The definition of a free spirit is an independent or uninhibited person, basically Janelle Monáe to a T, and with her latest project The Age of Pleasure on the horizon and her leading single “Lipstick Lover,” it’s clear she’s deep in her self-expression and no f***s given bag. She sat down with Big Tigger of V-103 Atlanta to dive into the creation of this latest project and what it means to be living in the age of pleasure.
LISTEN NOW: V-103’s Big Tigger Morning Show: Janelle Monáe
Diving straight in, Janelle shared where the initial inspo came from for the songs on this project. She spoke about the Everyday People Parties that she hosts at her space, Wondaland, and with these parties she was able to curate a safe space for Black people from all over the diaspora. She talked about how much fun they had, how they looked out after each other and through this “beautiful” experience she “wanted to make music that captured that beauty,” she said. “So 'The Age of Pleasure' is my attempt at capturing all the beauty that I saw.”
And it seems that throwing parties has always been something that she was destined to do. She recalled being in seventh grade, as her and her friends would skip school to sell $2 tickets to their parties. “We would skip school and we would go to all the schools, pass out flyers like ‘come to our party this Friday,’” she shared.
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Monáe shared that this project “is a very like Pan-African diasporic project,” not only because of the collaborations but also because of the friends she made at these parties, ranging from all over the African diaspora. “I’m super excited about the collaborations on the project,” she added before detailing that fans can look forward to collabs with Doechii, Amaarae, Grace Jones and shockingly enough, actress Nia Long.
Tapping into the lead single that had the world abuzz, “Lipstick Lover,” Monáe wondered why she hadn’t written the song sooner as it accurately describes situations she has been in many times. Reciting the lyrics “I like lipstick on my neck” she said “yeah, that phrase, that’s me.”
But as we are all wondering, what does it mean to be in your age of pleasure?
Simply put, “you define your age of pleasure,” Monáe said. And speaking of pleasure, the “I Like That” singer revealed that she does have a crush and “after you hear the album you’ll know who I’m talking about.”
Singing aside however, Janelle did confirm that she will be acting as the iconic Jazz entertainer Josephine Baker, a dream role of hers she said. “I’m so excited because Josephine Baker is definitely part of my DNA… She was just so liberated, you know she was queer, bisexual and from the midwest, so much in common. I’m from Kansas City.”
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Check out the full conversation between Big Tigger and Janelle Monáe above.
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