, because in the words of Mitchell, "She was already moving, she already had her records – she had a self-contained movement." Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out "a hot single which everyone jumps on, and then they fade because it's just something of the moment."[32]

Metropolis and The ArchAndroid (2007–2011)

 
Monáe performing at the Austin Music Hall in 2009

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, Metropolis. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in mid-2007, these plans were altered following signing with Sean Combs's label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first suite in August 2008, which was retitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) and included two new tracks. The EP was critically acclaimed, garnering Monáe a 51st Annual Grammy Awards Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the single "Many Moons",[33] festival appearances and opening slots for indie pop band of Montreal. Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour.[34] Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol.[35] Monáe told MTV about the concept for her new album and also discussed an alter-ego named Cindi Mayweather, she said:

Cindy is an android and I love speaking about the android because they are the new "other". People are afraid of the other and I believe we're going to live in a world with androids because of technology and the way it advances. The first album she was running because she had fallen in love with a human and she was being disassembled for that.[36]

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, The ArchAndroid. The album was released on May 18, 2010. The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather – also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite – becomes a messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis.[37] Monáe announced plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create a film, graphic novel and a touring Broadway musical based on the album.[38] The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. The series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies", in special regard.[39][40] Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explore contemporary ideas of prejudice and class. Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."[39][41]

Monáe received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010.[42] Monáe covered Charlie Chaplin's Smile on Billboard.com in June 2010. In an NPR interview in September 2010, Monáe said she is a believer in, and a proponent of, time travel.[43] Monáe performed "Tightrope" during the second elimination episode of the 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars on September 28, 2010.[44] Monáe performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 alongside artists Bruno Mars and B.o.B; they performed the synth section of B.o.B's song "Nothin' on You" and she then performed the track "Cold War" with B.o.B on the guitar and Mars on the drums. The performance received a standing ovation.[45] Monáe's single "Tightrope" was also featured on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, performed by Pia Toscano, Haley Reinhart, Naima Adedapo, and Thia Megia.

In September 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.'s single, "We Are Young", which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and selling over ten million units worldwide. The song garnered Monáe three Grammy nominations at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year.[46] Nate Ruess, the lead singer of fun., performed an acoustic version of "We Are Young" with Monáe.[47]

On December 11, 2011, Monáe performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway, including her songs 'Cold War', 'Tightrope', and a cover of the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back'.[48]

The Electric Lady and other projects (2012–2014)

Monáe was also featured on "Do My Thing" for Estelle's studio album, All of Me. In June 2012, Monáe performed two new songs, "Electric Lady" and "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes" – from her then-upcoming sophomore studio album, The Electric Lady – at the Toronto Jazz Festival.[49][better source needed][50] In July 2012, for the second year in a row, Monáe appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Europe as well as in the 46th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on the 14th.

 
Monáe performing at Way Out West in Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 8, 2014

In August 2012, Monáe was chosen as CoverGirl's newest spokesperson.[51] In September 2012, Monáe performed at CarolinaFest in support of President Obama, just before the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[52] In October 2012, Monáe starred in a commercial for the Sonos Wireless HiFi home audio system, and appeared in a Sonos commercial in 2012 with Deep Cotton. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 "Janelle Monáe Day" in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership.

Monáe's first single from The Electric Lady, "Q.U.E.E.N.", featuring Erykah Badu, premiered on SoundCloud and made available for download purchase at the iTunes Store on April 23, 2013.[53] "Q.U.E.E.N." garnered 31,000 digital sales according to Nielsen Soundscan with the accompanying music video gaining four million YouTube views within its first week of release. In her 2013 interview with fuse, Monáe said "Q.U.E.E.N." was inspired by conversations she shared with Erykah Badu about the treatment of marginalized people, especially African-American women, and the title is an acronym "for those who are marginalized"; Q standing for the queer community, U standing for the "untouchables", the first E standing for "emigrants", the latter standing for "excommunicated" and N standing for "negroid".[54] Thematically, The Electric Lady continues the utopian cyborg concepts of its predecessors, while presenting itself in more plainspoken, introspective territory in addition to experimenting with genres beyond conventional funk and soul such as jazz ("Dorothy Dandridge Eyes"), pop-punk ("Dance Apocalyptic"), gospel ("Victory") and woozy, sensual vocal ballads ("PrimeTime", featuring Miguel). The album features guest appearances by Prince, Solange Knowles, aforementioned Miguel and Esperanza Spalding[55] with production from previous collaborator Deep Cotton (a psychedelic punk act) and Roman GianArthur (a soul music composer), and was released to critical acclaim on September 10, 2013.[56]

On September 14, 2013, Monáe performed along with Chic at the iTunes Festival in London.[57] On September 28, Monáe performed at the Global Citizens Festival in Central Park alongside Stevie Wonder. Monáe performed as the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live October 26 with host Edward Norton.[58]

Monáe's voice is heard as veterinarian Dr. Monáe in the movie Rio 2, released in the U.S. on April 11, 2014, and the song "What Is Love" was featured on the soundtrack.[59][60][61] In April 2014, Monáe was invited to perform along with Tessanne Chin, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Jill Scott, Ariana Grande, and Melissa Etheridge at the White House as a part of the PBS-broadcast "Women of Soul" event, which celebrated American women artists whose work has left an indelible and profound impact on American national musical culture. She performed "Goldfinger", "Tightrope", and joined in on the all-inclusive performance of "Proud Mary".[62]

On April 14, 2014, Monáe was the recipient of the inaugural Harvard College Women's Center Award for Achievement in Arts and Media for achievements as an artist, advocate and feminist.[63][64] She tweeted earlier that day, "Headed to #Harvard to meet the beautiful ladies in the Women's Center. Can't believe I'm the honoree today. Just So thankful."[65] Monáe was also recognized as the 2014 Woman of the Year by the Harvard College Black Men's Forum at their annual Celebration of Black Women gala.[66]

In mid-2014, Monáe had an interview with Fuse where she teased a follow up to The Electric Lady, saying "I'm working on a new, cool creative project called 'Eephus'" and "It's a big concept and you're not going to see it coming. It'll just land."[67] Later in 2014, Monáe was featured on Sérgio Mendes' album, Magic. She sings on the track titled "Visions of You".[68]

The Eephus, Moonlight, and Hidden Figures (2015–2016)

 
Monáe at the premiere of Moonlight in 2016

In February 2015, Monáe[69] along with Epic Records[70] and its CEO and chairman L.A. Reid[71] announced that Monáe's independent label Wondaland Arts Society had signed a "landmark joint venture partnership" to revamp the label, now known as Wondaland Records, and to promote the artists on the label.[7] Jem Aswad of Billboard called Monáe a "mini-mogul" because of the deal and revealed that "the partnership will bow in May with a 5-song compilation EP called The Eephus, including tracks from rapper Jidenna [...], Roman, St. Beauty, Deep Cotton and Monáe herself."[72] With this move, Monáe became one of the few black women who run their own independent record label in conjunction with a major record label.

In late March 2015, Monáe released the single "Yoga" from the album The Eephus.[73] The album debuted at number 22 of the Billboard 200 and at number 5 of the top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with an equivalent album sales of 47,000 units.[74]

In mid-2015 Monáe attended various fashion events including London Fashion Week[75] and the 2015 Met Gala.[76] She began collaborating with Nile Rodgers[77] for a new Chic album and Duran Duran[78] for the album Paper Gods, their first album in over five years, and their single called "Pressure Off".

On August 14, 2015, Monáe and the body of her Atlanta-based Wondaland Arts Society collective performed the protest song "Hell You Talmbout", which raised awareness of the many black lives that were taken as a result of police brutality, with lyrics such as "Walter Scott, say his name. Jerame Reid, say his name. Philip White, say his name ... Eric Garner, say his name. Trayvon Martin, say his name ... Sandra Bland, say her name. Sharondra Singleton, say her name." She also gave a speech about police brutality after the performance on NBC's Today Show, "Yes Lord! God bless America! God bless all the lost lives to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced ..."[79]

By March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama proclaimed that she had assembled a collaborative track featuring vocals from Monáe, Kelly Clarkson, Zendaya and Missy Elliott, alongside production credit from pop songwriter Diane Warren and Elliott, titled "This Is for My Girls".[80] The iTunes-exclusive record was used to both coincide with Obama's Texan SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn.[80]

In October 2016, Monáe made her big screen acting debut in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight, alongside Naomie Harris, André Holland, and Mahershala Ali.[81][82] Monáe also starred in the film Hidden Figures, alongside actors Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer; the film was released in December 2016.[83]

Dirty Computer and other projects (2017–present)

 
Monáe at the Kennedy Space Center in 2016

While filming these two movie roles, Monáe remained active in music with features on Grimes' "Venus Fly" from her Art Angels album[84] and also the soundtrack for the Netflix series The Get Down with a song titled, "Hum Along and Dance (Gotta Get Down)".[85] Monáe was also on the tracks "Isn't This the World" and "Jalapeño" for the Hidden Figures soundtrack.[86]

In an interview with People, Monáe revealed that she was already working on her third studio album when she received the scripts for her two first acting roles; therefore, she put the album on hold. Monáe also revealed in the interview that she would be releasing new music sometime in 2017,[87] although by the end of the year no album or single was announced. On February 16, 2018, Monáe revealed her third studio album, titled Dirty Computer, through a teaser video on YouTube.[88][89] The album was accompanied by a narrative film project, and the teaser video aired nationwide in select theaters prior to screenings of Black Panther.[89] She held a series of "top-secret" listening sessions in Los Angeles and New York in support of the album.[90] On February 22, 2018, Monáe released "Make Me Feel" and "Django Jane" as the first two singles from Dirty Computer, both accompanied by music videos[91] and announced that the album would follow on April 27, 2018.[92] Monáe stated in an interview with BBC Radio 1: "Prince was actually working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with some sounds. And I really miss him, you know, it's hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me."[93] Its short film earned a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form.[94]

Monáe appeared in the episode "Autofac" of the 2017 anthology series based on the work of Philip K. Dick, Electric Dreams, which premiered on Channel 4 in the UK and on Amazon Video in the US.[95]

On April 27, 2018, Monáe released a sci-fi film companion "emotion picture" to her new record Dirty Computer.[96] The album debuted at the number six of the Billboard 200 with 54,000 equivalent units and on the top ten charts of Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland.[97] It was chosen as the best album of the year by three publications: the Associated Press, New York Times, and NPR.[98][99][100] The album received the nomination for Album of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She also contributed to the soundtrack to the dark comedy film Sorry to Bother You, collaborating with The Coup. In 2018 her Wondaland Pictures production company was signed to a first look deal with Universal.[101]

On November 15, 2018, it was announced that Monáe would receive the Trailblazer of the Year award at the 2018 Billboard Women in Music event, which was held on December 6, 2018.[102] Also in 2018, Monáe co-starred in the fantasy drama feature film Welcome to Marwen, by filmmaker and screenwriter Robert Zemeckis alongside Steve Carell and Leslie Mann.[103] On January 3, 2019, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival announced that Monáe will co-headliner the stage with Childish Gambino.[104] Glastonbury Festival also confirmed Monáe's presence as headlining the West Holts stage of the festival.[105] Four days after the Coachella setlist announcement, Monàe released a new music video for the song "Screwed". She replaced Julia Roberts in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series, Homecoming, playing "a tenacious woman who finds herself floating in a canoe, with no memory of how she got there or who she is."[106] On March 29, 2019, in Brooklyn, NY, she inducted Janet Jackson into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.[107] Also in 2019, she co-starred in the film Harriet, about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Monáe returned to the big screen twice in 2020, with her first lead role in September 2020 with horror film Antebellum, and another supporting role with biopic The Glorias.[108][109]

On February 9, 2020, Monáe opened the 92nd Academy Awards with a performance featuring Billy Porter that highlighted the many films nominated as well as films that were snubbed by the Academy, including Dolemite Is My Name and Midsommar.[110]

In September 2020, Monáe released the music video Turntables as part of the Amazon Studios' bipartisan voter registration campaign. The song is used over the end credits of the Stacey Abrams-backed film, All In: The Fight for Democracy.[111][112] More recently, she signed global deal with Sony Music Publishing.[113]

On July 4, 2021, We The People, a 10-part series of animated music videos premiered on Netflix, created by Chris Nee, with Kenya Barris as a showrunner and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama.[114][115][116] Monáe performed a number of songs for the series. This included a reggae-influenced number, titled "Stronger," which focuses on the "fight for justice and unity ... unity, liberty and equality" and the title track for the series.[117][118]

In 2022, Monáe portrayed twin sisters Helen and Cassandra "Andi" Brand in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,[119] for which she received critical acclaim.[120][121]

In April 2022, Harper Voyager published her first book, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, which "explores how different threads of liberation—queerness, race, gender plurality, and love—become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape ... and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms."[122]

In December 2022, Atlantic Records' CEO Craig Kallman said in a interview with Variety that Monáe has new music scheduled for 2023.[123]

Artistry

Musical styles and influences

Monáe has a mezzo-soprano voice.[124] The Telegraph published an interview with Monáe, talking about her first studio album, in which the journalist Bernadette McNulty said, "I begin to worry for a moment that Monáe may not just be a humourless science-fiction nerd, but actually an android herself, created in a laboratory as a super-musical cross between James Brown, Judy Garland, André 3000 and Steve Jobs, invented to test the desperate incredulity of music journalists." She also compared Monáe to artists such as Annie Lennox, Lauryn Hill, and Corinne Bailey Rae.[125] Monáe's musical styles have been described as "a soaring orchestral trip enlivened with blockbuster vocals, mysterious imagery and notes of Sixties pop and jazz".[126] The Guardian has noted some of Monáe's influences as: Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Outkast, Erykah Badu, James Brown, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Bernard Herrmann, Funkadelic and the Incredible String Band.[29] Matthew Valnes likens Monáe's dancing style in the music video for "Tightrope" to that of James Brown.[127] In an opinion piece for The Quietus,[128] John Calvert places Janelle Monáe within the Afrofuturism movement, pointing out her similarities to Sun Ra and George Clinton. He asserts that Janelle Monáe is innovating the genre. Monáe has said she has an alter-ego from the year 2719, named Cindi Mayweather.[129] In her first EP, Monáe gave this alter ego a back story: she was on the run after breaking the law in her home town of Metropolis by falling in love with a human, Anthony Greendown. Monáe has expanded on Cindi's mythos, saying, "The Archandroid, Cindi, is the mediator, between the mind and the hand. She's the mediator between the haves and the have-nots, the oppressed and the oppressor. She's like the Archangel in the Bible, and what Neo represents to The Matrix."[130] In her second album, Cindi Mayweather returned to Earth to liberate Metropolitans from the Great Divide, an oppressive oligarchy that used time travel to "suppress freedom and love".[131] Chris Champion of The Observer described Metropolis and The ArchAndroid as "psychedelic soul with a sci-fi twist".[132] Matthew Valnes describes Monáe as innovating a more contemporary Neo-Afrofuturism, where the android role is used as a tool to critique the representation of Black female musicians in the funk genre. Funk music of 1960s through 1980s is a prevalent music style influencing Monáe. The website for Monáe's Wondaland Arts Society Collective asserts "We believe there are only three forms of music; good music, bad music, and funk."[127] Monáe has also referred to herself as a "funkstress".[133]

Monáe's roots in Kansas City, Kansas, where she was born and raised, are evident in her lyrics and style. According to Carrie Battan's Pitchfork feature on Monáe, the song "Ghetto Woman" directly addresses Monáe's working-class K.C., Kansas mother – as well as the portrayal of working-class black women in U.S. culture – with the line "Carry on, ghetto woman, even when the news portrays you less than you could be."[1] Monáe also told the London Evening Standard she has internalized her KCK (K.C., KS) roots by wearing the working-class uniform of her parents and expressing concern that she cannot let "her community down".[134] On the album The ArchAndroid, especially in songs like "Cold War" or "BabopbyeYa", Monáe relates "the dystopian cityscapes depicted in Metropolis to the boarded-up projects of poverty-wracked Kansas".[135] Kansas City, therefore, not only represents Monáe's physical roots within her hometown, but also serves as an important influence on the lyrics and science-fictional setting.

Public image

I feel like I have a responsibility to my community and other young girls to help redefine what it looks like to be a woman. I don't believe in men's wear or women's wear, I just like what I like. And I think we should just be respected for being an individual ... I've been in Vogue, now, and different publications, which is cool, because I think that it just shows a different perspective of how women can dress.

—Monáe, on her image and artistic freedom[130]

Monáe's signature style is her tuxedo wardrobe. She said "I bathe in it, I swim in it, and I could be buried in it. A tux is such a standard uniform, it's so classy and it's a lifestyle I enjoy. The tux keeps me balanced. I look at myself as a canvas. I don't want to cloud myself with too many colors or I'll go crazy. It's an experiment I'm doing. I think I want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records."[136] Monáe's signature look harkens back to dandyism.[137] Citing Grace Jones and Josephine Baker as role models, Monáe takes the classical 18th-century look in the classical white and black pattern.[138] Monáe's signature look can also be attributed to the early days in her career, when she was employed as a maid. She mentioned this in her acceptance speech for the "Young, Gifted, and Black" award at the 2012 Black Girls Rock! ceremony.[139] Monáe has been known to distribute the Ten Droid Commandments, which encourages her fans to be individuals.[130] The Telegraph also commented on her image as an artist saying "Sitting in a grey, airless record company office, this slight, stiff young woman delivers her speech in slow, deliberate tones, utterly expressionless. Dressed in her trademark starched shirt and tuxedo, hair immaculately coiffed, Monáe's face is an opaque mask of perfection: all silken smooth skin, button nose and glassy brown eyes."[125] Monáe describes tuxedos as being a uniform for her career, speaks of wanting to redefine how women dress,[130] and has been featured in the "Style 100" of InStyle magazine.[140]

When it comes to her acting career, Monáe expressed desire to shape it around that of Johnny Depp, stating that he has a very vast career: "The amount of roles: Willy Wonka to Sweeny Todd to all of the dramatic roles. Whatever the Janelle Monáe version of that is. Maybe something even better..."[141]

Personal life

During a 2011 interview with London Evening Standard, Monáe said she "only dates androids", a reference to her musical alter-ego found in many of her songs. She also said, "I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new 'other'. You can compare it to being a lesbian or being a gay man or being a Black woman ... what I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the 'other' to connect with the music and to feel like, 'She represents who I am.'" She added that she would talk about her sexual orientation "in due time".[134] In 2013, Monáe said she wants both men and women to "still be attracted to [her]" and expressed support for the LGBTQ community.[142]

Monáe has said she identifies with both bisexuality and pansexuality.[23] On January 10, 2020, she tweeted the hashtag #IAmNonbinary, along with a quoted tweet, which trended on Twitter that day.[143][144] Monáe said in an interview with The Cut a month after the tweet that "I tweeted the #IAmNonbinary hashtag in support of Nonbinary Day and to bring more awareness to the community. I retweeted the Steven Universe meme 'Are you a boy or a girl? I'm an experience' because it resonated with me, especially as someone who has pushed boundaries of gender since the beginning of my career. I feel my feminine energy, my masculine energy, and energy I can't even explain."[145]

In April 2022, she came out publicly as non-binary on the Red Table Talk saying, "I'm nonbinary, so I just don't see myself as a woman, solely ... I feel like god is so much bigger than the 'he' or the 'she.' And if I am from God, I am everything."[146] In the interview, she also acknowledged having been in both monogamous and polyamorous relationships.[146] Following the interview, a representative of Monae said that she "continues to use she/her pronouns."[147] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, however, Monáe identified herself as non-binary and added that her "pronouns are free-ass motherfucker — and they/them, her/she."[148][149]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Rio 2 Dr. Monae Voice
2016 Moonlight Teresa
Hidden Figures Mary Jackson
2018 Dirty Computer Jane 57821
Welcome to Marwen Julie
2019 UglyDolls Mandy Voice
Harriet Marie Buchanon
Lady and the Tramp Peg Voice
2020 The Glorias Dorothy Pitman Hughes
Antebellum Veronica Henley / Eden
2022 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Cassandra "Andi" Brand / Helen Brand

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Stargate Universe Herself Episode: "Earth"
Performed "Many Moons"
2010 Dancing with the Stars Herself Performed "Tightrope"
2013 American Dad! Announcer Voice
Episode: "The Boring Identity"
Saturday Night Live Herself Episode: "Edward Norton/Janelle Monáe"
2014 In Performance at the White House: Women of Soul[150] Herself Performed "Goldfinger" and "Tightrope"
Sesame Street[151][152] Herself/performer Episode: "The Power of Yet"
2017 Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Alice Episode: "Autofac"
2018 Dirty Computer[153] Jane 57821 Short television film
2020 Sex, Explained Herself Narration
Homecoming Jacqueline Calico / Alex Eastern Main cast (Season 2)
2021 We the People Song performer Episode: "We The People"
2022 Human Resources Claudia Voice
Episode: "The Light"

Discography

Main article: Janelle Monáe discography

Tours

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Janelle Monáe

Notes

  1. ^ Monáe uses she/her and they/them pronouns. This article uses she/her pronouns for consistency.

References

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Janelle Monáe.
  • Janelle Monáe at AllMusic  
  • Janelle Monáe discography at Discogs  
  • Janelle Monáe at IMDb  

January 13, 2023
janelle, monáe, robinson, born, december, 1985, american, singer, rapper, actress, signed, atlantic, records, well, imprint, wondaland, arts, society, monáe, received, eight, grammy, award, nominations, video, music, award, ascap, vanguard, award, 2010, monáe,. Janelle Monae Robinson m oʊ ˈ n eɪ 10 born December 1 1985 11 is an American singer rapper and actress She a is signed to Atlantic Records as well as to her own imprint the Wondaland Arts Society Monae has received eight Grammy Award nominations 12 and has won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010 Monae was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018 13 Boston City Council named October 16 2013 Janelle Monae Day in recognition of her artistry and activism Janelle MonaeMonae at the 2019 Paris Fashion WeekBackground informationBirth nameJanelle Monae RobinsonBorn 1985 12 01 December 1 1985 age 37 Kansas City Kansas U S GenresR amp B 1 2 3 pop 3 funk psychedelic soul 4 hip hop 3 progressive soul 5 Occupation s SingerrappersongwriteractressYears active2003 presentLabelsWondaland 6 Epic 7 Bad Boy 8 Atlantic 9 Member ofPurple Ribbon All Stars Deep Cotton Monae s musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition In 2007 Monae publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis Suite I The Chase 14 It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart and in 2010 through Bad Boy Records Monae released a first full length studio album The ArchAndroid a concept album and sequel to her first EP 15 16 In 2011 Monae was featured as a guest vocalist on fun s single We Are Young which achieved major commercial success topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monae a wider audience Monae s second studio album The Electric Lady was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven part Metropolis concept series 17 Monae s third studio album Dirty Computer also a concept album was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications it earned Monae two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards including Album of the Year 18 It was accompanied by the science fiction film of the same name The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monae s Dirty Computer Tour 19 In 2022 she wrote the cyberpunk story collection The Memory Librarian And Other Stories of Dirty Computer based on the album 20 21 Monae has also ventured into acting first gaining attention for starring in the 2016 films Moonlight and Hidden Figures For portraying engineer Mary Jackson in the latter she was nominated for the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress She has since starred in the films Harriet 2019 and Glass Onion 2022 and the television series Homecoming 2020 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Career beginnings 2005 2 2 Metropolis and The ArchAndroid 2007 2011 2 3 The Electric Lady and other projects 2012 2014 2 4 The Eephus Moonlight and Hidden Figures 2015 2016 2 5 Dirty Computer and other projects 2017 present 3 Artistry 3 1 Musical styles and influences 3 2 Public image 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 5 1 Film 5 2 Television 6 Discography 7 Tours 7 1 Headlining 7 2 Supporting 8 Awards and nominations 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksEarly lifeThere was a lot of confusion and nonsense where I grew up so I reacted by creating my own little world I began to see how music could change lives and I began to dream about a world where every day was like anime and Broadway where music fell from the sky and anything could happen Monae on her childhood musical inspiration 22 Janelle Monae Robinson was born on December 1 1985 in Kansas City Kansas and was raised in Quindaro a working class community of Kansas City 23 Her mother Janet worked as a janitor and a hotel maid 23 24 Her father Michael Robinson Summers was a truck driver 25 Monae s parents separated when Monae was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker Monae has a younger sister Kimmy from her mother s remarriage 23 Monae was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church the Baptist church and the Church of God in Christ 23 25 Monae dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age 22 and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence 26 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which Monae bought two copies of with her first check was another source of inspiration 27 She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows winning three years in a row 23 As a teenager Monae was enrolled in the Coterie Theater s Young Playwrights Round Table 28 29 which began writing musicals One musical completed when she was around the age of 12 was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants 29 Monae attended F L Schlagle High School 25 and after high school moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy where she was the only black woman in her class 28 29 Monae enjoyed the experience but feared that she might lose her edge and sound or look or feel like anybody else 28 In a 2010 interview Monae explained I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals I didn t want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person 29 After a year and a half Monae dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University She began writing her own music and performing around the campus 28 In 2003 Monae self released a demo album titled The Audition 30 which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant 28 During this period she worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan s e mail using a company computer an incident that inspired the song Lettin Go which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi 29 CareerCareer beginnings 2005 Monae appeared on the Purple Ribbon All Stars album Got Purp Vol 2 as well as on OutKast s 2006 album Idlewild where she was featured on the songs Call the Law and In Your Dreams 31 Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monae of whom at the time Combs had not yet heard Combs soon visited Monae s MySpace page and according to a HitQuarters interview with Bad Boy Records A amp R person Daniel Skid Mitchell Combs loved it right away He loved her look loved that you couldn t see her body loved the way she was dancing and just loved the vibe He felt like she has something that was different something new and fresh 32 Monae signed to the label Bad Boy in 2006 The label s chief role was to facilitate her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and music because in the words of Mitchell She was already moving she already had her records she had a self contained movement Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out a hot single which everyone jumps on and then they fade because it s just something of the moment 32 Metropolis and The ArchAndroid 2007 2011 Monae performing at the Austin Music Hall in 2009 In 2007 Monae released her first solo work Metropolis It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts or suites which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites After the release of the first part of the series Metropolis Suite I The Chase in mid 2007 these plans were altered following signing with Sean Combs s label Bad Boy Records later in the year The label gave an official and physical release to the first suite in August 2008 which was retitled Metropolis The Chase Suite Special Edition and included two new tracks The EP was critically acclaimed garnering Monae a 51st Annual Grammy Awards Grammy nomination for Best Urban Alternative Performance for the single Many Moons 33 festival appearances and opening slots for indie pop band of Montreal Monae also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour 34 Her single Open Happiness was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol 35 Monae told MTV about the concept for her new album and also discussed an alter ego named Cindi Mayweather she said Cindy is an android and I love speaking about the android because they are the new other People are afraid of the other and I believe we re going to live in a world with androids because of technology and the way it advances The first album she was running because she had fallen in love with a human and she was being disassembled for that 36 In a November 2009 interview Monae revealed the title and concept behind her album The ArchAndroid The album was released on May 18 2010 The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full length release in which Monae s alter ego Cindi Mayweather also the protagonist of Metropolis The Chase Suite becomes a messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis 37 Monae announced plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create a film graphic novel and a touring Broadway musical based on the album 38 The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical cinematic and other sources ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K Dick The series puts Fritz Lang s 1927 silent film Metropolis which Monae referred to as the godfather of science fiction movies in special regard 39 40 Aside from sharing a name they also share visual styles the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis conceptual themes and political goals using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explore contemporary ideas of prejudice and class Both also include a performing female android though to very different effect Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil havoc sowing double of the messianic figure to the city s strictly segregated working class Monae s messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority which Monae describes as the Other And I feel like all of us whether in the majority or the minority felt like the Other at some point 39 41 Monae received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm amp Soul Music Awards in 2010 42 Monae covered Charlie Chaplin s Smile on Billboard com in June 2010 In an NPR interview in September 2010 Monae said she is a believer in and a proponent of time travel 43 Monae performed Tightrope during the second elimination episode of the 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars on September 28 2010 44 Monae performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 alongside artists Bruno Mars and B o B they performed the synth section of B o B s song Nothin on You and she then performed the track Cold War with B o B on the guitar and Mars on the drums The performance received a standing ovation 45 Monae s single Tightrope was also featured on the American Idols LIVE Tour 2011 performed by Pia Toscano Haley Reinhart Naima Adedapo and Thia Megia In September 2011 Monae was featured as a guest vocalist on fun s single We Are Young which achieved major commercial success topping the charts of more than ten countries and selling over ten million units worldwide The song garnered Monae three Grammy nominations at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards including Record of the Year 46 Nate Ruess the lead singer of fun performed an acoustic version of We Are Young with Monae 47 On December 11 2011 Monae performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo Norway including her songs Cold War Tightrope and a cover of the Jackson 5 s I Want You Back 48 The Electric Lady and other projects 2012 2014 Monae was also featured on Do My Thing for Estelle s studio album All of Me In June 2012 Monae performed two new songs Electric Lady and Dorothy Dandridge Eyes from her then upcoming sophomore studio album The Electric Lady at the Toronto Jazz Festival 49 better source needed 50 In July 2012 for the second year in a row Monae appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Europe as well as in the 46th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on the 14th Monae performing at Way Out West in Gothenburg Sweden on August 8 2014 In August 2012 Monae was chosen as CoverGirl s newest spokesperson 51 In September 2012 Monae performed at CarolinaFest in support of President Obama just before the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte North Carolina 52 In October 2012 Monae starred in a commercial for the Sonos Wireless HiFi home audio system and appeared in a Sonos commercial in 2012 with Deep Cotton Boston City Council named October 16 2013 Janelle Monae Day in the city of Boston Massachusetts in recognition of her artistry and social leadership Monae s first single from The Electric Lady Q U E E N featuring Erykah Badu premiered on SoundCloud and made available for download purchase at the iTunes Store on April 23 2013 53 Q U E E N garnered 31 000 digital sales according to Nielsen Soundscan with the accompanying music video gaining four million YouTube views within its first week of release In her 2013 interview with fuse Monae said Q U E E N was inspired by conversations she shared with Erykah Badu about the treatment of marginalized people especially African American women and the title is an acronym for those who are marginalized Q standing for the queer community U standing for the untouchables the first E standing for emigrants the latter standing for excommunicated and N standing for negroid 54 Thematically The Electric Lady continues the utopian cyborg concepts of its predecessors while presenting itself in more plainspoken introspective territory in addition to experimenting with genres beyond conventional funk and soul such as jazz Dorothy Dandridge Eyes pop punk Dance Apocalyptic gospel Victory and woozy sensual vocal ballads PrimeTime featuring Miguel The album features guest appearances by Prince Solange Knowles aforementioned Miguel and Esperanza Spalding 55 with production from previous collaborator Deep Cotton a psychedelic punk act and Roman GianArthur a soul music composer and was released to critical acclaim on September 10 2013 56 On September 14 2013 Monae performed along with Chic at the iTunes Festival in London 57 On September 28 Monae performed at the Global Citizens Festival in Central Park alongside Stevie Wonder Monae performed as the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live October 26 with host Edward Norton 58 Monae s voice is heard as veterinarian Dr Monae in the movie Rio 2 released in the U S on April 11 2014 and the song What Is Love was featured on the soundtrack 59 60 61 In April 2014 Monae was invited to perform along with Tessanne Chin Patti LaBelle Aretha Franklin Jill Scott Ariana Grande and Melissa Etheridge at the White House as a part of the PBS broadcast Women of Soul event which celebrated American women artists whose work has left an indelible and profound impact on American national musical culture She performed Goldfinger Tightrope and joined in on the all inclusive performance of Proud Mary 62 On April 14 2014 Monae was the recipient of the inaugural Harvard College Women s Center Award for Achievement in Arts and Media for achievements as an artist advocate and feminist 63 64 She tweeted earlier that day Headed to Harvard to meet the beautiful ladies in the Women s Center Can t believe I m the honoree today Just So thankful 65 Monae was also recognized as the 2014 Woman of the Year by the Harvard College Black Men s Forum at their annual Celebration of Black Women gala 66 In mid 2014 Monae had an interview with Fuse where she teased a follow up to The Electric Lady saying I m working on a new cool creative project called Eephus and It s a big concept and you re not going to see it coming It ll just land 67 Later in 2014 Monae was featured on Sergio Mendes album Magic She sings on the track titled Visions of You 68 The Eephus Moonlight and Hidden Figures 2015 2016 Monae at the premiere of Moonlight in 2016 In February 2015 Monae 69 along with Epic Records 70 and its CEO and chairman L A Reid 71 announced that Monae s independent label Wondaland Arts Society had signed a landmark joint venture partnership to revamp the label now known as Wondaland Records and to promote the artists on the label 7 Jem Aswad of Billboard called Monae a mini mogul because of the deal and revealed that the partnership will bow in May with a 5 song compilation EP called The Eephus including tracks from rapper Jidenna Roman St Beauty Deep Cotton and Monae herself 72 With this move Monae became one of the few black women who run their own independent record label in conjunction with a major record label In late March 2015 Monae released the single Yoga from the album The Eephus 73 The album debuted at number 22 of the Billboard 200 and at number 5 of the top R amp B Hip Hop Albums with an equivalent album sales of 47 000 units 74 In mid 2015 Monae attended various fashion events including London Fashion Week 75 and the 2015 Met Gala 76 She began collaborating with Nile Rodgers 77 for a new Chic album and Duran Duran 78 for the album Paper Gods their first album in over five years and their single called Pressure Off On August 14 2015 Monae and the body of her Atlanta based Wondaland Arts Society collective performed the protest song Hell You Talmbout which raised awareness of the many black lives that were taken as a result of police brutality with lyrics such as Walter Scott say his name Jerame Reid say his name Philip White say his name Eric Garner say his name Trayvon Martin say his name Sandra Bland say her name Sharondra Singleton say her name She also gave a speech about police brutality after the performance on NBC s Today Show Yes Lord God bless America God bless all the lost lives to police brutality We want white America to know that we stand tall today We want black America to know we stand tall today We will not be silenced 79 By March 15 2016 First Lady Michelle Obama proclaimed that she had assembled a collaborative track featuring vocals from Monae Kelly Clarkson Zendaya and Missy Elliott alongside production credit from pop songwriter Diane Warren and Elliott titled This Is for My Girls 80 The iTunes exclusive record was used to both coincide with Obama s Texan SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady s third world educational initiative Let Girls Learn 80 In October 2016 Monae made her big screen acting debut in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight alongside Naomie Harris Andre Holland and Mahershala Ali 81 82 Monae also starred in the film Hidden Figures alongside actors Taraji P Henson and Octavia Spencer the film was released in December 2016 83 Dirty Computer and other projects 2017 present Monae at the Kennedy Space Center in 2016 While filming these two movie roles Monae remained active in music with features on Grimes Venus Fly from her Art Angels album 84 and also the soundtrack for the Netflix series The Get Down with a song titled Hum Along and Dance Gotta Get Down 85 Monae was also on the tracks Isn t This the World and Jalapeno for the Hidden Figures soundtrack 86 In an interview with People Monae revealed that she was already working on her third studio album when she received the scripts for her two first acting roles therefore she put the album on hold Monae also revealed in the interview that she would be releasing new music sometime in 2017 87 although by the end of the year no album or single was announced On February 16 2018 Monae revealed her third studio album titled Dirty Computer through a teaser video on YouTube 88 89 The album was accompanied by a narrative film project and the teaser video aired nationwide in select theaters prior to screenings of Black Panther 89 She held a series of top secret listening sessions in Los Angeles and New York in support of the album 90 On February 22 2018 Monae released Make Me Feel and Django Jane as the first two singles from Dirty Computer both accompanied by music videos 91 and announced that the album would follow on April 27 2018 92 Monae stated in an interview with BBC Radio 1 Prince was actually working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency and helped me come up with some sounds And I really miss him you know it s hard for me to talk about him But I do miss him and his spirit will never leave me 93 Its short film earned a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form 94 Monae appeared in the episode Autofac of the 2017 anthology series based on the work of Philip K Dick Electric Dreams which premiered on Channel 4 in the UK and on Amazon Video in the US 95 On April 27 2018 Monae released a sci fi film companion emotion picture to her new record Dirty Computer 96 The album debuted at the number six of the Billboard 200 with 54 000 equivalent units and on the top ten charts of Canada United Kingdom and Ireland 97 It was chosen as the best album of the year by three publications the Associated Press New York Times and NPR 98 99 100 The album received the nomination for Album of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards She also contributed to the soundtrack to the dark comedy film Sorry to Bother You collaborating with The Coup In 2018 her Wondaland Pictures production company was signed to a first look deal with Universal 101 On November 15 2018 it was announced that Monae would receive the Trailblazer of the Year award at the 2018 Billboard Women in Music event which was held on December 6 2018 102 Also in 2018 Monae co starred in the fantasy drama feature film Welcome to Marwen by filmmaker and screenwriter Robert Zemeckis alongside Steve Carell and Leslie Mann 103 On January 3 2019 the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival announced that Monae will co headliner the stage with Childish Gambino 104 Glastonbury Festival also confirmed Monae s presence as headlining the West Holts stage of the festival 105 Four days after the Coachella setlist announcement Monae released a new music video for the song Screwed She replaced Julia Roberts in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series Homecoming playing a tenacious woman who finds herself floating in a canoe with no memory of how she got there or who she is 106 On March 29 2019 in Brooklyn NY she inducted Janet Jackson into the Rock amp Roll Hall of Fame 107 Also in 2019 she co starred in the film Harriet about abolitionist Harriet Tubman Monae returned to the big screen twice in 2020 with her first lead role in September 2020 with horror film Antebellum and another supporting role with biopic The Glorias 108 109 On February 9 2020 Monae opened the 92nd Academy Awards with a performance featuring Billy Porter that highlighted the many films nominated as well as films that were snubbed by the Academy including Dolemite Is My Name and Midsommar 110 In September 2020 Monae released the music video Turntables as part of the Amazon Studios bipartisan voter registration campaign The song is used over the end credits of the Stacey Abrams backed film All In The Fight for Democracy 111 112 More recently she signed global deal with Sony Music Publishing 113 On July 4 2021 We The People a 10 part series of animated music videos premiered on Netflix created by Chris Nee with Kenya Barris as a showrunner and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama 114 115 116 Monae performed a number of songs for the series This included a reggae influenced number titled Stronger which focuses on the fight for justice and unity unity liberty and equality and the title track for the series 117 118 In 2022 Monae portrayed twin sisters Helen and Cassandra Andi Brand in Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery 119 for which she received critical acclaim 120 121 In April 2022 Harper Voyager published her first book The Memory Librarian And Other Stories of Dirty Computer which explores how different threads of liberation queerness race gender plurality and love become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms 122 In December 2022 Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman said in a interview with Variety that Monae has new music scheduled for 2023 123 ArtistryMusical styles and influences Monae has a mezzo soprano voice 124 The Telegraph published an interview with Monae talking about her first studio album in which the journalist Bernadette McNulty said I begin to worry for a moment that Monae may not just be a humourless science fiction nerd but actually an android herself created in a laboratory as a super musical cross between James Brown Judy Garland Andre 3000 and Steve Jobs invented to test the desperate incredulity of music journalists She also compared Monae to artists such as Annie Lennox Lauryn Hill and Corinne Bailey Rae 125 Monae s musical styles have been described as a soaring orchestral trip enlivened with blockbuster vocals mysterious imagery and notes of Sixties pop and jazz 126 The Guardian has noted some of Monae s influences as Michael Jackson Janet Jackson Prince Outkast Erykah Badu James Brown Grace Jones Stevie Wonder David Bowie Jimi Hendrix Bernard Herrmann Funkadelic and the Incredible String Band 29 Matthew Valnes likens Monae s dancing style in the music video for Tightrope to that of James Brown 127 In an opinion piece for The Quietus 128 John Calvert places Janelle Monae within the Afrofuturism movement pointing out her similarities to Sun Ra and George Clinton He asserts that Janelle Monae is innovating the genre Monae has said she has an alter ego from the year 2719 named Cindi Mayweather 129 In her first EP Monae gave this alter ego a back story she was on the run after breaking the law in her home town of Metropolis by falling in love with a human Anthony Greendown Monae has expanded on Cindi s mythos saying The Archandroid Cindi is the mediator between the mind and the hand She s the mediator between the haves and the have nots the oppressed and the oppressor She s like the Archangel in the Bible and what Neo represents to The Matrix 130 In her second album Cindi Mayweather returned to Earth to liberate Metropolitans from the Great Divide an oppressive oligarchy that used time travel to suppress freedom and love 131 Chris Champion of The Observer described Metropolis and The ArchAndroid as psychedelic soul with a sci fi twist 132 Matthew Valnes describes Monae as innovating a more contemporary Neo Afrofuturism where the android role is used as a tool to critique the representation of Black female musicians in the funk genre Funk music of 1960s through 1980s is a prevalent music style influencing Monae The website for Monae s Wondaland Arts Society Collective asserts We believe there are only three forms of music good music bad music and funk 127 Monae has also referred to herself as a funkstress 133 Monae s roots in Kansas City Kansas where she was born and raised are evident in her lyrics and style According to Carrie Battan s Pitchfork feature on Monae the song Ghetto Woman directly addresses Monae s working class K C Kansas mother as well as the portrayal of working class black women in U S culture with the line Carry on ghetto woman even when the news portrays you less than you could be 1 Monae also told the London Evening Standard she has internalized her KCK K C KS roots by wearing the working class uniform of her parents and expressing concern that she cannot let her community down 134 On the album The ArchAndroid especially in songs like Cold War or BabopbyeYa Monae relates the dystopian cityscapes depicted in Metropolis to the boarded up projects of poverty wracked Kansas 135 Kansas City therefore not only represents Monae s physical roots within her hometown but also serves as an important influence on the lyrics and science fictional setting Public image I feel like I have a responsibility to my community and other young girls to help redefine what it looks like to be a woman I don t believe in men s wear or women s wear I just like what I like And I think we should just be respected for being an individual I ve been in Vogue now and different publications which is cool because I think that it just shows a different perspective of how women can dress Monae on her image and artistic freedom 130 Monae s signature style is her tuxedo wardrobe She said I bathe in it I swim in it and I could be buried in it A tux is such a standard uniform it s so classy and it s a lifestyle I enjoy The tux keeps me balanced I look at myself as a canvas I don t want to cloud myself with too many colors or I ll go crazy It s an experiment I m doing I think I want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records 136 Monae s signature look harkens back to dandyism 137 Citing Grace Jones and Josephine Baker as role models Monae takes the classical 18th century look in the classical white and black pattern 138 Monae s signature look can also be attributed to the early days in her career when she was employed as a maid She mentioned this in her acceptance speech for the Young Gifted and Black award at the 2012 Black Girls Rock ceremony 139 Monae has been known to distribute the Ten Droid Commandments which encourages her fans to be individuals 130 The Telegraph also commented on her image as an artist saying Sitting in a grey airless record company office this slight stiff young woman delivers her speech in slow deliberate tones utterly expressionless Dressed in her trademark starched shirt and tuxedo hair immaculately coiffed Monae s face is an opaque mask of perfection all silken smooth skin button nose and glassy brown eyes 125 Monae describes tuxedos as being a uniform for her career speaks of wanting to redefine how women dress 130 and has been featured in the Style 100 of InStyle magazine 140 When it comes to her acting career Monae expressed desire to shape it around that of Johnny Depp stating that he has a very vast career The amount of roles Willy Wonka to Sweeny Todd to all of the dramatic roles Whatever the Janelle Monae version of that is Maybe something even better 141 Personal lifeDuring a 2011 interview with London Evening Standard Monae said she only dates androids a reference to her musical alter ego found in many of her songs She also said I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new other You can compare it to being a lesbian or being a gay man or being a Black woman what I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the other to connect with the music and to feel like She represents who I am She added that she would talk about her sexual orientation in due time 134 In 2013 Monae said she wants both men and women to still be attracted to her and expressed support for the LGBTQ community 142 Monae has said she identifies with both bisexuality and pansexuality 23 On January 10 2020 she tweeted the hashtag IAmNonbinary along with a quoted tweet which trended on Twitter that day 143 144 Monae said in an interview with The Cut a month after the tweet that I tweeted the IAmNonbinary hashtag in support of Nonbinary Day and to bring more awareness to the community I retweeted the Steven Universe meme Are you a boy or a girl I m an experience because it resonated with me especially as someone who has pushed boundaries of gender since the beginning of my career I feel my feminine energy my masculine energy and energy I can t even explain 145 In April 2022 she came out publicly as non binary on the Red Table Talk saying I m nonbinary so I just don t see myself as a woman solely I feel like god is so much bigger than the he or the she And if I am from God I am everything 146 In the interview she also acknowledged having been in both monogamous and polyamorous relationships 146 Following the interview a representative of Monae said that she continues to use she her pronouns 147 In an interview with the Los Angeles Times however Monae identified herself as non binary and added that her pronouns are free ass motherfucker and they them her she 148 149 FilmographyFilm Year Title Role Notes2014 Rio 2 Dr Monae Voice2016 Moonlight TeresaHidden Figures Mary Jackson2018 Dirty Computer Jane 57821Welcome to Marwen Julie2019 UglyDolls Mandy VoiceHarriet Marie BuchanonLady and the Tramp Peg Voice2020 The Glorias Dorothy Pitman HughesAntebellum Veronica Henley Eden2022 Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery Cassandra Andi Brand Helen BrandTelevision Year Title Role Notes2009 Stargate Universe Herself Episode Earth Performed Many Moons 2010 Dancing with the Stars Herself Performed Tightrope 2013 American Dad Announcer VoiceEpisode The Boring Identity Saturday Night Live Herself Episode Edward Norton Janelle Monae 2014 In Performance at the White House Women of Soul 150 Herself Performed Goldfinger and Tightrope Sesame Street 151 152 Herself performer Episode The Power of Yet 2017 Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams Alice Episode Autofac 2018 Dirty Computer 153 Jane 57821 Short television film2020 Sex Explained Herself NarrationHomecoming Jacqueline Calico Alex Eastern Main cast Season 2 2021 We the People Song performer Episode We The People 2022 Human Resources Claudia VoiceEpisode The Light DiscographyMain article Janelle Monae discography The ArchAndroid 2010 The Electric Lady 2013 Dirty Computer 2018 ToursHeadlining Metropolis Tour 2008 The ArchAndroid Tour 2010 Hooligans in Wondaland Tour with Bruno Mars 2011 Campus Consciousness Tour with fun 2011 Summer Soul Festival with Amy Winehouse and Mayer Hawthorne 2011 The Electric Lady Tour 2013 The Golden Electric Tour with Kimbra 2014 Dirty Computer Tour 2018 Supporting No Doubt Summer Tour 2009 Out My Mind Just in Time World Tour 2010 Palm Trees amp Power Lines Tour 2010 California Dreams Tour 2011 I m with You World Tour 2012 Awards and nominationsMain article List of awards and nominations received by Janelle MonaeNotes Monae uses she her and they them pronouns This article uses she her pronouns for consistency References a b Cover Story Janelle Monae Features Pitchfork Archived from the original on February 21 2014 Retrieved February 11 2014 Garcia Carlos April 6 2014 Janelle Monae Songs Net Worth Boyfriend News Electric Lady R amp B Singer Pays Tribute To David Bowie Covers Heroes Latin Post Archived from the original on May 15 2014 Retrieved April 11 2014 a b c Kellman Andy Janelle Monae AllMusic Bio AllMusic Archived from the original on March 2 2022 Retrieved September 13 2020 Gundersen Edna October 24 2013 Billboard names Janelle Monae its 2013 Rising Star USA Today Archived from the original on April 30 2022 Retrieved August 20 2020 Kot Greg April 27 2018 Janelle Monae comes back down to earth on Dirty Computer Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on January 27 2021 Retrieved January 23 2021 Ellis Stacy Ann February 19 2015 The Future of Janelle Monae s 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Album amp Song Chart History Billboard Retrieved August 17 2012 Bailey Rachel February 11 2010 Janelle Monae to Finally Release Debut Album in May Paste Archived from the original on September 26 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid Billboard September 14 2009 Archived from the original on June 23 2014 Retrieved August 17 2012 Janelle Monae Funky Sensation Blues amp Soul Archived from the original on October 9 2010 Retrieved May 2 2021 2019 GRAMMY Awards Complete Nominations List Grammy com December 7 2018 Archived from the original on February 10 2019 Retrieved December 10 2018 Janelle Monae announces Dirty Computer tour dates plus video for I Like That Watch Consequence of Sound April 23 2018 Archived from the original on December 18 2018 Retrieved March 14 2019 Janelle Monae Writing a Cyberpunk Story Collection Kirkus Reviews Archived from the original on September 4 2021 Retrieved September 4 2021 Decker Natasha April 18 2022 Janelle Monae s Dirty Computer Plays Out In Her New Collection Of Short Stories Which Is Out Today Madame Noire Archived from the original on April 19 2022 Retrieved April 19 2022 a b Who is Janelle Monae randb about com December 1 1985 Archived from the original on December 28 2010 Retrieved February 23 2011 a b c d e f Spanos Brittany April 26 2018 Janelle Monae Frees Herself Rolling Stone Archived from the original on April 26 2018 Retrieved April 26 2018 Pascoe Alley April 5 2018 Janelle Monae Opens Up About The Strong Women Who Raised Her Marie Claire Archived from the original on April 14 2021 Retrieved March 7 2020 a b c Alexander Danny October 21 2010 Janelle Monae s roots in one of Kansas City s most historic and troubled neighborhoods Pitch Archived from the original on September 24 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Janelle Monae brings her talents to the Fillmore Miami Beach on Saturday Miami Herald November 18 2013 Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved March 7 2020 Stokes Paul July 19 2019 6 things we learned about Janelle Monae from The First Time BBC Archived from the original on October 17 2019 Retrieved March 7 2020 a b c d e Wortham Jenna April 19 2018 How Janelle Monae Found Her Voice The New York Times Archived from the original on March 7 2020 Retrieved March 7 2020 a b c d e f Lynskey Dorian August 26 2010 Janelle Monae sister from another planet The Guardian London Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved December 14 2016 St Felix Doreen March 1 2018 The Otherworldly Concept Albums of Janelle Monae The New Yorker Archived from the original on October 3 2019 Retrieved March 7 2020 Credits Idlewild Allmusic Retrieved on May 10 2010 a b Interview With Daniel Skid Mitchell HitQuarters October 25 2010 Archived from the original on December 15 2010 Retrieved November 10 2010 Janelle Monae Interview 51st Grammy Awards Blog post Grammy com Archived from the original on July 29 2010 Retrieved October 5 2016 Janelle Monae opening for of Montreal and No Doubt dates Brooklynvegan com April 10 2009 Archived from the original on April 2 2010 Retrieved May 16 2010 Open Happiness Featured on the Season Finale of American Idol van Janelle Monae op Myspace Myspace Archived from the original on February 7 2009 Retrieved August 17 2012 Janelle Monae Talks To Our Urban Blog MTV May 13 2010 Archived from the original on October 5 2010 Retrieved April 23 2013 Janelle Monae on new album The Arch Android YouTube November 11 2009 Archived from the original on December 12 2021 Retrieved May 16 2010 Dacks David May 22 2010 Janelle Monae Buys into Independence Exclaim Archived from the original on July 27 2010 Retrieved August 17 2012 a b DeLuca Dan June 4 2010 Janelle Monae bringing a diverse pop platter to the Tower The Philadelphia Inquirer Archived from the original on June 11 2010 Colter Walls Seth May 28 2010 Music Review Janelle Monae Newsweek and The Daily Beast Newsweek Archived from the original on January 21 2011 Retrieved August 17 2012 Carroll Jim July 9 2010 Minority report The Irish Times Archived from the original on August 17 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 Janelle Monae Monae To Receive Ascap Award Contactmusic com June 8 2010 Archived from the original on June 7 2011 Retrieved August 17 2012 Janelle Monae NPR org Archived from the original on June 15 2017 Retrieved April 19 2017 Dancing with the Stars TV Guide September 28 2010 Archived from the original on July 12 2020 Retrieved April 21 2020 Melinda February 13 2011 Janelle Monae Bruno Mars amp B O B Grammy Awards 2011 Set Rnbmusicblog com Archived from the original on September 13 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 Grammy Awards 2013 Major Nominees List Billboard com December 6 2012 Archived from the original on April 3 2019 Retrieved April 9 2019 Fun We Are Young ft Janelle Monae ACOUSTIC YouTube November 4 2011 Archived from the original on December 12 2021 Retrieved April 9 2019 Janelle Monae Empowers at Nobel Peace Prize Concert Rap Up com Archived from the original on April 23 2021 Retrieved February 14 2021 New Janelle Monae Music Oh No They Didn t June 26 2012 Archived from the original on January 23 2020 Retrieved June 27 2012 Janelle Monae Featured in Vanity Fair Necole Bitchie August 4 2012 Archived from the original on August 9 2012 Steinman Alex August 15 2012 Janelle Monae is the newest Cover Girl spokesmodel New York Daily News Archived from the original on June 28 2018 Retrieved August 16 2012 Tran Vivyan September 7 2012 Celebrities spotted at the Democratic National Convention Politico Archived from the original on February 15 2020 Retrieved September 9 2012 Special Announcement Janelle Monae Latest News Jmonae com Archived from the original on April 15 2013 Retrieved April 23 2013 Benjamin Jeff Janelle Monae Says Q U E E N Is for the Ostracized amp Marginalized Fuse tv Archived from the original on October 11 2017 Retrieved October 10 2017 Lewis Pete July 2013 Janelle Monae Visionary Express Blues amp Soul Archived from the original on November 11 2014 Retrieved June 26 2014 Janelle Monae Enlists Prince and Miguel for The Electric Lady Exclusive Billboard June 7 2013 Archived from the original on June 9 2013 Retrieved June 7 2013 Chic amp Nile Rodgers Delight at iTunes Festival MTV UK Archived from the original on September 18 2013 Retrieved September 16 2013 Fitzpatrick Kevin October 14 2013 SNL Taps Edward Norton to Host with Musical Guest Janelle Monae ScreenCrush Archived from the original on October 14 2013 Retrieved October 15 2013 Rutherford Kevin March 4 2014 Rio 2 Soundtrack Out March 25 Features Janelle Monae Bruno Mars Billboard Archived from the original on May 7 2014 Retrieved April 21 2020 THECOMPLEX February 21 2014 Photo Janelle Monae Voicing as the Doctor in Rio 2 Sinuous Magazine Archived from the original on February 21 2014 Retrieved March 29 2014 Newman Melinda March 4 2014 Check out Janelle Monaes irresistible new track What is Love from Rio 2 HitFix Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved March 29 2014 Video Women of Soul Archived from the original on April 8 2014 Retrieved April 8 2014 Le Quynh Nhu Moreno Yasmin Schacter Joanna R April 15 2014 Janelle Monae Honored as Artist and Advocate The Harvard Crimson Archived from the original on August 25 2020 Retrieved April 21 2020 Khayla April 16 2014 Janelle Monae Receives Two Honors From Harvard SoulBounce Archived from the original on January 2 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Janelle Monae Cindi JanelleMonae April 14 2014 Headed to Harvard to meet the beautiful ladies in the Women s Center Can t believe I m the honoree today Just so thankful Tweet Retrieved April 21 2015 via Twitter Janelle Monae honored at Harvard College V100 com Archived from the original on January 2 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Janelle Monae Teases New Project Eephus Fuse Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Cohen Sandy September 13 2014 Sergio Mendes keeps the magic alive on his latest album The Washington Post Archived from the original on February 15 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Janelle Monae Cindi JanelleMonae February 13 2015 We come in peace but we mean business Welcome to Wondaland Records tinyurl com WondalandEpic WondalandRecords instagram com p zDftnBH ss Tweet Retrieved May 17 2018 via Twitter Epic Records Epic Records February 13 2015 WELCOME TO THE FUTURE bit ly 1CoScue Wondaland BeEpic Tweet Retrieved May 17 2018 via Twitter Reid L A LA Reid February 13 2015 Wondaland Records partners w Epic Records Courtesy of JanelleMonae bit ly 1Ja5txa TheFuture BeEpic Tweet Retrieved May 17 2018 via Twitter Aswad Jem February 13 2015 Janelle Monae Becomes a Mini Mogul With Her Revamped Label Billboard com Archived from the original on February 14 2015 Retrieved February 14 2015 Goble Corban March 31 2015 Janelle Monae Shares Yoga Featuring Jidenna Pitchfork com Pitchfork Media Archived from the original on April 16 2015 Retrieved April 20 2015 Chart III 1 Various cases of return migration dx doi org doi 10 1787 428281631410 Loum Noretta February 25 2015 Janelle Monae at Antonio Berardi Show During London Fashion Week Afro Cosmopolitan Archived from the original on May 18 2015 Retrieved May 7 2015 Monae Ashley May 5 2015 Celebrity Hairstylist Caprice Green Dishes on Janelle Monae s Met Gala WondaBraid Vibe Archived from the original on May 6 2015 Retrieved May 7 2015 Van Nguyen Dean April 28 2015 Elton John and Janelle Monae to appear on new Chic album NME Archived from the original on April 29 2015 Retrieved May 7 2015 Gallagher Natalie March 27 2015 Janelle Monae collaborates with Duran Duran on the band s forthcoming album Pitch com Archived from the original on May 6 2015 Retrieved May 7 2015 Weiner Natalie August 17 2015 Monae s Police Brutality Speech Cut Off on Today Show Billboard Archived from the original on October 14 2017 Retrieved October 10 2017 a b Lindner Emilee March 15 2016 Michelle Obama Teams with Missy Elliott Janelle Monae Zendaya amp More for New Song Fuse Archived from the original on March 18 2016 Retrieved March 15 2016 Janelle Monae Lands First Big Screen Role Vibe October 23 2015 Archived from the original on October 25 2015 Retrieved October 26 2015 Anderson Tre vell October 24 2016 Songstress Janelle Monae stretches her dramatic muscles in Moonlight Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved October 27 2016 Jefferson J na March 9 2016 Janelle Monae amp Taraji P Henson To Star in Film About Black Women in NASA Vibe Archived from the original on March 10 2016 Retrieved March 9 2016 Barnes Tom February 2 2017 Grimes Janelle Monae smash patriarchy symbols as warrior queens in Venus Fly video Mic Archived from the original on February 20 2017 Retrieved February 19 2017 Roth Madeline August 10 2016 Janelle Monae Channels the 70s with New Song Hum Along and Dance MTV News Archived from the original on February 20 2017 Retrieved February 19 2017 Itzkoff Dave January 3 2017 Pharrell Williams Making Noise for Hidden Figures Everywhere The New York Times Archived from the original on February 18 2017 Retrieved February 19 2017 Miller Mike February 16 2017 Why Janelle Monae Put Her Music on Hold to Take Hollywood by Storm People Archived from the original on February 18 2017 Retrieved February 19 2017 Marine Brooke February 16 2018 Janelle Monae s Dirty Computer Trailer is Full of Symbolic Looks You May Have Missed W Magazine Archived from the original on February 16 2018 Retrieved February 17 2018 a b Kim Michelle February 16 2018 Janelle Monae Announces New Album Dirty Computer Pitchfork com Archived from the original on February 16 2018 Retrieved February 17 2018 Janelle Monae Announces First Album in Five Years Dirty Computer With Teaser Video Variety February 16 2018 Archived from the original on February 16 2018 Retrieved February 16 2018 This week s new releases Official Charts Company Archived from the original on February 10 2018 Retrieved February 22 2018 Strauss Matthew February 22 2018 Janelle Monae Details New Album Drops New Song and Video Django Jane Pitchfork com Archived from the original on February 22 2018 Retrieved February 22 2018 Jefferson J na February 27 2018 Legendary Prince helped Janelle Monae with her new album MSN com Archived from the original on July 22 2018 Retrieved February 28 2018 2019 Hugo Awards The Hugo Awards July 28 2019 Archived from the original on July 29 2019 Retrieved September 4 2021 Zach Dionne Android Queen Janelle Monae Lands Perfect Sci Fi Role on Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams Fuse Archived from the original on June 6 2017 Retrieved June 6 2017 Porter Ilana April 27 2018 Janelle Monae releases sci fi film companion to new album Dirty Computer The Independent Archived from the original on May 1 2018 Retrieved May 1 2018 Post Malone s Beerbongs amp Bentleys Breaks Streaming Record Debuts at No 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart Billboard Archived from the original on May 7 2018 Retrieved November 20 2018 Fekadu Mesfin December 11 2018 AP s top 2018 albums Janelle Monae Kacey Musgraves J Cole AP NEWS Archived from the original on April 21 2019 Retrieved March 13 2019 Pareles Jon Caramanica Jon December 6 2018 The 28 Best Albums of 2018 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 13 2018 Retrieved March 13 2019 The 50 Best Albums Of 2018 10 1 NPR org December 4 2018 Archived from the original on December 4 2018 Retrieved March 13 2019 McNary Dave November 19 2018 Janelle Monae Signs First Look Deal With Universal Pictures Variety Archived from the original on November 24 2020 Retrieved January 1 2021 Janelle Monae and Cyndi Lauper to Be Honored at Billboard s Women in Music Event Billboard 2018 Archived from the original on December 22 2019 Retrieved November 15 2018 Muhammad Latifah May 22 2017 Janelle Monae Lands Role in Robert Zemeckis Film Vibe Archived from the original on May 22 2017 Retrieved June 6 2017 Coachella 2019 Line Up Dates Headliner And More Ariana Grande Childish Gambino Confirmed Capital Archived from the original on January 7 2019 Retrieved January 7 2019 The third Glastonbury headliner has just been revealed Evening Standard January 7 2019 Archived from the original on January 7 2019 Retrieved January 7 2019 Shaffer Claire July 23 2019 Janelle Monae Will Star in Amazon s Homecoming Season Two Rolling Stone Archived from the original on July 24 2019 Retrieved September 16 2019 Read Janelle Monae s Full Speech Inducting Janet Jackson Into Rock Hall 2019 Pitchfork March 30 2019 Archived from the original on January 30 2022 Retrieved January 30 2022 Bradley Laura November 21 2019 Antebellum Janelle Monae s Upcoming Horror Film Looks Twisted and Terrifying Vanity Fair Archived from the original on August 6 2020 Retrieved February 12 2020 N Duka Amanda December 10 2018 Janelle Monae Joins Gloria Steinem Biopic The Glorias A Life On The Road Deadline Archived from the original on December 4 2019 Retrieved February 12 2020 Wood Mikael February 10 2020 Janelle Monae kicks off Oscars with Mr Rogers Billy Porter and a troupe of Midsommar hoofers The Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on February 11 2020 Retrieved February 12 2020 Janelle Monae Shares Powerful Turntables Video for All In The Fight for Democracy Film Billboard September 15 2020 Archived from the original on September 16 2020 Retrieved September 18 2020 Crust Kevin September 16 2020 Review Chin up voters Stacey Abrams and democracy are on your side The Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on September 18 2020 Retrieved September 18 2020 Aswad Jem June 22 2021 Janelle Monae Signs Global Deal With Sony Music Publishing Variety Archived from the original on June 27 2021 Retrieved June 27 2021 Gupta Alisha Haridasani June 20 2021 She Never Saw Herself in Children s TV Shows So She Created Her Own The New York Times Archived from the original on June 22 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Framke Caroline July 4 2021 Netflix s We the People From Executive Producers Barack and Michelle Obama Puts Optimistic Spin on Civic Duty TV Review Variety Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 H E R Lin Manuel Miranda among artists featured in We the People the Obamas Netflix series on civics Firstpost Associated Press July 4 2021 Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Tangcay Jazz July 4 2021 We the People Musical Moments Ranked Variety Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Silvers Emma July 4 2021 Review Star studded We the People an engaging throwback to Schoolhouse Rock era San Francisco Chronicle Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Shutt Mike November 23 2022 Glass Onion Ending Explained The Perfect Mystery Film Archived from the original on December 16 2022 Retrieved December 16 2022 Bonaime Ross November 23 2022 Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery Review Rian Johnson Peels Back the Layers in a Masterful Whodunit Collider Archived from the original on December 6 2022 Retrieved December 6 2022 Bradshaw Peter November 23 2022 Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery review Daniel Craig s drawling detective is back The Guardian Archived from the original on December 6 2022 Retrieved December 6 2022 Deahl Rachel June 25 2021 Book Deals Week of June 28 2021 Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on January 30 2022 Retrieved January 29 2022 Aswad Jem December 2 2022 Atlantic Records Chiefs Julie Greenwald and Craig Kallman Talk Lizzo Jack Harlow Their Big 2022 and What s Next Variety Archived from the original on December 6 2022 Retrieved December 5 2022 Reeves Mosi September 9 2013 Janelle Monae s The Electric Lady Strives to Match Her Sci Fi Ambitions and Pop Smarts Spin Archived from the original on March 25 2014 Retrieved February 15 2014 a b McNulty Bernadette June 25 2010 Janelle Monae interview the android has landed The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on October 13 2018 Retrieved April 2 2018 Janelle Monae Funky Sensation Bluesandsoul com Archived from the original on September 20 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 a b Valnes Matthew 2017 Janelle Monae and Afro Sonic Feminist Funk Journal of Popular Music Studies 29 3 e12224 doi 10 1111 jpms 12224 Calvert John September 2 2010 Janelle Monae A New Pioneer of Afrofuturism The Quietus Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved March 20 2013 Janelle Monae s Funky Otherworldly Sounds NPR June 17 2009 Archived from the original on June 18 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 a b c d Andrews Gillian Gus July 21 2010 Janelle Monae turns rhythm and blues into science fiction Io9 com Archived from the original on April 27 2012 Retrieved May 6 2012 English Daylanne 2013 Now We Want Our Funk Cut Janelle Monae s Neo Afrofuturism American Studies 52 4 217 230 doi 10 1353 ams 2013 0116 S2CID 145307593 Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved September 30 2020 Champion Chris June 13 2009 Flash forward Janelle Monae The Observer London Observer Music Monthly section p 35 Archived from the original on January 2 2015 Retrieved May 12 2013 English Daylanne K 2013 Now We Want Our Funk Cut Janelle Monae s Neo Afrofuturism American Studies 52 4 217 230 doi 10 1353 ams 2013 0116 S2CID 145307593 Archived from the original on November 2 2020 Retrieved June 1 2020 a b Gardner Jasmine July 4 2011 RnB sensation Janelle Monae is here because we need her London Evening Standard London Archived from the original on August 3 2013 Retrieved June 9 2013 Calvert John September 2 2010 Janelle Monae A New Pioneer of Afrofuturism The Quietus Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved June 24 2014 Janelle Monae covers Honey magazine and talks The ArchAndroid album Theprophetblog net April 14 2010 Archived from the original on April 21 2012 Retrieved August 17 2012 Anderson Christina September 17 2012 Emma Watson Kate Moss And More Show Us How To Dress Like A Dandy But Look Like A Woman The Huffington Post Archived from the original on March 24 2014 Retrieved March 24 2014 Janelle Monae Dubbed Girlie Grace Jones in GQ Newcomer Spread blindie com Archived from the original on March 24 2014 Retrieved March 24 2014 Janelle Monae on Being a Former Maid and Why She Still Wears a Uniform ColorLines November 5 2012 Archived from the original on November 7 2012 Retrieved December 14 2013 Janelle Featured in the Style 100 of InStyle Magazine November 30 2010 Archived from the original on March 13 2012 Retrieved January 26 2011 Ntim Zac October 14 2022 Janelle Monae Talks Crafting A Public Persona amp Being Inspired By Johnny Depp s Acting Career London Film Festival Deadline Hollywood Retrieved October 14 2022 Dayfloat September 24 2013 Janelle Monae on Dating and Sexuality Sway in the Morning Okayplayer Archived from the original on January 21 2020 Retrieved June 25 2015 JanelleMonae January 10 2020 IAmNonbinary Tweet Archived from the original on January 27 2020 Retrieved May 18 2022 via Twitter Street Mikelle January 10 2020 Janelle Monae Just Tweeted I Am Nonbinary Out Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Retrieved January 11 2020 Gay Roxane February 3 2020 Janelle Monae s Afrofuture The Cut Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Retrieved February 29 2020 a b Janelle Monae Comes Out as Nonbinary I Am Everything The Advocate April 21 2022 Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Retrieved April 21 2022 Mier Tomas April 21 2022 Janelle Monae Shares Non Binary Identification So Much Bigger Than He or She Rolling Stone Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Monae Janelle April 21 2022 I knew there were more stories to tell Why Janelle Monae returned to writing sci fi Los Angeles Times Interview Interviewed by Stuart Miller Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Retrieved April 22 2022 Riedel Samantha April 21 2022 Visionary Singer Songwriter Janelle Monae Has Come Out as Nonbinary Them Archived from the original on April 21 2022 Retrieved April 23 2022 Behind the Scenes In Performance at the White House Women of Soul archives gov April 7 2014 Archived from the original on August 17 2018 Retrieved August 26 2018 Watch Janelle Monae s Power ful Sesame Street Visit Billboard com September 11 2014 Archived from the original on December 19 2019 Retrieved December 8 2019 Janelle Monae Sings The Power of Yet on Sesame Street Pitchfork com September 10 2014 Archived from the original on December 21 2019 Retrieved December 8 2019 Janelle Monae s Dirty Computer Film to Premiere on MTV and BET Variety com April 20 2018 Archived from the original on April 26 2018 Retrieved May 5 2018 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Janelle Monae Janelle Monae at AllMusic Janelle Monae discography at Discogs Janelle Monae at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Janelle Monae amp oldid 1132037052, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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