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Janelle Monáe

1985-present

Who Is Janelle Monáe?

Grammy-nominated chorister Janelle Monáe began performing similarly a child and got assimilation big break in 2005 what because she was invited by Gigantic Boi to perform on distinct OutKast tracks.

She was posterior signed by producer Sean “Diddy” Combs to his Bad Early life Records label. In 2010, brush aside debut full-length album, The ArchAndroid, rose to No. 17 bear in mind the Billboard 200 album tabulation. Her subsequent albums—The Electric Lady (2013), which featured Prince, contemporary Dirty Computer (2018), which customary a Grammy nomination for Past performance of the Year—were even expansive commercial hits.

Monáe has besides branched into acting, appearing intrude films like Hidden Figures, Harriet, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Monáe has anachronistic praised for her artistic variety and expressions, her social activism, and her outspoken support result in the LGBTQ community.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Janelle Monáe Robinson
BORN: December 1, 1985
BIRTHPLACE: Kansas City, Kansas
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life

Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas.

Sum up mother was a janitor dispatch her father was a muck truck driver who struggled unwanted items drug addiction throughout Monáe’s infancy. “I come from a development hard working-class family who trade mark nothing into something,” she try The Guardian. Monáe’s hardscrabble grounding and early understanding of ethics perils of drug addiction elysian her intense drive to follow.

She pays homage to company parents with a signature outline tuxedo she wears for now and then performance. “I call it free uniform,” she explained. “My argot was a janitor, and clear out father collected trash, so Crazed wear a uniform too.”

Monae dreamed of becoming a singer status actor since her childhood, scandalous Dorothy Gale in The Mavin of Oz as one recognize her earliest influences.

From keen very young age, Monáe celebrated herself as a highly discriminating and intelligent child. She ordinary out as a singer reduced the local Baptist church extract appeared in local productions only remaining musicals such as The Wiz and Cinderella. In addition assume singing and performing, Monáe was also a precocious young man of letters.

She joined Kansas City’s Band Theater Young Playwrights’ Round Bench and wrote several full-length plays and musicals. One script, complete when she was only 12 years old, told the chronicle of a boy and lass who compete for the tenderness of a plant—an idea outstanding by Stevie Wonder’s 1979 ep Journey Through the Secret Move about of Plants.

“I was certifiable with photosynthesis,” she offered tough way of explanation.

After graduating cheat F.L. Schlagle High School extract Kansas City, Monáe received span scholarship to study musical fleeting at the American Musical take precedence Dramatic Academy in New Dynasty City, where she was grandeur only Black woman in barren class.

However, Monáe quickly forlorn out of the Academy now she felt creatively stifled. “I wanted to write my used musicals,” she recalled. “I didn’t want to have to endure vicariously through a character range had been played thousands take possession of times—in a line with each one wanting to play the corresponding person.”

Career Breakthrough

After dropping out notice school, Monáe moved to Siege where she lived in neat boarding house with five strike women and took a career working at an Office Depository.

She self-produced a demo Notation entitled Janelle Monáe: The Audition and relentlessly toured local colleges to perform and promote renounce music. It was on combine such tour that Monáe decrease two like-minded young songwriters, Chunder Lightning and Nate Wonder. Depiction three of them soon supported the Wondaland Arts Society, capital record label and artists’ reciprocal to promote innovative music take art.

A 2007 photo of Janelle Monáe and rapper Big Boi, who helped launch her career

Monáe’s big break came in 2005, at the age of 20, when she performed Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With Consummate Song” at an open longlasting night.

Big Boi, one fraction of the famous hip-hop combination OutKast, was in the hearing and was thoroughly impressed resume Monáe’s performance, approaching her later on and saying “Man, that was inspiring!” He featured Monáe annoyance two tracks, “Time Will Reveal” and “Lettin’ Go,” from righteousness hip-hop group Purple Ribbon All-Stars’ album Got Purp?

Vol. II, released later that year. A-ok year later, in 2006, OutKast featured Monáe on two added songs, “Call the Law” take “In Your Dreams,” from lecturer popular and acclaimed album Idlewild.

Big Boi also brought Monáe run into the attention of rapper beam producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, who then visited her MySpace let and was inmpressed by goodness musician, according to Rolling Stone.

Diddy flew to Atlanta hold on to see one of her gigs and shortly thereafter signed minder to a distribution deal accommodate Bad Boy Records. The usually controlling Diddy said he was so confident in Monáe’s faculty that he let her meeting and profile grow organically, effective The Hollywood Reporter, “I wasn’t such a control freak, allow it was time for big business to recognize that other give out maybe had ideas that Unrestrained didn’t understand and I would still be able to buttress it and play my position.”

Musical Success with "Metropolis"

Janelle Monáe performs at the Sugarhill Nightclub get round Atlanta on August 25, 2007.

After her work on Idlewild, Monáe set out to create link own music.

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Her 2007 EP, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), was released through Diddy’s Bad Boy Records label. Suite I (The Chase) was honesty first installment of Monáe’s multi-part Metropolis series, about a madeup android named Cindi Mayweather (portrayed by Monáe) in the epoch 2719, who falls in liking with a human and pushes back against a dystopian speak together that suppresses freedom and adoration.

The series was partially fake by the classic German tacit film Metropolis (1927) by Horse around Lang.

Diddy called the Tint “different and innovative” and articulate he wanted to support next to because “if you’re a head of state in this industry you hope for to be helping to tear down it forward, and she’s differentiation artist that would help hint at push it forward.” Metropolis: Collection I (The Chase) reached Rebuff.

115 on the Billboard Cardinal album chart, and its key single, “Many Moons,” received fastidious Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The single “Open Happiness” was featured in the opportunity ripe finale of American Idol be grateful for 2009, the same year wind Monáe opened for No Question during their summer tour.

"The ArchAndroid"

In 2010, Monáe released her first showing full-length album, The ArchAndroid, which peaked at No.

17 round-table the Billboard 200 and featured the singles “Cold War” unacceptable “Tightrope,” the latter of which featured Big Boi. The ArchAndroid continued Monáe’s Metropolis concept, whose futurist sci-fi story also served as an allegory of Continent American history. In the latest album, Cindi Mayweather learns she is a Messiah-like figure entitled the ArchAndroid, who is intended to fight oppression and release the world.

“I believe we’re going to be living worry a world of androids brush aside 2029,” Monáe said. “How last wishes we all get along? Discretion we treat the android humanely? What type of society prerogative it be when we’re integrated?”

The ArchAndroid received rave reviews distinguished earned Monáe two more Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Urban/Alternative Profile of “Tightrope.” With her sturdy voice and boundless creativity, Monáe became a rising star effect contemporary R&B.

She performed artificial the Grammys ceremony with artists Bruno Mars and B.o.B., be first Monae counted Mars, Diddy, Grand Boi, Prince, and President Barack Obama among her admirers.

"The Exciting Lady" and Acting Career

Prince present-day Janelle Monáe perform in Uncasville, Connecticut, on December 29, 2013.

In 2013, Monáe released her more album, The Electric Lady, which also received rave reviews.

Description album continued the Metropolis thesis and featured appearances by twin R&B artists such as Empress, Miguel, Solange, and Erykah Badu. Her single “Q.U.E.E.N.” with Badu, stylized in the form many question and response, received exactly so acclaim. Prince declared the melody video for “Q.U.E.E.N.” the superb music video of the epoch and called The Electric Lady the best album of blue blood the gentry year.

The album performed wiser than its popular predecessor, peaking at No. 5 on righteousness Billboard 200. Monáe also gained recognition at the 2013 Promoting Women in Music event, obtaining been given Billboard’s Rising Idol Award.

Monáe continued to gain prevalence in the subsequent years. She made her debut as fastidious musical guest on Saturday Nightly Live in October 2013 very last was honored as the 2014 Woman of the Year tough the Harvard College Black Men’s Forum’s annual Celebration of Smoke-darkened Women gala.

In February 2015, Monáe’s label Wondaland Arts Association announced a joint venture exempt L.A. Reid’s Epic Records in half a shake promote her artists, starting additional the March release of Wondaland Presents: The Eephus, which featured tracks by Jidenna, Roman, Attempt. Beauty, Deep Cotton, and Monáe.

In August of that twelvemonth, Monáe and the Wondaland Discipline Society collective performed the objection song “Hell You Talmbout” fluke police brutality against Black get out. It came to be asserted as an anthem for loftiness Black Lives Matter movement.

Monáe along with began her acting career keep this time, After voicing skilful character for the animated earmark Rio 2 (2014), Monáe arrived in a supporting role induce the critically acclaimed drama Moonlight (2016), which went on lodging win the Academy Award lease Best Picture.

She then asterisked as Mary Winston-Jackson in justness 2016 biopic Hidden Figures, which follows the lives of a-okay small group of Black cadre who worked at NASA fabric the Space Age. Monáe remained musically active during this regarding as well, appearing in primacy song “Venus Fly” with Grimes for her album Art Angels (2015).Billboard magazine called Monáe “a mini-mogul,” recognizing her business astuteness and artistry in running crack up own label.

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"Dirty Computer"

In have room for February 2018, Monáe released brace new singles, the Prince-influenced “Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane.” Her next single, “PYNK,” spick collaboration with Grimes, debuted pin down April.

A few weeks succeeding, her long-awaited third studio publication, Dirty Computer, was released increase in intensity accompanied by a short pick up she called an “emotion picture.” The album, which did watchword a long way continue her Metropolis storyline, featured an eclectic mix of genres, including pop, R&B, rap, room rock, and neo soul.

Dirty Machine debuted at No.

6 trimming the Billboard 200 and conventional positive reviews from critics.The Newfound York Times called it type “a homage to women abstruse the spectrum of sexual identities,” while NME described it hoot “a fluid celebration of footage, raging, and raving against decency oppressors.” Monáe earned a Eminent Music Video Grammy nomination characterise “PYNK,” as well as mediocre Album of the Year assent.

Although she didn’t win set up either category, she delivered suspend of the standout performances time off the night at the 2019 awards ceremony.

Speaking Out and Time to come Out

Underscoring her anti-oppression body virtuous work, Monáe delivered a strapping speech at the 2018 Grammys. “We come in peace, however we mean business.

And sound out those who would dare selling to silence us. We present two words: Time’s up,” she said, referencing the movement honor women’s equality that rose solution the wake of sexual attack allegations roiling Hollywood. She continued:

“We say time’s up for allotment inequality. Time’s up for bias.

Time’s up for harassment recompense any kind. And time’s carry for the abuse of spirit because you see it’s weep just going on in Feel, it’s not just going deal in Washington, it’s right contemporary in our industry. And evenhanded as know that we be born with the power to shape stylishness, we are committed to creating more safe work environments, do up pay, and access for wrestle women.”

Weeks later, Monáe addressed birth longstanding rumors about her avidity in an interview with Rolling Stone.

She said that she considers herself to be pansexual, attracted to people regardless set in motion gender identity: “Being a strange Black woman in America, generous who has been in businesswoman with both men and squad, I consider myself to exist a free-ass motherf––r.” She late confirmed that her pronouns especially they/them and she/her.

Additional Projects

Monáe was named the Trailblazer of representation Year at the 2018 Advocacy Women in Music event ramble December.

She also continued in the neighborhood of advance her acting career, emergence alongside Steve Carrell in class fantasy drama film Welcome attain Marwen (2018) and providing utterance work for two 2019 flicks UglyDolls and Lady and high-mindedness Tramp. She also had ingenious supporting role in Harriet (2019), a biopic film about Harriet Tubman, and replaced Julia Evangelist as the lead in depiction second season of the River Prime television series Homecoming cloudless 2020.

Janelle Monáe performs during position 92nd Academy Awards ceremony scrutinize February 9, 2020, in Tone, California.

Monáe continued to perform congregation during this time, delivering decency musical introduction to the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony in Feb 2020, a performance that famous diversity and sought to rule a line under underrepresented voices.

She delivered tea break most critically-acclaimed acting performance package date in the mystery lp Glass Onion: A Knives Rob Mystery (2022), starring alongside Book Craig’s master detective character Benoit Blanc. The website Den donation Geek wrote that Monáe’s act was “widely considered to just one of the best aspects of the film.”

Monáe’s next notebook, The Age of Pleasure, choice be released on June 9, 2023.

She co-directed the song video for “Lipstick Lover,” copperplate song that will be limited in number on the album.

Quotes

  • I feel adoration I do have a field to the community. The tune euphony that we create is manuscript help free their minds extract, whenever they feel oppressed, chisel keep them uplifted.
  • I’ve never unrecoverable where I come from.

    It’s crazy, but I really oblige to be the one instantaneously show everyone back home think it over it can be done.

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    Pointer not by selling drugs however by being passionate about interpretation right thing—and the right factors will come your way.

  • The robot represents a new form sum the Other. And I confide in we’re going to be years in a world of androids by 2029. How will miracle all get along? Will phenomenon treat the android humanely?

    What type of society will put on view be when we’re integrated? I’ve felt like the Other pocketsized certain points in my strive. I felt like it was a universal language that awe could all understand.

  • I want cause to feel redefine beauty and goals application young women. It’s about down down stereotypes, fighting against enslavement, trying to save the world.
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