new music alert: janelle monae delivers (so far) the best album of 2018

This is the cover art for the album Dirty Computer by the artist Janelle Monáe. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Bad Boy Records,

​Janelle Monae has served up one of the best albums of the year and so far her competition isn’t even close.
​Served with visual accompaniment (a la Beyonce mode), Dirty Computer puts Cyndi Mayweather’s story on halt to check in on ‘Jane’, specifically more so Janelle Monae. It’s her most personal record yet even if she’s aided with the futuristic, robotic shimmer which she’s carried throughout her singing career. But gone are the full-blown characters, we’re now in the future through Janelle Monae’s life.

Janelle came out as pansexual, and the album and visual accompaniment displays her sexuality. But it is not Janelle’s sexual orientation which is spellbinding. It is the intimacy, the desire, the action of her sexual soul which is the most intense. ‘Make Me Feel’, ‘I Got That Juice’, ‘Crazy, Classic Life’, ‘Screwed’, ‘Pynk’ and ‘I Like That’ all detail intense affection, sexual confidence, sexual craving, animalistic desire, soft sensuality and sexual pride. These are all traits that are empowering, no matter the sexuality of who is behind  them.
​

Among the songs regarding her sexuality, race, upbringing and anxiety bring forth pop magnificence blended and in hybrid with soul, R&B, funk and hip-hop. She’s placed an emphasis on stellar choruses, turning her normally super-experimental production into experimental yet easily edible. It’s enough to blow away her fans and familiar for potential listeners. And frankly, there’s more to think about on Dirty Computer in some ways then on either The Archandroid or The Electric Lady. 
​

Dirty Computer...places itself against pop legendary albums of person v. expression

On ‘Crazy Classic Life’, Janelle paints out her desire to, well, have a ‘crazy, classic life’ (I know, kill me for being obvious). But the outro paints a picture of how as a black woman, she will be viewed at differently for her experiences versus a white boy. Me and you was friends, but to them, we the opposite/ the same mistake, I’m in jail, you on top of s—-. It reminds me of ‘kids being kids’, yet black kids are systematically blamed more for their crimes. And in these moments, you find yourself thinking more of the present then of Janelle’s future.
​

...in these moments, you find yourself thinking more of the present then of Janelle’s future.

For those who desire the ‘past’ Janelle Monae, you might be comforted to find that she ‘exists’ in the closing trio, ‘Don’t Judge Me’, ‘So Afraid’ and ‘Americans’ (although I’d argue the ‘past’ Janelle was here all along). ‘So Afraid’ is a stand-out track for me. It’s when all the swagger and confidence leaves you in the previous twelve songs and now you’re remembering the consequences.
But arguably there are no consequences to Dirty Computer, which places itself against pop legendary albums of person v. expression such as Like A Prayer, Born This Way, The Velvet Rope and Lemonade. And while I can’t wait to see what happens next, I’m curious to the final two installments regarding Cyndi Mayweather…