Janelle Monae profile

Janelle Monáe,

Janelle Monáe
Monáe performing at the Austin Music Hall during SXSW, March 2009
Background information
Birth name	Janelle Monáe Robinson
Born	December 1, 1985 (age 24)
Origin	Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Genres	Pop, Indie Pop, soul, Afro-punk,funk, dance-punk, hip-hop
Occupations	Artist, performer, producer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	The Wondaland Arts Society Bad Boy Records Atlantic Records
Website	jmonae.com

Janelle Monáe (born December 1, 1985 in Kansas City, Kansas as Janelle Monáe Robinson) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and performer. She is currently signed to the Wondaland Arts Society and Bad Boy/Atlantic Records.

Biography

Monáe moved from Kansas City, Kansas to New York to study theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Her original plan was to pursue a career on Broadway, but she soon changed her mind and returned to music, an art form which, according to her, has the potential to change the world.

After moving to Atlanta, GA, where she met OutKast's Big Boi, Monáe founded the Wondaland Arts Society with like-minded young artists and made appearances on Idlewild, where she is featured on the songs "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams".

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, titled Metropolis. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in mid-2007, these plans were altered following her signing with Sean "Diddy" Combs's label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first "suite" in August 2008, which was retitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) and included two new tracks. The EP was generally well-received by critics, garnering Monáe a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her single "Many Moons", festival appearances and opening slots for the indie pop band Of Montreal.

Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour. Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol.

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, The ArchAndroid. The album was released on 18 May 2010. The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite— becomes a messiah-esque figure to the android community of Metropolis.Monáe noted that she plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create both a movie and graphic novel based on the album.

The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. However, the series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies," in special regard. Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explode contemporary ideas of prejudice and class.

Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."

Monáe received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, uthors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010.

Monae covered Charlie Chaplin's Smile on Billboard.com in June 2010.

Janelle Monae is scheduled to appear at the 2010 MTV VMAs on Sept 12, 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions

US

 US R&B

 IRE

 SWI

 UK

 NLD

2010 The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

First studio album

Release date: May 18, 2010

Label: Bad Boy Records

17 4 24 36 51 96

Extended plays

Year Album details Peak chart

positions

US

 US R&B

 US Heat

2007 Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)

First extended play

Release date: August 24, 2007

Label: Bad Boy Records

115 20 2

Singles

Year Single Album

2005 "Peachtree Blues" Non-album song

2006 "Lettin' Go" Got Purp? Vol 2

2007 "Violet Stars Happy Hunting!" Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)

2008 "Sincerely, Jane"

"Many Moons"

2009 "Come Alive (The War of the Roses)" The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

2010 "Tightrope" (featuring Big Boi)

"Cold War"

Guest appearances

2005 In "House" Sessions

2005 Broadcasting the Definition

2005 Purple Ribbon All-Stars - Got Purp? Vol 2 ("Time Will Reveal," "Lettin' Go")

2006 Outkast - Idlewild ("Call the Law," "In Your Dreams")

2009 Chester French- Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Endurance (Mixtape) ("Nerd Girl")

2009 Open Happiness

2010 B.o.B. - B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray ("The Kids")

2010 Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty ("Be Still")

2010 of Montreal - False Priest ("Our Riotous Defects," "Enemy Gene")

[edit]Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result

2009 Grammy Awards Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Many Moons") Nominated

2010 ASCAP Awards Vanguard Award Won

MTV Video Music Awards Best Choreography ("Tightrope") Nominated

MTV Video Music Brazil Aposta Internacional (International Bet) Nominated

(source:wikipedia)