Janelle Monae has established her acting career so well that news fans didn't even know that before she set out for the film industry she's a singer-and a great one at that.
According to reports, Monae has finally returned to her roots in music and released her first new music in two years, after being teased last year. It features horns by Seun Kuti and Egypt 80.
Fans will finally listen to the songs described to be "inspired by Muhammed Ali talking shit in Zaire, 1974, Jane's evolution, Mary Poppins' umbrella, Aladdin's magic carpet, Ja Morant's flotation to the rim while dunking on his ops, Sara Elise's ropes, excerpts from Paramahmsa Nithyananda's talks on levitation, Raul's toast on Dec 1, and Bruce Lee's mighty philosophy on being 'shapeless, formless,' and becoming one with your surroundings, to be like water..."
Technically, "Float" comes a little more than a year after "Stronger" and the extended version of "Say Her Name (Hall You Talmbout)."
However, Monae's releases come so far and few between that one could easily forget just how long it has really been since her last release.
She is, after all, quite busy, and her schedule is filled to the brim: she was featured in the movie "Glass Onion :A Knives Out Mystery," released in 2022.
According to Pitchfork, the singer/actress won Best Supporting Actress at the National Board of Review Award for her performance, as well as Best Supporting Actress at The Atlanta Film Critics Circle Awards.
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Janelle Monae's Music Career
Monae's debut studio album "The ArchAndroid" was released in 2010. It showed off the singer's vocal prowess and her talent for conceptualizing her feelings into art.
She once famously explained how she formed an alter-ego with her songs to the London Evening Standard, "I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new 'other'. You can compare it to being a lesbian or being a gay man or being a Black woman ... what I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the 'other' to connect with the music and to feel like, 'She represents who I am.'"
In 2013, Monae stunned the music community with "The Electric Lady." Although this is her sophomore studio album, it also happens to be the fifth installment of her "Metropolis" concept series.
She won Best Art Direction at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards for her "Q.U.E.E.N." music video.
Monae's latest album release is "Dirty Computer." It was dropped in 2018, and the singer took her time recording this one, but evidently, it was worth the wait.
"Dirty Computer" received two nominations from the 2019 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year while "Pynk" for Best Music Video.
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