Ii's funny how you stumble across someones work on You Tube. You decide to actually click on that vid they're recommending you, and in an instant you're are a fan. There was a lot of media hype about Janelle Monae when her debut album The ArchAndroid was released in 2010. After a fleeting and desultory listen I wasn't taken with what little I heard. Since then Monae appears to have become something of an unstoppable force, making inroads not just as a singer, songwriter and rapper but also as a producer, model and actor (Moonlight, Hidden Figures ). Oh, yes, and she has her own designated record label imprint on Atlantic Records.
The song I casually bumped into was Make Me Feel. She was apparently working on this song with Prince before he died. and its a fantastic synthesis of everything a Prince record ever taught the world. The video with its Eighties styling is as self-conscious a homage to the late great as you could make without dressing it entirely in purple flounce and lace. It sizzles, bumps and grinds, opening with a brilliant funky farty electronic sound broken by a finger popping click. Its 'powerful, with a little bit of tender' .
This personal breakthrough led me to Tightrope, taken from that 2010 debut album that I'd so flagrantly dismissed. So maybe I need to go back to that and give it a more thorough listen. If this doesn't get your fingers and feet tapping then there is really something wrong with you, go see your GP ~ that's Groove Prince by the way ~ not a Doctor!
So, the question is ~ why is this woman not huge? I believe its probably because she occupies a musical and political frequency that is currently all Beyonce's, perhaps there can really only be one such person. Or maybe its because Monae doesn't just mouth the right on words, she's an activist fpr black and women's issues. Maybe this ruffles a few feathers in boardrooms.
The song I casually bumped into was Make Me Feel. She was apparently working on this song with Prince before he died. and its a fantastic synthesis of everything a Prince record ever taught the world. The video with its Eighties styling is as self-conscious a homage to the late great as you could make without dressing it entirely in purple flounce and lace. It sizzles, bumps and grinds, opening with a brilliant funky farty electronic sound broken by a finger popping click. Its 'powerful, with a little bit of tender' .
This personal breakthrough led me to Tightrope, taken from that 2010 debut album that I'd so flagrantly dismissed. So maybe I need to go back to that and give it a more thorough listen. If this doesn't get your fingers and feet tapping then there is really something wrong with you, go see your GP ~ that's Groove Prince by the way ~ not a Doctor!
So, the question is ~ why is this woman not huge? I believe its probably because she occupies a musical and political frequency that is currently all Beyonce's, perhaps there can really only be one such person. Or maybe its because Monae doesn't just mouth the right on words, she's an activist fpr black and women's issues. Maybe this ruffles a few feathers in boardrooms.
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