Janelle Monáe walks the Tightrope between conceptual art weirdness and robo-pop stardom

Loved by Prince, 'endorsed' by P Diddy, and doing it for the working class: we meet Atlanta's ArchAndroid

Hattie Collins

The Guardian Sat 10th July 2010.

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Prone to psychobabble about "connecting energies" and "internal compasses", it's difficult to dissect Janelle Monáe. She's certainly sombre and takes her art seriously, rarely cracking a smile, sitting stiffly on her hotel sofa, and taking long pauses in between sentences. But, while her studied stance could appear pretentious, this is no PR-constructed persona. Monáe is exactly the same as she was when we first met her back in 2005 as an up-and-coming artist signed to Big Boi's indie label, Purple Ribbon, when it was as clear then as it is now that Janelle Monáe Robinson is a genuine pop eccentric.

"I'm still cultivating myself and figuring out myself and finding out even more crazy things about me," she nods, before pointing out that she recorded the video for her single, Tightrope, in the Palace Of The Dogs. A sanitarium that she insists exists (though it appears to be fictional according to the power of Google), the Palace allegedly housed the likes of Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, and, by her own admittance, herself. "I was a patient there," she announces, but archly refuses to say any more. "I can't really talk about it cos it still exists, and I've signed a clause where I can't disclose information, but I recorded music there so …"

This studied, serious 24-year-old seems at odds in the world of pop, with the likes of Lady Gaga and her pull-on penises, and Rihanna "giving it" to rude boys. Yet, like the aforementioned, Monáe has her own ace take on quirky, chart-bound songs. The classical-soul-funk-D&B-infused sounds found on her latest album, The ArchAndroid: Suites II And III, are akin to Kate Bush 3.0, Andre 3000 if he were a girl, or Prince if he'd been able to collaborate with Judy Garland circa 1961. It's no surprise that some of those influences are fans, too. "Prince has been a mentor, so I'm very blessed," she admits. They met in 2008, after a show she did in LA: "He told me he loved my jazz voice and what I was doing, and he invited us to his house that night and we had a jam session. It was incredible."

Andre 3000 is another admirer, and his hip-hop other half was so taken by the girl he'd heard about on the Atlanta open-mic scene, that he signed her on the spot. It was Big Boi who later introduced her to P Diddy. "Sean Combs is just a project champion, a good friend, and an endorser of our campaign," she says primly of Puffy's support, insisting he has no artistic input on the project. "He respected me as a businesswoman, as he respected our art. I didn't have to fight for that because he already knew what it was and he liked it just how it was."

'I wear my uniform for the working class. My mother was a janitor, my father drove trash trucks, my stepfather works at the post office, so I can connect to that'

Though Janelle signed to Diddy's Bad Boy label three years ago, she's only now breaking out of Atlanta's arty underground. Her recent debut London show sold out as soon as it was announced, and she's scoring rave reviews for the '60s-tinged, space-age musical oddity that is her new album.

"The ArchAndroid is a mythical figure who went around for centuries, similar to the archangel, or a Neo from The Matrix; the chosen one," she explains. "The android represents the minority, whether it's a black person, an immigrant, or coming from another country." Centred on the fictitious character of Cindi Mayweather, whom she first introduced on the 2008 EP Metropolis, the album apparently poses questions about unification, discrimination, self-realisation and, of course, love.

"Cindi realises it is her responsibility to be the mediator between the majority and the have-nots," she says. "And because she is my muse for this project, it was inspiring because I realised a lot about myself. I became more fearless, embracing the things that made me unique and even using them as superpowers to be an even bigger agent of change for music and art ... It's very important that we celebrate our differences and represent for individuality."

Discrimination is a large part of Monáe's musical MO. She's ardently anti-homophobic, for instance. "I have a niece and a nephew and I want them to grow up in a world where they can be themselves, if it's a man loving another man or a woman loving another woman, or somebody being dark skinned or somebody being too light," she points out. "Who are we to judge and bully somebody because they were created in an image that you may not agree with?" Though she's all for individuality, she's constant in her clothing choices, which consist of black and white.

"I wear the same uniform for the working class," she says, recalling her humble beginnings in Kansas. "My mother was a janitor, my father drove trash trucks, my stepfather works at the post office, so I can connect to that. I worked at Blockbuster, I was a maid, so I connect with those who every day are struggling."

As well as making music, Monáe is involved in numerous aspects of the arts; she produces, plays and writes her own music and is currently working on a Broadway musical of the album. The former American Music & Drama student is also creating video concepts for each album track and is co-creating a graphic novel of The ArchAndroid with illustrator Chad Weatherford and her artistic partner Chuck Lightning, of the Wondaland Arts Society, which she founded on moving to Atlanta in 2004. "I'm busy on focusing on what I need to be doing," she says of her current schedule.

Which is? "Creating transformative music because I think that we're dying to be transformed," she says, finally letting loose a small smile. "We're dying to hear an album that evokes emotions that we have not been in touch with for a long time, and that's why the ArchAndroid is an emotion picture. It promotes the individual and if you allow it to transform you, it will."

MikeyB71 said:

'I wear my uniform for the working class. My mother was a janitor, my father drove trash trucks, my stepfather works at the post office, so I can connect to that'

I remember her saying that on The Mo'Nique Show. I dug the vibe of it. I'm still anxious to see how her look changes as time goes on. She can't dress like that forever.

ernestsewell said:

MikeyB71 said:

'I wear my uniform for the working class. My mother was a janitor, my father drove trash trucks, my stepfather works at the post office, so I can connect to that'

I remember her saying that on The Mo'Nique Show. I dug the vibe of it. I'm still anxious to see how her look changes as time goes on. She can't dress like that forever.

I've seen her on the streets of Atlanta, in her down time sometimes she actually dresses like a Georgia Peach archtype. She's a very pretty girl and the ultra feminine look compliments her. Outside of those two sides of the pendulum (the girly peach and the sexless android), I honestly can't picture what she would or could look like. That's kinda sad that I don't have any imagination

What's the Palace Of The Dogs? Google sure didn't help...

Love the beginning of the album but it loses momentum towards the end.

Ottensen said:

ernestsewell said:

I remember her saying that on The Mo'Nique Show. I dug the vibe of it. I'm still anxious to see how her look changes as time goes on. She can't dress like that forever.

I've seen her on the streets of Atlanta, in her down time sometimes she actually dresses like a Georgia Peach archtype. She's a very pretty girl and the ultra feminine look compliments her. Outside of those two sides of the pendulum (the girly peach and the sexless android), I honestly can't picture what she would or could look like. That's kinda sad that I don't have any imagination

I've seen her outside the "uniform" and your right. She's a true georgia peach! She is just plain ol' pretty!

This girl's got an eclectic flow I can really DIG it.