An interview with Janelle Monae aired yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air radio show. Full audio can be heard online at www.freshair.npr.org Fresh Air, is an hour-long interview show broadcast on 500 public radio stations across the country with 5 million listeners weekly. Songs from Metropolis:The Chase Suite (Special Edition) will be played.
Janelle Monae has said she uses her imagination as an escape from a rough childhood, which was marked by her father's addiction to drugs.
Fresh Air from WHYY,June 17, 2009 · Janelle Monae, the singer, songwriter and performer from Kansas City, blends cabaret, soul, funk and rock 'n roll in her music.
Her 2007 debut album Metropolis: The Chase Suite featured a character named Cindi Mayweather, Monae's android alter-ego from the year 2719. "Many Moons," a single off the album, earned the singer a Grammy nomination, and helped Monae catch the ear of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who signed her to his Bad Boy roster and re-released the album.
In 2005, Outkasts's Big Boi included two of her songs on his compilation, Got Purp?, Vol. 2. Monae also performed in Outkast's Idlewild soundtrack.
So I know some of you have been worried about Metropolis. Worried that Metropolis will become Chinese Democracy, devolve into creative chaos and other woes. Worried that Wondaland will screw it up. That we're going to create something that only a few Star Wars geeks can understand. Or let it become a black rock beast, you know, something you'd love at home with your afropunk friends but never hear on the radio. And then there's the biggest travesty of it all: What if it never comes out?
Well rest ye weary souls. Here's a little concrete information about the release to put your heart at ease.
Metropolis will be released quarterly in four suites. Each suite will be a mini-album complete with collectible ephemera (stickers, posters, oh boy!). Each suite will be numbered and limited edition.
The first single "Violet Stars Happy Hunting" will be released on June 1, 2007. The first suite of Metropolis (Suite I: The Chase) will be released on Auguest 1, 2007. Look for the first JM video to come your way in late July (more details on that later).
The full album Metropolis will be released next year. The album will contain all kinds of goodies: bonus tracks, live tracks, videos, etc.
In terms of major distribution, we've been in talks with a few majors here and overseas. We'll keep you posted how those thangs go. In case you haven't heard, there's a lot of problems in the music industry right now. Superstars can't buy a hit. And they just turned the historic Capitol building into condos. Getting a major record deal right now is a little like getting invited to a five course meal on the Titanic...
The suites will be distributed through iTunes, Amazon, MySpace and BlabStar. If you don't have a BlabStar account, and if you've never heard of it, you know nothing about the future of music. And that is something to worry about.
The album is the debut release of a new label that is a joint venture between Wondaland Productions and Big Boi. The name of this label is the Wondaland Arts Society. The WAS is the home of the Wonderground, a collective consisting of JM and Deep Cotton.
In addition, the WAS will be collaborating with Purple Ribbon and the Atlanta Ballet Company to convert Metropolis into a rock opera/ballet. We are still putting the finals and particulars together. And we're beginning the creative process this summer. But the performances are already booked: April 10-13, 2008 at the Fox Theatre. So get ready to see JM on stage singing her heart out in the midst of twenty moonwalking androids!
See, now don't you feel better? Here, if that didn't help. Perhaps this will. I'm waiting for Chinese Democracy just like you. Damnit, Axl, just release the damn thang.
We at Wondaland are inventors.
We wear tuxedos everyday. We jump in pools during performances.
We wear Civil War hats and rock vintage Jordans.
We believe truth can be broken down with the following formula: Truth= Love x Imagination.
We believe songs are spaceships. We believe music is the weapon of the future.
We believe books are stars. We believe there are only three forms of music: good music, bad music and funk.
About Wondaland:
We have created our own state, our own republic.
There is grass here. Grass sprouts from toilet seats, bookshelves, ceilings and floors.
Grass makes us feel good. In this state, there are no laws, there is only music.
Funk rules the spirit. And punk rules the courtrooms and marketplace. Period.
In this state, there is no food. We eat books and season them with wine and cotton candy.
When you want the news, you read a comic book.
There is also Love. Sex. Wisdom. Magic and Wonder.
These things add up to something new and ancient that we call WISM. WISM makes us feel good.
Who needs drugs when you've got WISM?
About Gender:
We believe women are much smarter than men. And strive to act accordingly.
About Cities:
We have built several cities.
We are always looking for a new city to live in. We have recently moved from Atlantis to Metropolis, a city of our own design.
It's the largest city in the world, but you can only see it by closing your eyes.
About Technology
We are watching Steve Jobs the way Berry Gordy watched Henry Ford.
We believe in Moore's Law, in time pacing, in micro-chunking, in nanofying, in monetizing, optimizing everything, and shipping products.
We're like a cross between Guy Kawasaki and James Brown.
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