WOMEN of the YEAR
MUSICIAN
A force to be reckoned with in the worlds of music, film and fashion, the multi-talented artist has embarked on a new era of self-discovery
IN THE PAST YEAR, JANELLE MONÁE HAS released The Age of Pleasure, a sensual, careerdefining album; performed sold-out shows on a subsequent tour; had a song – ‘Only Have Eyes 42’, a cheeky ode to polyamory – make Barack Obama’s annual playlist; walked the Met Gala’s red carpet in a glittering Thom Browne bikini; and attended the Oscars following a brilliant turn in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. But, adds the musician and actor, there are a few more highlights that no one knows about.
‘I had tea with Josephine Baker,’ Monáe says with a straight face. ‘I went skinnydipping with James Baldwin. I also went to the strip club with David Bowie.’ They (Monáe identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns she/they) are talking to me on Zoom from a hotel room in Atlanta, wearing a wide double-breasted blazer adorned with pins and sparkling Gucci sunglasses, hair cascading in long black braids, skin aglow. The following night, the singer will perform a sold-out show in the city; the next in New Orleans, where we meet in person backstage. But now they’re in this room, on a form of vocal rest, speaking in a low voice that adds an air of mystique to their curious declarations. ‘Mushrooms,’ Monáe finally explains. ‘It was amazing.’ These are exactly the kind of shroom-induced visions the Grammy-nominated performer would have, cavorting with late icons, all of whom have influenced their artistry. Baker, for example, has surely been on Monáe’s mind a lot recently, as they have been cast to play the 20th-century singer and dancer in an upcoming series for A24. Monáe will also produce the series through the Wondaland banner, the name for their arts collective and business enterprises. (They cannot discuss the project due to the ongoing SAG strike.)
Monáe adds one more highlight to the list of this year’s successes: playing their new album in person for Grace Jones, who is featured on one of its tracks. This collaboration blossomed in 2022, after Monáe performed with Jones at the Hollywood Bowl, then invited her to their home. The pair spent 72 hours together, eating dinner, recording multiple songs (unreleased, for now) in the studio and lounging poolside. Monáe recalls that, when Jones decided to go for a dip, she whisked off her shirt and announced: ‘I’m going topless, like the French do.’ There is an allusion to that moment on the album track ‘Oooh La La’, in an interlude that features Jones flirting in French with two strang
