Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Janelle Monáe has to be one of the busiest and multi-talented creatives out there. Between her lead double role as Andi and Helen Brand in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and her afrofuturistic science fiction short stories in The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, she has managed to put out her fourth studio album.
The Age of Pleasure dropped last Friday and is a departure from Monáe’s previous work, which often explored themes of social justice and political activism.
Instead, the 14-track 32-minute album is a celebration of love and self-expression.
Float, the lead single on the song, is a funky, disco-inspired track about finding liberation in love.
Rolling Stone calls The Age of Pleasure, “A bold and unapologetic album that celebrates the power of pleasure” while The New York Times declared it “a powerful anthem about finding your inner strength.”
The eight-time Grammy-nominated artist is currently on tour and will be performing in cities across the United States and Canada throughout the summer.
In an interview, Janelle explained that the songs “were written from such an honest space” and she hoped listeners “feel that when they listen to the music.”
Janelle worked on the songs and played them at parties, including her Met Gala after-party, to see how her friends would respond to the music, adding, “If the songs can’t work at the party, they’re not going on the album.”
