The
Electric Lady.
Who is the
electric lady? What is an electric lady? For starters, it’s the name of Janelle Monáe’s
third and most recent R&B and “psychedelic soul” album, suites IV and V of the
saga of her fictitious persona Cindi Mayweather, an alpha-platinum 9000 android,
numbered 57821. Cindi is the
ArchAndroid, the face, the name, the leader, the representation of a revolution
of the oppressed android community of the fictional Neon Valley.
In
other words, Janelle creates the music, but once it begins to play, you’re in
the hands of Cindi. Pulling from great
Sci-fi classics like Metropolis and, of course, Blade Runner (a
film about androids being hunted and oppressed), she creates a world and a
character that are immediately approachable and universal. Many of my generation grew up with science fiction
cartoons and movies. So by adding an
engaging story – centered around a robotic fugitive, on the run from the law
because she fell in love with a human named Anthony Greendown, who then becomes
the head of a rebellion – with engaging music, it’s easy to get hooked. And, by using androids, she’s never concreted
to one group. Anyone alone, oppressed, unwanted
or unwelcome, really anyone at all can relate to the empowered outcast by whom
she performs, because it’s designed for us all.
That
being said, this album in particular focuses a great deal on women, their situation,
and their powerful potential. This in no
way, for me, makes the music any less meaningful. So what then is an electric lady? An electric lady, in the obvious sense, refers
to any of the literal, electrically powered females of Janelle’s android-based
world. Of course. But in addition to that, an electric lady represents
any woman, as defined by the title track, who illuminates all she touches and
knows just who she is; a modern day Joan of Arc or Mia Farrow, she’s classy,
sassy, sophisticated, and funky.
A
later song on the album, “Ghetto Woman” ties in closely with Janelle’s own
past. She grew up in Kansas with her
single mom and with the help of her grandma, too. It was a working class life. In this song, Janelle breaks from her
character for the length of a rap where she tells about her actual mom – it’s a
break in character, because androids don’t really have parents. Her mom worked hard late as a janitor while
trying to take care of young Janelle, go to school, pay the rent. By saying that the landlord would come
directly to their home tells me that the payments weren’t often on time.
Elsewhere
I’ve learned that Janelle’s grandma worked for many years as a maid. Janelle was, too, before her music career took
off. She would work, and while she
worked she’d sing for the other maids.
The song “Ghetto Woman” is for all such hard working women, in any
respect. Speaking specifically of her
mother, she says, “She’s the reason that I’m even writing this song.” All the lyrics are full of hope and
encouragement: “ghetto woman hold on to
your dreams and all your great philosophies, you’re the reason I believe in me,
for real.” There is nothing but true
sincerity in her work. She wants to
create real music that can be passed down to our children. I think, too, that she’s recognized for
that. The city of Boston named October
16th Janelle Monae day.
With
such great woman role models growing up, Janelle had an excellent opportunity
to also carry on the classic work of African-American female authors. Zora Neal Hurston, Gloria Naylor, Toni
Morrison, they all write novels where their main characters start out good and
strong, a sort of current quality, but are broken down and re-idealized, often
times mythicized. By breaking down and
mythicizing their characters, the ideas of manhood, womanhood, and humanity in
general are re-idealized. Janelle has
very clearly done this with herself. I
know that she believes in what she does and acts accordingly, but her character
Cindi Mayweather is even more successful.
She gives a new beacon to consider, discover, and uncover.
The
format of the album also helps to put listeners into the world of the story,
thinking about how they would place themselves in it, then when the music
stops, the same ideas transfer over into the real world. Between songs, DJ Crash-Crash of 105.5 WDRD,
another android, takes callers who are for and against the droid rebel
alliance, announces meetings and parties, and introduces Cindi’s newest jams.
Who
knows, many people might just love to groove along with “Dance Apocalyptic” and
call it good. Many may not think too
hard about the intricacies of what Janelle has done with her work, particularly
this album. Some may relate to pieces
but aren’t equally familiar with Blade Runner and Toni Morrison. I surely haven’t caught all the significance
jam-packed in. Yet regardless of the
level of listening and interest, I think anyone can and will take away a hope
for change and betterment listening to The Electric Lady.
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