Janelle Monáe is serving us black girl magic combined with modern-day queer anthems that we’ve been terribly in need of lately. Monáe’s music never shies away from being edgy, fun but most importantly, impactful and targeted. Her previous album, Electric Lady featured songs like ‘QUEEN’ featuring Erykah Badu, which encompasses, explores and shows love to the queer and marginalised communities. So far, Monáe continues the conversation with the latest three leading singles from her very much awaited upcoming album, Dirty Computer, to be released later this month.
First two singles, ‘Make Me Feel’ and ‘Django Jane’ and the most recent, ‘PYNK’. With ‘Make Me Feel’, she’s channeling and paying homage to her fallen friend and pop icon, Prince. This track, also known as her come out song, is a celebratory anthem for bisexuals, obviously and evidently produced by master producer Alan Ferguson. ‘Django Jane’ produced by Ian Blair is a melanin party song, celebrating black culture, black womxn, our strengths and our wins. It sees her dropping some eclectic bars. ‘PYNK’ featuring Grimes is a tribute to femininity. A celebration of the power of the vagina. Monae makes glaring references to the female anatomy, however, the meaning ventures to shout out to all black girls inclusive of those transgender.
She doesn’t do anything in half, each and every one of these songs is accompanied by a visual journey, filled with subtle and cultural undertones as well as bomb a** fashion. On ‘Make Me Feel’ she and the cast in the video are all draped in 80s inspired outfits.
But Monáe returns to her staple on ‘Django Jane’ by rocking four different shades of menswear suits.
On PYNK, she debuts labia pants that will sure be trending until next winter (or forever).
Monáe is in tune with who she is, very in control and takes pleasure in celebrating self and her communities. She is, after all, the same artist who was in two of the biggest films in the industry aimed at the black culture, Moonlight, and Hidden Figures. So really, multitalented is an understatement when it comes to describing who and what she is.
