Janelle Monáe, you glorious pansexual goddess, I don’t know what to do with you. For two albums, I’ve been following Cindi Mayweather’s funky journey of black queerness and now, you’ve dropped all pretense and revealed your true self. I won’t lie, the change threw me off completely. I was listening to the promotional singles wondering “What the hell’s going on?” I was getting really worried because nothing really sticked. All of the songs sounded a little too beyond my tastes, mixing hip hop, rap, and R&B in a style unfamiliar to the classy stylings of Monáe’s previous albums. Also, I hated “Pynk,” a song featuring the lovely Grimes, who seemed to not use her best capabilities, and I was positive nothing would change my mind on that. It wasn’t until I listened to the album that I realized that all these songs were part of one giant message of loving yourself and fighting the powers that be. This album kept me smiling from beginning to end and even though I was listening to this at work, I couldn’t pay attention to anything else until the dramatic finale. In short, Janelle Monáe’s latest album Dirty Computer is nothing short of amazing, giving the most complete package of her artistry yet. Also, yes, my mind has changed completely on “Pynk” and it is one of the highlights of the album.
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