The future is bright for Janelle Monae, the Kansas City-born part cyborg, part human siren of a woman.
After three studio albums and a handful of EPs, some big screen praise and newfound Hollywood clout at her command, the 31-year-old is on the cusp of being a megastar. It comes just in time too. Monae’s new musical project, Dirty Computer. Is about to change the game.
The album’s first two singles, “Django Jane” and “Make Me Feel,” have fans in a frenzy for the full project, which is set to be released on April 27, 2018. For those of us who’ve been checking for Monae for minute, her first EP, “Metropolis: A Suite (The Chase),” showed that she has long been married to afrofuturism.
But the record-buying public, especially her audience, was not ready. Even with 2010’s “The ArchAndroid,” there was the sense that the imagination of music lovers hadn’t quite evolved for what Monae was doing.
But with “Electric Lady” in 2015, her vision — along with the audience’s resistance — began to meld. So here we are in 2018, about to enjoy some legendary joints.
She recently hosted a fierce power brunch for her grassroots organization Fem the Future, which featured a who’s who from the entertainment industry. Stars like “Black Panther’s” Danai Gurira and Tessa Thompson served looks and drank mimosas.
For those not invited to the VIP soiree, Monae streamed part of it on Instagram Live, giving her fans a dose of hopeful wokeness in these troubling times.
Monae’s unique brand of afrofuturism, R&B and pop interwoven with social commentary puts her on the vanguard not only in music, but in entertainment as a whole.
Afrofuturism has come a long way since being popularized by author Octavia E. Butler. widely regarded as the fairy godmother of sci-fi literature. But in music, acts like Sun Ra and George Clinton infused funk and Africa’s tribal beats to pop culture.
Still, none of them had the technology to see their visions come to fruition — but Monae is living it.
After starturns in Oscar-winning films like “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures,” the sky seems like the limit for Monae. She is, by every definition, winning.
As for the music, Monae is now more confident in her sonic space than ever before, in large part to her fallen mentor, Prince.
“It’s difficult for me to even speak about this because Prince was helping me with the album, before he passed on to another frequency,” she told The Guardian in February.
She said that the Purple One helped her to shed any inhibitions that crimped her creativity — and for that, she is forever grateful. “I wouldn’t be as comfortable with who I am if it had not been for Prince. I mean, my label Wondaland would not exist without Paisley Park coming before us.”
The city of Atlanta figures prominently in Monae’s life, especially in developing her into the woman she is.
“Atlanta is home to me,” she told Atlanta Magazine last year. “I’m originally from Kansas, and I like to say that Kansas raised me but Atlanta turned me into a young woman. This is where I started my career. This is where my roots are as an artist.”
And this is also where her future — an afrofuture — is as well.
Listen to #DjangoJane & #MakeMeFeel on @applemusic! #WondalandRecordshttps://JanelleMonae.lnk.to/dirtycomputer/applemusic