The new album from the 'pansexual' R&B diva might just be the album you need.
It's a funny time in culture, where the fragmentation of popular media - essentially, everything's niche these days - means that fewer and fewer works of art (be they books, film or music) permeate the collective consciousness in the way they did decades previously. When there's so much noise - literal or otherwise - it's a lot harder to make a splash these days.
Which is why its been positively thrilling to see a new wave of prominent African and African-American artists making their voices heard globally, pushing the envelope and delivering works by turns profoundly personal and thrillingly envelope-pushing, from Beyonce's Lemonade to Jordan Peele's Get Out to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and Damn. Enter Janelle Monáe, whose third (and best) album Dirty Computer feels like the sound of the summer
Monáe's been a serious contender for the best part of the naughties, whether contributing vocals to fun's mega-hit We Are Young or unveiling some serious acting chops in Oscar bait like Moonlight and Hidden Figures - Dirty Computer sees her kick things up a few level, and then some. Notable collaborators on the record include Brian Wilson, Pharrell Williams, Grimes and Prince, who worked on the record prior to his death in 2016, but the sound is all Monáe's own, a state of the nation address from a talent refusing to be pigeonholed, musically, sexually or artistically, by turns funky, filthy and constantly innovative. What's more, it's a great pop record, and the sound of the summer... whenever it finally turns up.
The ambition is admirable - Dirty Computer even comes complete with an epic dystopian sci-fi 'emotion picture' (watch it above) starring Monáe, one with serious echoes of hot-button TV shows The Handmaid's Tale and Black Mirror. Critics have been falling over themselves to dub the record as a instant masterpiece - but who listens to critics any more? Somewhat ironically, all that still really matters is the music - and trust us, this is a keeper. Play loud. And don't be afraid to dance your ass off.
Listen to Dirty Computer below:
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