Janelle Monáe Taps Prince, Miguel for 'The Electric Lady'
Janelle Monáe brought the funk with her “Q.U.E.E.N.” collaboration with Erykah Badu, but that’s not the only superstar guest on her sophomore album. The Wondaland Arts Society leader also holds court with Prince and Miguel on The Electric Lady.
According to Billboard, Monaé’s first album in three years will feature jazz (“Dorothy Dandridge Eyes”), pop-punk (“Dance Apocalyptic”), gospel (“Victory”), and ballads (“Primetime”).
She also has a song with the legendary Prince. “I had a chance to produce an icon,” Monáe told the magazine. “It’s not every day that he collaborates. I’m honored and humbled that he trusted me. He is forever my friend, and I am forever indebted.”
Miguel duets with her on “Primetime,” which interpolates the Pixies’ ’80s hit “Where Is My Mind?” “Primetime for our love/ Heaven is bettin’ on us,” sings Monáe on the love ballad.
The album promises to push her further into mainstream territory. “This album has a lot of songs that can get played on mainstream radio,” said Atlantic Records Group chairman/COO Julie Greenwald. “Before, we got a lot of attention in the press, on the blogs, on the video networks. But we didn’t crack the code at radio. So if you connect that last dot, it’s going to be a significant improvement from the last album cycle. Which is really going to put her music in so many people’s homes.”
The Electric Lady is due in September on Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy/Atlantic.