Five years after “Dirty Computer”, American singer Janelle Monáe returns with “The Age of Pleasure”, an album paying homage to sexual freedom and love without taboos. She will perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 15, 2023.
Originally from Atlanta, Janelle Monae is an American actress and singer who has impressed the greatest, rappers Big Boi (Outkast) and P. Diddy, who signed her on his label in 2007, to the singer Prince who noticed her at the Grammy Awards in 2010.
The latter later became her mentor and worked with her on the song “Givin’ Em What They Love”, appearing on the album “The Electric Lady” in 2013, then on “Dirty Computer”, shortly before the death of the legend between 2015 and 2016.
An uninhibited turn
This year, the singer unveils “The Age of Pleasure”, an uninhibited fourth album dedicated to pleasure in all its forms. With texts detached from any societal, dogmatic or sexual influence, Janelle Monáe shows a liberating attitude. Formerly sporting a stylized trouser suit in reference to her modest origins and her former job as a maid, the artist is now changing her look. She proudly displays her body and her breasts, whether on the album cover where she dives underwater, or in the video for “Lipstick Lover”, available in an explicit and censored version. On social networks, we see her lifting her t-shirt during a concert. As an act of liberation from his body.
>> Watch: Janelle Monáe’s “Lipstick Lover” music video
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Like Lil Nas X or Lizzo, Janelle Monáe, who defines herself as non-binary, defends a positive culture of the body. Activist for social justice, African-American and LGBTQ+ communities, the singer also acts for her by assuming and living her desires without taboos, like her song “Only Have Eyes 42”, an ode to polyamory.
Eclectic collaborations
Conceptual artist Janelle Monáe drew inspiration from her previous science fiction albums to speak of oppression and resistance. In “The Age of Pleasure”, she honors women who have marked the entertainment industry with their strength of character: Grace Jones lends her voice for an interlude in French in “Ooh La La”, while singer, DJ and Jamaican pioneer Sister Nancy appears in “French 75”. American actress Nia Long and American-Ghanaian singer Amaarae unite their talents in “The Rush”. All in a style mixing reggae, trap and soul.
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This new album marks the end of a long process of self-disclosure for Janelle Monáe. She will also play Josephine Baker in a future series devoted to the muse of the Roaring Twenties. It must be said that the two women share their strong character, their activism, their bisexuality and their love for the liberation of the body, opening the debate on its place in racial stereotypes.
Radio subject: Yves Zahno
Adaptation web: Myriam Semaani
Janelle Monáe, “The Age of Pleasure” (Wondaland Productions).
In concert with Nile Rodgers, Montreux Jazz Festival, July 15, 2023.
2023-07-01 07:22:50
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