It seems that with this album Monae is telling the tale of
being hunted by disapproving cyber bounty hunters (or something to that effect)
on the planet Metropolis. She’s coming from an alternate cyber robot
personality, Cindi Mayweather, and is wanted for illegally loving a human. The
album is definitely a hybrid mix that I think is somewhere between the funk,
pop, and new age genres with a slight hint of the soul genre in the last song.
I think the album does not quite fit solidly within one
genre but I think it is good for the genres that it relates to because it shows
how genres can overlap to create unique and new sounds. Because Monae’s sound is
so different and fresh it pushes the limits of any one genre and resulted in
her receiving two Grammy nominations with just one full-length body of work
(Janelle) . This is what makes the album good for any and all of its given
genres. In a biography on Monae, it is stated that, “with her beautiful and powerful voice and boundless
creativity, Monáe is a rising star in contemporary R&B” (Janelle).
Metropolis broadens my expectations for each of the genres by blurring and
blending all of their respective boundaries.
Janelle Monae’s eclectic style and personality fits her
music style perfectly. Her clothing, hair, and makeup are all very elegant and polished,
but, none of them fit together in a way that anyone would anticipate. Her
unclear sexual orientation also adds to her unclassifiable persona. The combination
of all of the aforementioned characteristics parallels the fact that her music
cannot be refined to one single genre. Though she does not fit into one
category, Monae said, “I feel like I do have a responsibility to the community…the music that we
create is to help free their minds and, whenever they feel oppressed, to keep
them uplifted”, and I feel that whether you are a pop, R&B, or soul music
fan, you will experience that at some point while listening to Metropolis
(Janelle). Her personal and musical styles are truly consistent.
"Janelle Monáe." 2013. The
Biography Channel website. 30 March 2013. http://www.biography.com/people/janelle-mon%C3%A1e-17178736.
No comments:
Post a Comment