Janelle Monae – New Music to Get Excited About

Yes…I am jumping on the Janelle Monae bandwagon. In a musical landscape that has become frighteningly banal over the last decade, it’s nearly impossible not to get excited by an artist whose musical ingenuity is matched with a James Brown meets Elvis styled pompadour and tuxedo-inspired fashion. James Brown is further referenced in performance with the addition of the exhausted cape act, as seen in the clip below; and her ArchAndroid album’s rich lyrical and visual references to alien and other science fiction imagery feels like a modern-day bow to George Clinton’s PFunk and the Mothership. Check out the live clip below. She’s on the road with Erykah Badu this summer. That’s a show worth checking out if the opportunity presents itself!