janelle monae

Electric Ladies, Meet Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monae is WCW every day for her amazing, soulful voice, empowering and creative music, as well as her down-to-earth treatment of her fans and her work as an activist. Here are a few things we love about The Electric Lady herself.

MUSIC

Janelle Monáe has won Black Girls Rock! awards, a Soul Train Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and numerous other awards. From this, you can tell there is something extraordinary about her. One of her most well-known tracks is “Q.U.E.E.N.” from her 2013 album The Electric Lady.

While there are a lot of empowering songs out there, this song is fantastic because it addresses and empowers marginalized groups with a groovy blend of funk and hip-hop.

 

FAN INTERACTION

Janelle Monáe cares very deeply about her fans, often encouraging them to embrace what makes them unique and underlines the fact that they don’t have to be perfect. At the 2012 Black Girls Rock! Awards, she delivered a moving speech telling them not to change who they are because she didn’t have to do so to become a Covergirl.

In 2014, she got up close and personal with a ten year old fan named McKynzie Duhon on The Queen Latifah Show. After hearing how Mckynzie was inspired by her, Janelle Monáe decided to surprise her backstage before the show and gave her sound advice on air.

 

ACTIVISM

One of the lyrics in Janelle Monáe’s song “Q.U.E.EN.” is, “March through the streets ‘cause I’m willing and I’m able”. Last year, she put these lyrics into action when she led peaceful protest marches with members of her record label Wondaland in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In addition to this, she also released the protest song “Hell You Talmbout” and performed it during the protest marches in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York.