Cover

STEP
B
S H E S ACK!
A
BOUT
TO
BLOW!

The
monochrome
mistress, Janelle Mone is
back and ready to electrify your speakers
once again. Gloria Ogunbambo sat down with the most
original woman in music to talk self-acceptance, why shes sticking to
black and white, and whys shes staying natural until shes six feet under.

m at a plush hotel in Marylebone,

on a crisp Sunday afternoon,
talking to Janelle Mone about
paintings. Not just any paintings
mind you. Were talking specifically
about her own creations: the works
of art that have inspired her latest
masterpiece her sophomore album,
The Electric Lady. I kept painting this
one drawing of a womans silhouette,
she starts in soft, velveteen tones. For
the past two years, Ive been doing
that and thinking: Whats going on
with me? Why am I drawing this same
woman? Only it wasnt the same
woman. She came in different shapes,

different sizes and different colours.

Statements of that nature are just
par for the course when you attempt
to view the world through the
kaleidoscopic lens of Ms. Mone:
the 27-year-old, five-foot-nothing,
extremely hard to pigeonhole, singer,
songwriter, artiste and all around force
of nature. As expected, the musical
maverick is clad in her trademark
black and white: patent black loafers,
slim black tuxedo pants, pristine white
shirt, and a bowler hat perched just
so, allowing her perfectly pouffed
pompadour [it only takes me 7.5

minutes] to have a moment. For

those still wondering, her self-imposed
monochromatic uniform is less a
sign of a woefully inactive imagination
and more a matter of principle. I took
what I like to call the How dare she
approach. You know, How dare she
wear that black and white tuxedo every
day? Its about me exercising my right
as an artist and also about wanting
to be tied with the working class. My
mother was a janitor; my father was
a trash man, and my stepfather, who
treated me like his own daughter,
worked at the post office. They all wore
uniforms.

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It should be said, that thats as close to
conformity as this Kansas native (she now
resides in Atlanta) will ever get. You see,
Janelle Mones not one to play by the rules.
To hell with society and its patriarchal views
on how a woman should be! Janelle Mones
the type of sista who marches firmly to the
beat of her own drum so dont be surprised
when she goes wild on stage and decides she
wants to play it too. If its the status quo that
youre offering her, shell gladly pass. For
me its all about being free, and knowing that
youre in possession of your freedom. Ive
always had this rebellious spirit that rises up
and surfaces whenever I feel like anybody is
trying to treat me like a robot. But Im certain
thats something shell never be.
It speaks volumes about an artist, and their
true status as an individual, when its a
struggle to compare them to anybody else,
especially anybody else of their own gender.
Mones music spans traditional RnB,
soul, funk, opera and rock and her show
stopping, frenetic live performances are the
very definition of theatrical. [The day after
this interview, at her album playback, Mone
would order unsuspecting journalists and
music industry types to remove their shoes
and literally dance like they were on fire on a

to
ue
n
ti
n
I will co
til the
n
u
al
r
be natu . Its just
day I die who I am.
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grass carpet.] Raised on a musical diet
of everything from Judy Garland to
Stevie Wonder, James Brown, David
Bowie, Prince, Earth Wind & Fire its
no shock that shes drawn comparisons
to many of those iconoclastic figures.
And my gosh, is she a breath of fresh
air.
In a sea of oversexualised, questionably
talented, female stars whove pretty
much shown us everything save their
internal organs, Janelle Monae stands
out like an African in Antarctica,
single- handedly challenging the norm
and redefining what it means to be
sexy. Sexy isnt defined by the word;
its defined by the person. Ive always
said its up to people to embrace the
things that make them unique even if
it makes others uncomfortable. If you
wear this youre sexy; if you wear that
youre masculine, lets push those lines
away. I actually feel sexy in a tuxedo!
I feel sexy in my white shirt with just
two buttons down. I do have dresses,
I have skirts, I have heels, I do all that
as well but its so important not
to play into gender roles or play
into sexism. Is anybody telling
Kanye or Andre [3000] theyre
less sexy because of what they
wear?

than I was last week, last month, or

last year. I want to redefine what it
means to be a young, black woman. I
want to inspire, to be someone with a
different perspective that others can
aspire to.
So armed with grace, poise and an air
of self-assurance is Janelle Mone, that
its unfathomable to think that shes
ever suffered a crisis of confidence.
Heres a woman with absolutely zero
interest in being a part of the herd
in fact shell gladly separate herself
from the pack describing herself as
an android several times during our
conversation, and far from proffering
mock self-deprecation in a thinly
veiled attempt at appearing down to
earth, shell tell you when shes due
credit and when shes not. Am I a
trendsetter? Absolutely. I will humbly
say that. I didnt invent the tuxedo
but, when I came out, I didnt see any
females wearing them. I never saw
a young African-

finding that balance is something that

Ive learned over time. Thats why it
means a lot to me that Im natural. Its
cool to me it gives me more options
and more room to be creative. I will
continue to be natural, probably until
the day I die. Its just who I am. I love
that its become this whole movement
now. [When I was coming up] I didnt
see many mainstream artists with that
trend. It was just Erykah [Badu], Jill
Scott and Lauryn [Hill] but no one of
my generation. Its so important for me
to feel like Im representing what we
naturally are.
Those themes of self-love, selfacceptance and self-actualisation
are definitely at the heart of her
forthcoming release, The Electric Lady.
So far, Janelles managed to keep the
vast majority of the album under wraps
but after being granted a little sneak
peek, I have to say that Primetime, a
stunning duet with Miguel, and
the titular track Electric Lady,
a throwback 90s jam featuring
Solange, will take some beating.
In addition to that, the album will
feature an appearance from one
of Mones self-professed musical
heroes a little known artist who
goes by the name of Prince Rogers
Nelson.

?
r
sette
d
n
e
Am I a tr y. I will
Absolutel y that.
humbly sa

If theres one thing Ive learned

about Janelle, its that explosive
elements often come in small
packages. She may be petite and
possess disarmingly beautiful, angelic
features but those eyes tell a slightly
different story. Sure, they light up
and glint in a way that makes you feel
like youre privy to some awesome
secret, but within them also lies a
steeliness that tells me shes not the
type who suffers fools gladly. And its
that ferocity, that willingness to take
a stand over the issues she feels most
passionately about that have made her,
for better or for worse, a role model.
I dont let that term get in the way of
me being a human being. We all make
mistakes; we all fall short of someone
elses expectations but Im somebody
who really focuses on putting myself in
situations where I can really grow and
blossom and become a better person

American, android
female, in a tuxedo. Now, everybodys
in black and white, so I definitely feel
like I have been a direct influence on
the fashion world. Yet beneath the
super confident exterior, shes still
human and just like the rest of us, shes
had her fair share of shaky moments.
Ive definitely felt the pressure to
look a certain way. Growing up I read
magazines, I watched TV, and I saw
the ads just like you and it always
seemed to me that there was this
stereotype; this monolithic approach
to how women should look. You really
do have to ask yourself, mentally say:
How long is this going to keep going
on? When am I going to give in to what
I was given? When am I going to just
love my face, who I am, and figure
out how to rock that and be the best
that I can be? Embracing that and

A long time ago I asked myself what

position I was going to play, begins
Mone when I ask how she hopes
people will feel when they hear her
new body of work. Was I going to
play it safe? Or was I going to be true
to who I am? I want people to use this
album in their daily lives. I want them
to feel like its their Bible. I want it to
inspire, enrich, uplift, spark dialogue,
make you want to rebel, make you
fall in love. Most of all I want people
to feel empowered and to take the
realisation of those super powers and
go out and be the Electric Ladies they
can be. And with that were done. As
I exit the suite, I say my goodbyes to
her manager, who congratulates me
on my interview. Janelle always texts
me if shes had a bad interview, so well
done! he exclaims. Like I told you,
Janelle Mone doesnt play. P

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Ive always
had this
rebellious spirit
that rises up

I
whenever nybody is
feel like atreat me
trying to robot.
like a

Janelle Mones
The Electric
Lady is released
September 9th on
Atlantic Records.
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