Android,

Resurrected WRITTEN/COMPOSED/EDITED by Rachel Plummer

Janelle Monae - the multitalented,

retrofuturist queen of eclectic, electric
R&B - is back with her first album in
five years. Though a singer, songwriter,
actress, producer, and CEO (plus,
rumored for some 2019 Grammy wins),
she herself is the embodiment of
humility and sincerity as she discusses
her work and vision with us here at
PRAXIS Magazine.

6 Photo courtesy of Fast Company

magazine.
Photo: Ramona Rosales; prop
stylist: Justin Fry; stylist: Alexandra
Mandelkorn at the Only Agency; hair:
Nikki Nelms at Impaq Beauty; makeup:
Jessica Smalls at the Wall Group;
manicurist: Sreynin Peng

PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 3

 7 Janelle Monae performs at the
PRAXIS Magazine: So, Dirty Computer is officially out! Greek Theatre on June 28, 2018 in
Los Angeles, California.

Monáe: Yes, it is! Thank you. Yeah, man. It’s out and I feel incredible.
I worked my ass off for the album, emotionally and physically. I’m just
so thankful to finally be able to give something very near and dear to
my heart - to all of you as a gift.1

PM: What does “working your ass off” mean to you personally?
I’m sure making an album is a long, arduous process at
times. Can you explain what the schedule is like for you, what
challenges you grappled with?

Monáe: Well, making an album, or honestly, doing anything you feel

called to do, comes straight from your heart. This time around, it was
important for me to be more vulnerable and honest. And that journey
is not easy. The biggest challenge sometimes is to articulate who you
are on an album. It needs to resonate with you yourself, as well as
with everyone who is listening. I knew I eventually would push myself
to make an album like this, I was just waiting for the proper ideas and
proper timing.1

PM: Is that why Dirty Computer has taken longer than previous
records? Was the process more time-consuming than usual?
Monáe: Yes. If you hear Dirty Computer, it comes from a time that is
further from the timeline of Cyndi Mayweather and closer to the life
of Janelle Monae - from a more steadily-approaching, near future.
It took me a while to make and release this album because I had to
reflect on my experiences. I had to live with myself for a little while. I
needed to be inspired, take the time, and have the patience to write
something that felt real. I wanted to wait until the project

PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 5

8 Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine

truly had something to say. This album deals with what it means to
come from the dirt, and I thought a lot about how humans function;
our brains function like computers. We’re constantly downloading,
processing, transmitting information. But many of us are told that we
have viruses, problems, even though those are the things that make
us unique. But Dirty Computer is about reclaiming those bugs as our
attributes, special features that enrich us.2

PM: You certainly have revealed a lot of personal things on this

album and throughout its promotion. It takes a lot of courage to
say those things publicly, even though it shouldn’t have to. You
shouldn’t have to be ashamed of who you are or explain yourself
in defense.

Monáe: Mm-hmm... No, I shouldn’t. I believe in doing things

whenever it feels right for you. I say things according to my soul’s
clock, my inner compass; I don’t take actions just because someone
asks me to. But I felt a deep responsibility – when the leader of the
free world is talking about conversion therapy and demonizing
the LGBTQIA community, who are my brothers and sisters, I will
say something. Aside from being an artist, I am a Black, queer,
American woman. I grew up to working class parents. I just think
it’s so important that I be clear about where I stand on these issues
and be proud of who I am so that young boys and girls can see
that and know they’re valid. Even if they grow up in a small town,
or grow up in a religious family that uses the Bible as an excuse to
whip down others, they can feel loved and heard. I personally have a
great support system, so I wanted to provide that to others. And I’m
not perfect. Sometimes I may use the incorrect language or offend
someone. But I am trying my best to walk in my truth, and make
space for diversity and representation. Representation matters.1
PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 7
PM: On representation – the film Hidden Figures, in which you
played the role of Mary Jackson, caused a noticeable shift in how
Americans view our history. How was being in the cast and on
that set?
Monáe: It was incredible. I love Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer,
Kevin Costner. It was really a phenomenal group to work with. And it
was just my second movie after Moonlight. I was really, very nervous
9 Janelle Monae speaks onstage during the 22nd Annual
Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on
November 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
coming in as a newbie actress, so I worked hard. I overprepared
myself, learning my lines two weeks early, trying my best to fulfill the
role. I wasn’t just trying to prove myself on the movie, but pay proper
tribute to those women: Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine
Johnson, and all those women who contributed their genius and their
hard work to get America into space. I was even able to meet their
families and learn more about how they helped fight to get minorities
and women into positions at NASA.1
10 Janelle Monae performs during a stop of her Dirty
Computer Tour at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino
Resort on June 26, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 PM: I’m sure many Americans – regardless of their ethnicity, age,
religion, etc. are grateful that it finally became a story that we
highlighted as a nation. Most can relate to the American Dream
of wanting to build yourself up to your potential, even when you
come from a disadvantaged background. When you look back at
your childhood, would you say you made it because you had it
tough, or in spite of that?

Monáe: It’s both, definitely. I am who I am today because of my

upbringing and I’ll always be proud of that. I had parents who worked
hard every day at low-income jobs and they taught me work ethic
and self-respect. I mean, it was hard. I grew up in the poorest part of
Kansas City. There was so much hostility. I lost a lot of good friends
11 Janelle
to gun violence. But it was a place that motivated me to turn nothing Monae attends
into something and rise above. It’s possible if you have faith in the Heavenly
Bodies:
yourself and a good team that believes in what you’re doing.3 Fashion &
The Catholic
Imagination
Costume
Institute
Gala at The
Metropolitan
Museum of
Art on May 7,
2018 in New
York City.

P. 10 PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018

12 Photo courtesy of
photographer Alexandra
Gavillet and Billboard

PM: As you are open to share your thoughts on politics and

society, especially, as you have mentioned, in light of recent
elections, how do you balance the music with the political
statements? For example, when you go to a music festival, you’re
so far away from the reality and the news of what’s occurring in
our country. Yet, even in that place of acceptance and neutrality,
you’re still commenting on all of those political issues when you
perform.

Monáe: Well, when I wrote Dirty Computer, it was during a time

when I was watching the news and seeing the way the country was
headed. I mean, the current president of our nation, and I’ll be clear
in expressing this – I don’t support him and his team. I used to get
angry over their divisive tactics and abusing power to rouse fear in
the public. I had to make a decision for this album and for my life,
in general, that I would avoid that negativity and celebrate those
who needed it most. People who have been pushed to the margins
of society – members of the LGBTQIA community, Black folks,
impoverished people, women, immigrants, people with disabilities, I
could go on. This country needs to work better for us, and we need to
foster a community at festivals so that people of all minority groups
feel heard and like they have the right to speak up and use their
voice. Also, we’ve got to stop people in power from abusing people
for their own agendas. We’ve got to get our asses up and out to the
polls to vote!1

PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 13

 14 (L-R) Recording
PM: I don’t want to deprive you of the chance to discuss the artists Isis
Valentino of St.
inspiration and direction you’ve been playing with, musically Beauty, Janelle
and artistically. So, moving on from talks of politics, when Monae and Alexe
Belle of St. Beauty
you’re composing new music, where does that flurry of fresh attend 2017
Essence Black
ideas start? How do you organize them all, and test them? Women in Music
at NeueHouse
Hollywood on
Monáe: The lyrics come naturally from a personal source of what February 9, 2017
in Los Angeles,
I see happening in me and around me. All the happenings that California.
make me, that make all of us, hopeful, frightened, confused, happy,
enraged. Whenever I feel blocked, I consult my core values and the
values we’ve established at Wondaland Records. I try to surround
myself with all my favorite, brilliant works of art, film, and music.

My crew – all the people at Wondaland – are just amazing and

have always helped me to push my sound as I figure out what
13 Photo courtesy of music is true to me, true to my heart. Of course, the groove, the
Adweek.
Wondaland's beat – all that has got to be there too. I want my work to not only
superstars,
photographed at the
be taken seriously, but there’s more power in music than just a
label's home base message. You’ve got to make people dance, stir something deep
in Atlanta (l. to r.):
Jidenna; Alex Belle, inside them, make them shake their ass. The trouble I sometimes
from St. Beauty;
Roman GianArthur;
have isn’t really with the core messages; I have faith in what I have
Isis Valentino, from to say. I know what I contribute to this great, big conversation.
St. Beauty; and, from
Deep Cotton, Nate And the things I believe in are important to me, important to my
"Rocket" Wonder and
Chuck Lightning.
listeners. Even though they are inspired by my family and my city,
Photo: Harold Daniels they’re stories that can be found in anyone’s life.4
 PM: It seems that amidst the announcement of Dirty Computer,
and even the accompanying 48-minute long “emotion picture”,
the most shocking thing for the public was the music video for
“Pynk”. You know you’ve got to explain those vagina pants for
us.

Monáe: I know what you’re getting at, yeah. I just love celebrating
women, that’s all. I love celebrating us, our uniqueness, and what we
can present to the whole world when we come together. Particularly,
as a Black woman, I wanted to showcase a lot of Black Girl Magic in
the “Pynk” music video. Also, if you look at how we’re dressed, I’m
wearing those pants and so are other dancers. But not all the articles
of clothing look the same, and some women aren’t wearing the
vagina pants at all - I wanted to be as inclusive as possible. They’re
pretty obvious, but I like that they’re playful. I love symbolism, I
love mysticism, and I didn’t want to beat anyone over the head with
anything. And the whole idea of “Pynk” isn’t just what you think; it
isn’t all sexual. The lyrics reference the color pink, which is the color of
our brains, our mouths, our hearts, our flesh, and all those things that
connect us together.1

PM: Music videos, performances, albums, they become so

permanent, like a tattoo. You have to make sure all those
costumes, visuals, and concepts are what you want to shape your
legacy years from now.
15 Janelle Monae poised on the cover of single "Pynk" in
stunning, trending "Pynk" pants

PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 17

 16 Janelle Monae attends
the 2017 CFDA Fashion
Awards at Hammerstein
Ballroom on June 5, 2017
in New York City. (June 4,
2017 - Source: Dimitrios
Kambouris/Getty Images
North America)

17 Janelle Monae at the Los

Angeles World Premiere
of Marvel Studios' BLACK
PANTHER at Dolby Theatre
on January 29, 2018 in
Hollywood, California.
(Jan. 28, 2018 - Source:
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Images North America)

Monáe: Absolutely. I care deeply about creating certain experiences.
I think I care too damn much. I overthink the details, but that’s what
really makes the project. I remember having the VHS of Michael
Jackson’s Moonwalker, and seeing Purple Rain for the first time. Same
thing with Missy Elliott videos and David Bowie’s movies. I really love
creating those types of experiences.1
PM: You mention Prince being a major influence on your work.
It’s well known that he was an important mentor to you; fans
lament that he didn’t have the chance to see Dirty Computer in
all its finished complexity and beauty. Are you able to speak on
what Prince meant to you for this project?
Monáe: Thank you. Wow, uh, yeah. He was a very precious mentor
that I could always rely on. I would always call him if I had artistic

PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 19

trouble; he never let the mystery of his artistry hold him back from
mentoring me. I knew if anyone could understand me, it was him.
And I had to stop recording for a while after he passed on to another
frequency. It was so hard, um, to just not be able to pick up the
phone and to be completely disconnected from him. He was a huge
blessing to me. I tried to honor that the best I could, and still do.1
PM: Do you think the title of a “genius” is attainable for any
artist? Who decides that, and how do artists control their image
and perception?
Monáe: Man, I don’t know. I think maybe some artists may call
themselves geniuses. Narcissism will definitely ruin an artists’ career
if they get caught up in that self-indulgence. Especially because of
social media and the presences we formulate online, you can see
people who are full of themselves. They don’t realize there are people
around them who can check them or call them out on something like
that. I just think the Internet is so different from reality. Which might
be a reflection of how we are in real life, but social media can be

18 Photo courtesy of FAULT magazine. Fashion Editor: Rachel Holland | Photographer:

David Yeo | Make Up Artist: Jessica Smalls | Hair Stylist: Nikki Elms | Nail Artist: Diana
Drummond | Photographer's Assistant: Anna Forbes | Stylist's Assistant: Anna Cirnu |
Photographed at Handel & Hendrix in London handelhendrix.org

19 Janelle Monae attends the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between
Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City.
(April 30, 2017 - Source: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images North America)
so unhealthy. Texting too much and checking my email too much
used to give me social anxiety. I decided instead of picking up my
phone right when I wake up, instead I’ve got to pray, I’ve got to
meditate. You know, get the right energy, do whatever you need to
do to get your fucking life together. But yeah, I try not to get too
swept up in social media and curating my image.1
PM: But most artists do have, whether in their public image or in
secret, an ideal version of themselves. The android character that
you’ve built, Cyndi Mayweather, how does it relate to you as a
person? You’re obviously a human being like the rest of us – but
a lot of performers have difficulty separating those identities and
finding harmony between them.
Monáe: Seeing myself as an android for all this time, it came with a
creative freedom to express myself and become a figure that other
people can easily relate to. But that mask, it also had to do with a
fear of being judged. Entering this industry, I believed that I was
supposed to look a certain way, especially as a Black female artist.
Yet Cyndi Mayweather has been a blessing, and let me visualize the
ideal me, one that inspires hope in lots of people who can relate to
being mistreated and disregarded. But there were times when I was
worried to show anything less than my best. I am a perfectionist like
that; I wouldn’t be at the top of my game, to put it one way, and I felt
misunderstood. Like I had a computer virus. And to maintain that role
that I set up, sometimes I had to overcompensate with the fantasy
and theatrics. It became a balancing act to use that creative world I
made up, but make sure it didn’t overwhelm me.3
PRAXIS MAG | NOVEMBER 2018 P. 23
PM: So what’s next on your radar?

Monáe: Oh, hmm. The sky’s the limit, you know. I’ll tell you’ve I’ve
really enjoyed films – both acting and making. Not that it will ever
overpower my passion for music, but film has a power to move
people and I’d like to explore that realm more. My roles in Moonlight
and Hidden Figures, promoting Black characters in a new light that
is unlike what is often seen in media, it was wonderful. The audience
can understand that it doesn’t matter what color you are, we’re not so
damn different. Every time I get to help make a statement like that -
that Black folks, and Black women, are not monolithic, not expendable
- that’s always rewarding. But who knows, who knows what I’m up to
next.5

20 Photo courtesy of
photographer Gary
Gershoff and Them.
online community
platform
 Interview Citations
1. "Janelle Monae Explains Dirty Computer Visuals, What Pansexuality Means to
Her, and more!." Youtube, uploaded by Power 106 Los Angeles, 03 May
2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGhNbcIRKfI. Accessed 03 Nov 2018.
2. Spanos, Brittany. "Janelle Monae Frees Herself." RollingStone, Rolling Stone
LLC, Penske Business Media, LLC, 26 Apr 2018, www.rollingstone.com/
music/music-features/janelle-monae-frees-herself-629204/. Accessed 03
Nov 2018.
3. Blair, Iain. "Janelle Monae." Variety, Business Insights: Global, Penske
Business Media, LLC.,6 Jan. 2014, bi.galegroup.com/global/article/
GALE%7CA357147349?u=ucinc_main&sid=summon, Accessed 12 Sept.
2018.
4. Battan, Carrie. "Mind Control." Pitchfork, Pitchfork, pitchfork.com/features/
cover-story/reader/janelle-monae. Accessed 19 Sep. 2018
5. Metz, Brooke. "Amandla Stenberg, Janelle Monae Get Real on Racism:
'Now is the Time to Stand Tall'." USA Today, USA Today, a division of
Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., Aug 15 2017, search.proquest.
com/docview/1928935041/fulltext/303739751C554B9APQ/1?accountid=
2909, Accessed 22 Sep. 2018 .
Image Citations
6. https://www.fastcompany.com/90263428/how-singer-songwriter-actress-activist-janelle-
monae-gets-so-much-done
7. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/ICXWjmku6bS/Janelle+Monae+Performs+Greek+Theatre/
hEBtyZi_ZOa
8. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/janelle-monae-frees-herself-629204/
9. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/
Janelle+Monae/22nd+Annual+Hollywood+Film+Awards+Inside/Zhchat3nbL0
10. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/
11. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/
Heavenly+Bodies+Fashion+Catholic+Imagination/_PV4Xu3GFG1
12. https://www.billboard.com/photos/7549098/janelle-monae-photos-billboard-shoot
13.https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/janelle-mon-e-building-music-empire-will-spark-
revolution-your-head-163457/
14. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/2017+Essence+Black+Women+Music+Event/
vOADLMXDp6H
15.https://crank11.news/2018/04/20/janelle-monae-3/
16. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/2017+CFDA+Fashion+Awards+Arrivals/
p0LokZM8eZk
17. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/
Los+Angeles+World+Premiere+Marvel+Studios/8EIW2WLKUgQ
18. http://fault-magazine.com/2018/04/janelle-monae-covers-fault-magazine-issue-28/
19. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Janelle+Monae/
Rei+Kawakubo+Comme+des+Garcons+Art+Between/J3D8KMTE68M
20. https://www.them.us/story/janelle-monaes-dirty-computer-delivers-a-black-feminist-and-
queer-vision-of-freedom