Janelle Monae

At 38 years old, Janelle Monae has this physical status:

Monáe appeared on the Purple Ribbon All-Stars album Got Purp? Vol. 2 as well as on OutKast's 2006 album Idlewild, where she was featured on the songs "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams". Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monáe, of whom at the time Combs had not yet heard. Combs soon visited Monáe's MySpace page and according to a HitQuarters interview with Bad Boy Records A&R person Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell, Combs loved it right away: "[He] loved her look, loved that you couldn't see her body, loved the way she was dancing, and just loved the vibe. He felt like she has something that was different – something new and fresh."

Monáe signed to the label, Bad Boy, in 2006. The label's chief role was to facilitate her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and music, because in the words of Mitchell, "She was already moving, she already had her records – she had a self-contained movement." Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out "a hot single which everyone jumps on, and then they fade because it's just something of the moment."

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, Metropolis. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in mid-2007, these plans were altered following signing with Sean Combs's label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first suite in August 2008, which was retitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) and included two new tracks. The EP was critically acclaimed, garnering Monáe a 51st Annual Grammy Awards Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the single "Many Moons", festival appearances and opening slots for indie pop band of Montreal. Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour. Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol. Monáe told MTV about the concept for her new album and also discussed an alter-ego named Cindi Mayweather, she said:

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, The ArchAndroid. The album was released on May 18, 2010. The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather – also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite – becomes a messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis. Monáe announced plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create a film, graphic novel and a touring Broadway musical based on the album. The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. The series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies", in special regard. Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explore contemporary ideas of prejudice and class. Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."

Monáe received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010. Monáe covered Charlie Chaplin's Smile on Billboard.com in June 2010. In an NPR interview in September 2010, Monáe said she is a believer in, and a proponent of, time travel. Monáe performed "Tightrope" during the second elimination episode of the 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars on September 28, 2010. Monáe performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 alongside artists Bruno Mars and B.o.B; they performed the synth section of B.o.B's song "Nothin' on You" and she then performed the track "Cold War" with B.o.B on the guitar and Mars on the drums. The performance received a standing ovation. Monáe's single "Tightrope" was also featured on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, performed by Pia Toscano, Haley Reinhart, Naima Adedapo, and Thia Megia.

In September 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.'s single, "We Are Young", which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and selling over ten million units worldwide. The song garnered Monáe three Grammy nominations at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. Nate Ruess, the lead singer of fun., performed an acoustic version of "We Are Young" with Monáe.

On December 11, 2011, Monáe performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway, including her songs 'Cold War', 'Tightrope', and a cover of the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back'.

Monáe was also featured on "Do My Thing" for Estelle's studio album, All of Me. In June 2012, Monáe performed two new songs, "Electric Lady" and "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes" – from her then-upcoming sophomore studio album, The Electric Lady – at the Toronto Jazz Festival. In July 2012, for the second year in a row, Monáe appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Europe as well as in the 46th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on the 14th.

In August 2012, Monáe was chosen as CoverGirl's newest spokesperson. In September 2012, Monáe performed at CarolinaFest in support of President Obama, just before the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. In October 2012, Monáe starred in a commercial for the Sonos Wireless HiFi home audio system, and appeared in a Sonos commercial in 2012 with Deep Cotton. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 "Janelle Monáe Day" in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership.

Monáe's first single from The Electric Lady, "Q.U.E.E.N.", featuring Erykah Badu, premiered on SoundCloud and made available for download purchase at the iTunes Store on April 23, 2013. "Q.U.E.E.N." garnered 31,000 digital sales according to Nielsen Soundscan with the accompanying music video gaining four million YouTube views within its first week of release. In her 2013 interview with fuse, Monáe said "Q.U.E.E.N." was inspired by conversations she shared with Erykah Badu about the treatment of marginalized people, especially African-American women, and the title is an acronym "for those who are marginalized"; Q standing for the queer community, U standing for the "untouchables", the first E standing for "emigrants", the latter standing for "excommunicated" and N standing for "negroid". Thematically, The Electric Lady continues the utopian cyborg concepts of its predecessors, while presenting itself in more plainspoken, introspective territory in addition to experimenting with genres beyond conventional funk and soul such as jazz ("Dorothy Dandridge Eyes"), pop-punk ("Dance Apocalyptic"), gospel ("Victory") and woozy, sensual vocal ballads ("PrimeTime", featuring Miguel). The album features guest appearances by Prince, Solange Knowles, aforementioned Miguel and Esperanza Spalding with production from previous collaborator Deep Cotton (a psychedelic punk act) and Roman GianArthur (a soul music composer), and was released to critical acclaim on September 10, 2013.

On September 14, 2013, Monáe performed along with Chic at the iTunes Festival in London. On September 28, Monáe performed at the Global Citizens Festival in Central Park alongside Stevie Wonder. Monáe performed as the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live October 26 with host Edward Norton.

Monáe's voice is heard as veterinarian Dr. Monáe in the movie Rio 2, released in the U.S. on April 11, 2014, and the song "What Is Love" was featured on the soundtrack. In April 2014, Monáe was invited to perform along with Tessanne Chin, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Jill Scott, Ariana Grande, and Melissa Etheridge at the White House as a part of the PBS-broadcast "Women of Soul" event, which celebrated American women artists whose work has left an indelible and profound impact on American national musical culture. She performed "Goldfinger", "Tightrope", and joined in on the all-inclusive performance of "Proud Mary".

On April 14, 2014, Monáe was the recipient of the inaugural Harvard College Women's Center Award for Achievement in Arts and Media for achievements as an artist, advocate and feminist. She tweeted earlier that day, "Headed to #Harvard to meet the beautiful ladies in the Women's Center. Can't believe I'm the honoree today. Just So thankful." Monáe was also recognized as the 2014 Woman of the Year by the Harvard College Black Men's Forum at their annual Celebration of Black Women gala.

In mid-2014, Monáe had an interview with Fuse where she teased a follow up to The Electric Lady, saying "I'm working on a new, cool creative project called 'Eephus'" and "It's a big concept and you're not going to see it coming. It'll just land." Later in 2014, Monáe was featured on Sérgio Mendes' album, Magic. She sings on the track titled "Visions of You".

In February 2015, Monáe along with Epic Records and its CEO and chairman L.A. Reid announced that Monáe's independent label Wondaland Arts Society had signed a "landmark joint venture partnership" to revamp the label, now known as Wondaland Records, and to promote the artists on the label. Jem Aswad of Billboard called Monáe a "mini-mogul" because of the deal and revealed that "the partnership will bow in May with a 5-song compilation EP called The Eephus, including tracks from rapper Jidenna [...], Roman, St. Beauty, Deep Cotton and Monáe herself." With this move, Monáe became one of the few black women who run their own independent record label in conjunction with a major record label.

In late March 2015, Monáe released the single "Yoga" from the album The Eephus. The album debuted at number 22 of the Billboard 200 and at number 5 of the top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with an equivalent album sales of 47,000 units.

In mid-2015 Monáe attended various fashion events including London Fashion Week and the 2015 Met Gala. She began collaborating with Nile Rodgers for a new Chic album and Duran Duran for the album Paper Gods, their first album in over five years, and their single called "Pressure Off".

On August 14, 2015, Monáe and the body of her Atlanta-based Wondaland Arts Society collective performed the protest song "Hell You Talmbout", which raised awareness of the many black lives that were taken as a result of police brutality, with lyrics such as "Walter Scott, say his name. Jerame Reid, say his name. Philip White, say his name ... Eric Garner, say his name. Trayvon Martin, say his name ... Sandra Bland, say her name. Sharondra Singleton, say her name." She also gave a speech about police brutality after the performance on NBC's Today Show, "Yes Lord! God bless America! God bless all the lost lives to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced ..."

By March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama proclaimed that she had assembled a collaborative track featuring vocals from Monáe, Kelly Clarkson, Zendaya and Missy Elliott, alongside production credit from pop songwriter Diane Warren and Elliott, titled "This Is for My Girls". The iTunes-exclusive record was used to both coincide with Obama's Texan SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn.

In October 2016, Monáe made her big screen acting debut in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight, alongside Naomie Harris, André Holland, and Mahershala Ali. Monáe also starred in the film Hidden Figures, alongside actors Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer; the film was released in December 2016.

While filming these two movie roles, Monáe remained active in music with features on Grimes' "Venus Fly" from her Art Angels album and also the soundtrack for the Netflix series The Get Down with a song titled, "Hum Along and Dance (Gotta Get Down)". Monáe was also on the tracks "Isn't This the World" and "Jalapeño" for the Hidden Figures soundtrack.

In an interview with People, Monáe revealed that she was already working on her third studio album when she received the scripts for her two first acting roles; therefore, she put the album on hold. Monáe also revealed in the interview that she would be releasing new music sometime in 2017, although by the end of the year no album or single was announced. On February 16, 2018, Monáe revealed her third studio album, titled Dirty Computer, through a teaser video on YouTube. The album was accompanied by a narrative film project, and the teaser video aired nationwide in select theaters prior to screenings of Black Panther. She held a series of "top-secret" listening sessions in Los Angeles and New York in support of the album. On February 22, 2018, Monáe released "Make Me Feel" and "Django Jane" as the first two singles from Dirty Computer, both accompanied by music videos and announced that the album would follow on April 27, 2018. Monáe stated in an interview with BBC Radio 1: "Prince was actually working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with some sounds. And I really miss him, you know, it's hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me."

Monáe appeared in the episode "Autofac" of the 2017 anthology series based on the work of Philip K. Dick, Electric Dreams, which premiered on Channel 4 in the UK and on Amazon Video in the US.

On April 27, 2018, Monáe released a sci-fi film companion "emotion picture" to her new record Dirty Computer. The album debuted at the number six of the Billboard 200 with 54,000 equivalent units and on the top ten charts of Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. It was chosen as the best album of the year by three publications: the Associated Press, New York Times, and NPR. The album received the nomination for Album of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She also contributed to the soundtrack to the dark comedy film Sorry to Bother You, collaborating with The Coup. In 2018 her Wondaland Pictures production company was signed to a first look deal with Universal.

On November 15, 2018, it was announced that Monáe would receive the Trailblazer of the Year award at the 2018 Billboard Women in Music event, which was held on December 6, 2018. Also in 2018, Monáe co-starred in the fantasy drama feature film Welcome to Marwen, by filmmaker and screenwriter Robert Zemeckis alongside Steve Carell and Leslie Mann. On January 3, 2019, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival announced that Monáe will co-headliner the stage with Childish Gambino. Glastonbury Festival also confirmed Monáe's presence as headlining the West Holts stage of the festival. Four days after the Coachella setlist announcement, Monàe released a new music video for the song "Screwed". She replaced Julia Roberts in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series, Homecoming, playing "a tenacious woman who finds herself floating in a canoe, with no memory of how she got there or who she is." On March 29, 2019, in Brooklyn, NY, she inducted Janet Jackson into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Also in 2019, she co-starred in the film Harriet, about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Monáe returned to the big screen twice in 2020, with her first lead role in September 2020 with horror film Antebellum, and another supporting role with biopic The Glorias.

On February 9, 2020, Monáe opened the 92nd Academy Awards with a performance featuring Billy Porter that highlighted the many films nominated as well as films that were snubbed by the Academy, including Dolemite Is My Name and Midsommar.

In September 2020, Monáe released the music video Turntables as part of the Amazon Studios' bipartisan voter registration campaign. The song is used over the end credits of the Stacey Abrams-backed film, All In: The Fight for Democracy. More recently, she signed global deal with Sony Music Publishing.

On July 4, 2021, We The People, a 10-part series of animated music videos premiered on Netflix, created by Chris Nee, with Kenya Barris as a showrunner and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Monáe performed a number of songs for the series. This included a reggae-influenced number, titled "Stronger," which focuses on the "fight for justice and unity ... unity, liberty and equality" and the title track for the series.

In 2021, it was announced that Monáe would appear in the upcoming sequel to the 2019 mystery film Knives Out.

In April 2022, Harper Voyager published her first book, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, which "explores how different threads of liberation—queerness, race, gender plurality, and love—become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape ... and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms.”

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