Her own way
with myself, I needed to go to therapy. I needed to have conversations with my family, my loved ones,” she says. “People don’t realize how complicated it is to speak about your personal life in a public space.”
But the woman who has hidden behind the android alter ego Cindi Mayweather was ready to show the real Janelle. “I felt more open, I felt confident,” she says, speaking firmly but soft enough that you have to listen closely. “I felt like the therapy sessions had worked great wonders on me mentally. I felt like I could handle it. And I’m always a big advocate of people speaking about their personal lives when they’re ready.”
Still, Monáe realized that her decision to come out was about more than just herself. “I felt a responsibility because I have younger cousins who have been ostracized from certain communities and certain family members who are deeply against [their sexual orientation]. And I wanted to let them know that, if your big cousin can walk in her truth, so can you.”
But Monáe — rumored to be dating actress Tessa Thompson, who appears in the “Dirty Computer” short film — is still firm about keeping some things private. “I still will not disclose who I’m in a relationship with,” she says. “I think that’s important, to keep a part of me to myself. I don’t want the world to have everything.”
No doubt, there is a freer sexuality to “Dirty Computer” tracks such as “Pynk” and “Make Me Feel” that channel the spirit of Prince. Monáe consulted her late mentor and musical hero on the album before he passed away in 2016.
“I was asking him specifically about certain synth sounds,” she says. “It’s difficult for me to put into words how I feel about him. I miss him every single day. I still can’t even listen to his albums and songs.”
Monáe got two other music gods, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder, to log in for “Dirty Computer.” Wilson sings backgrounds on the title track. “When I reached out,” she says, “they asked me to send him a [cassette] tape. ‘A tape? I can send you an MP3!’ But we ended up doing it.”
Wonder guests on the spoken interlude “Stevie’s Dream.” The track, a real conversation between the two, was recorded at his house, says Monáe, “because I was dealing with being so upset about the current events that have been happening in this country.”
Monáe says that she has received a lot of music-industry support for the Time’s Up statement that she made at the Grammys. “Just like we have the power to shape the culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that doesn’t serve us well,” she says.
In addition to the Carell film in December, the Kansas City, Kan.born, Atlanta-based Monáe — who was just announced as a recipient of a 2018 American Ingenuity Award from Smithsonian magazine — will also appear in “Harriet,” the upcoming Harriet Tubman movie, and lend her voice to a remake of Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp.”
Monáe got some love from the “Black Panther” cast — including Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Daniel Kaluuya — while they were filming their movie in Atlanta, as she was recording “Dirty Computer” at her Wondaland studio. “They all came over and heard the album before it was finished,” she says. “We were supporting each other.”
Given her predilection for fantasy, might there be a superhero movie in Monáe’s future? “Somewhere. I think the universe is waiting for it to be the right thing.” For now, she says, “Let’s be everyday superheroes.”