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        Janelle Monáe

        Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (1557 ratings)
        • Born: Kansas City, KS
        • Years Active: 2000s
        • Website: http://www.jmonae.com/
        • Recent Activity: 10.05.13 RT @CarolineRCurran: Just finished this bad boy - 487 pages! (Wanted to understand what inspired @JanelleMonae). #Kurzweil #Singularity htt…
        • Janelle Monáe

        • Janelle Monáe

        • Janelle Monáe

        Slideshow

        Albums

        Albums (5)Compilations (4)Singles (5) Sort By: Most Downloaded

        Biography All Music Guide

        All Music Guide:

        Growing up, Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Robinson) felt constrained by the limited resources offered to her in her greater Kansas City, KS, home. When she finished high school, she moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy with the intention of pursuing musical theater, but in 2004, after performing in a couple of off-Broadway shows and realizing there weren't the roles available to her that she wanted, she moved to Atlanta to try her luck there. She soon joined a band and began touring the local college circuit, where she eventually got in touch with her future partners in Wondaland Arts Society (a collective/label that looked to promote experimental arts) as well as OutKast's Big Boi. The rapper was so impressed by what he heard of her that he put two of her songs on his 2005 compilation, Got Purp?, Vol. 2. Monáe also showed up on OutKast's 2006 soundtrack, Idlewild, even appearing in the video for "Morris Brown," and in August 2007 she released the first of an originally planned four Metropolis installments, or suites, an EP entitled The Chase, a concept piece revolving around a character named Cindi Mayweather and the year 2719. The album -- which melded cabaret, hip-hop, rock, and soul -- was well received, which helped bring the singer into the radar of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Rumors about a signing were finally confirmed in March 2008, when Diddy officially announced Monáe as the newest member of his Bad Boy roster. Monáe promised that the move was not going to compromise any of her artistic integrity or creativity. A re-release of The Chase, featuring bonus content, appeared in August 2008, while the second and third suites of Metropolis were issued together as components of 2010's The ArchAndroid.

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        eMusic Features

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        Six Degrees of Janet Jackson’s Control

        By Maura Johnston, eMusic Contributor

        It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-contained artifact. The great records certainly feel that way. But albums are more permeable than solid, their motivations, executions and inspirations informed by, and often stolen from, their peers and forbearers. It all sounds awfully formal, but it's not. It's the very nature of music — of art, even. The Six Degrees features examine the relationships between classic records and five… more »

        Video from YouTube

        • thumbnail from JAY Z at the BUDWEISER MADE IN AMERICA FESTIVAL ft @JANELLEMONAE JAY Z at the BUDWEISER MADE IN AMERICA FESTIVAL ft @JANELLEMONAE
        • thumbnail from Janelle Monae - Many Moons [Official Short Film] Janelle Monae - Many Moons [Official Short Film]
        • thumbnail from Janelle Monáe "Tightrope" (WONDAMIX) Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco Janelle Monáe "Tightrope" (WONDAMIX) Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco
        • thumbnail from Janelle Monáe - Dance Apocalyptic [Video Teaser] Janelle Monáe - Dance Apocalyptic [Video Teaser]

        Activity

        • 10.05.13 RT @CarolineRCurran: Just finished this bad boy - 487 pages! (Wanted to understand what inspired @JanelleMonae). #Kurzweil #Singularity htt…
        • 10.05.13 RT @EstelleDarlings: “@therealsammiej: @EstelleDarlings my brother said I pulled this look off.. what do you think??? http://t.co/B54QPkvXk…
        • 10.05.13 RT @dpg77: Congrats to @JanelleMonae for her song played on the @CHANEL runway SS14 #pfw @FashionChannelP
        • 10.05.13 Get tickets NOW: http://t.co/bka1QSqDSN
        • 10.05.13 Karl Lagerfeld thanks for putting the new Q.U.E.E.N. remix By @3RDEYEGIRL & PaisleyPark in your CHANEL Paris show:-) http://t.co/O8xybxO9Yn
        • 10.04.13 "@iamdiddy: To whom much is given much is expected ! Thank God 4 Hip Hop ! #GiveBack http://t.co/iqsLtEoLNl" this is awesome!!
        • 10.03.13 RT @blacksocialite: you still ain't on that @deepcotton yet? you're losing. http://t.co/5JIQmavsH7 NOW.
        • 10.03.13 Don't miss ATL! @janellemonae + @wondaland present the release party for the #fixtape Runaway Radio. vinyl @centerstageatl | 10.8.13
        • 10.03.13 I cried after an ant extermination. i saw their underground world & got see how artistic and intricate their minds are. Ants R artists.
        • 10.03.13 Back to watching ants. I'm so intrigued.
        • 10.03.13 RT @sigmapoet1914: @JanelleMonae Healthcare is expense as heck for the 9-5 worker -middle income folks, so @obamacare is a blessing.
        • 10.03.13 The new online marketplace is open for business! Go to http://t.co/mErVRcekCi now to #GetCovered !!!!