Lollipops, video games, and bars. | Photo: YouTube/Janelle Monáe
Actor and singer Janelle Monáe recently announced her third studio album — Dirty Computer. In a surprise move, she dropped not one, but two singles and accompanying music videos.
The first is the feminist jam Django Jane.
The second, which stars Thor actor Tessa Thompson, is Make Me Feel. The anthem celebrates bisexuality in a positive, exciting way.
While at a color-saturated club, Monáe finds herself attracted to both Thompson and a man during the night.
As the song amps up, the catchy chorus comes in:
It’s like I’m powerful with a little bit of tender
An emotional, sexual bender
Mess me up, yeah, but no one does it better
There’s nothing better
That’s just the way you make me feel
That’s just the way you make me feel
So good, so good, so fucking real
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Sexually liberated
Though rumors abound, Monáe has never explicitly defined her sexuality. Instead, she refers to herself as a ‘sexually liberated’ woman.
About the new song, she simply told The Guardian: ‘It’s a celebratory song. I hope that comes across. That people feel more free, no matter where they are in their lives, that they feel celebrated.’
Her new album isn’t just that. It will also be accompanied by a narrative film.
Politics and unabashed statements have always been part of Monáe’s career. At the Grammy Awards recently, she didn’t hold back in lifting up women, calling out the music industry, and saying time’s up.
Dirty Computer, and its narrative film, arrive on 27 April.
