Janelle Monáe is getting ready to release her new album, Dirty Computer, on April 27.
So, to prepare for the album drop, Monáe dropped two new songs: “Django Jane” and “Make Me Feel.”
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“Make Me Feel” in particular has people talking, because it’s straight from Prince’s archive. DJ Lenka Paris confirmed it: she heard “Make Me Feel” at a party hosted by the late musical legend. According to Paris, Prince “gave” that song to Monáe.
As for Monáe herself, she told Beats 1 that she felt she “had to make this album.”
She went on to say that much of the music is vulnerable and comes from a time before she even released her first album. As a result, she said, this new album will be revelatory to listeners.
“I know that there are a lot of things that I haven’t discussed and I think this is the album that you’ll get an opportunity to get a closer glimpse into my mind and into my heart,” she revealed.
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A legacy of friendship
It’s no surprise that Monáe would draw from Prince in her work, since the two of them were reportedly very close.
“I wouldn’t be as comfortable with who I am if it had not been for Prince,” she once told The Guardian.
Prince reportedly left thousands of tapes in his archives upon his passing in 2016, and it looks like we’re just scratching the surface of what those recording have to offer.
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Dirty Computer is the first album release for Monáe in five years since The Electric Lady was released. The album will also come with a “narrative film project,” according to NME.
“Once you hear it in the context of the album, I think you’ll get a greater understanding…for now, jam,” Monáe said during an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac.
What do you think, Grio fam? Are you excited for Dirty Computer?