Janelle Monáe’s forthcoming second album, The Electric Lady, is set to hit stores on September 10. The project will feature music industry icon Prince, who collaborates on “Givin’ ‘Em What They Love” and has already remixed her single “Q.U.E.E.N.” She recently spoke about her friendship with him.
“We are great friends, and he is a mentor to us, to me,” Monáe told Billboard magazine.
“It’s a beautiful thing to have a friend—someone who cares about your career, and wants to see you go far and to push boundaries and shake up the world—give whatever they possibly can to the cause.”
Monáe is streaming the entire album a week early – so, now – via Bad Boy/Wondaland. Apart from the collaboration with Prince, the 19-track set features Miguel, Erykah Badu, Solange and Esperanza Spalding.
Videos are out for “Dance Apocalyptic” and “Q.U.E.E.N.”, each of which was set in a future where, respectively, zombies roam and revolutionaries are kept behind glass. Taken in its whole, The Electric Lady is clear-headed and free to be as funky as it wants to be; making good on Monáe’s infectious personal energy.
