A beloved Martin Luther King Jr. reminding listeners that all men are created equal kicks off on Janelle Monae’s single, “Crazy, Classic, Life” from her new album “Dirty Computer,” an album of politics, sex and love.
Monae’s new album is an experimentation and a different concept from her previous work. In “Dirty Computer,” Monae takes on a more self-expressive, provocative work than in her previous albums. Albums such as “Metropolis: The Chase Suite,” released in 2008, contained her original tendencies of creating doo-wop, funk and soul. Monae also previously used an alter ego, Cindi Mayweather, a robotic superhero, to bring a character to life in her music. This time, Monae brings forth the character of herself in “Dirty Computer.”
One prominent theme in Monae’s new album is sex and sexuality. In “Make Me Feel,” Monae declares that her romantic attractions and sexuality are fluid and outside the bounds of binary gender and romantic interest (“An emotional, sexual blender, mess me up, yeah, but no one does it better”). Monae implies she is attracted to people of any gender and that anyone can be an equally adequate lover for her. In “Screwed,” Monae is very explicit about her want of sexual activity, believing that it is time for her to do what makes her happy while the world is ending (“We’re all screwed, and it’s not perfect, baby, but I do sex crazy”).
Monae also conveys her views on racial tensions in the U.S. in “Dirty Computer.” The last track of her album, “Americans,” references terms used in past cases of police brutality. Phrases such as “Hands go up, men go down” and “Say her name, twice in hell” were used in the cases of Michael Brown and Sandra Bland. Monae states that they can try to take her country away, but she will defend the land she lives in and stand up for those who have been marginalized.
Accompanying the “Dirty Computer” album is a 45-minute movie that Monae calls an “emotion picture.” In the movie, Monae illustrates that queer, black women can define their own life. As a queer, black woman, Monae states her existence is valid, her feelings will be heard and that most importantly, she is loved. Both “Dirty Computer” and her accompanying emotion picture are a reflection of who Janelle Monae really is and how she will keep fighting for herself and for others like her to have the same validity and rights as everyone else.
Janelle Monae will begin her tour in June. Tickets for her Denver show on July 1, 2018 at Paramount Theatre can be found on Ticketmaster.
