Photo by Michael Kovac/FilmMagic
Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer may have been released earlier in the year but it's still right up there with the best albums of the year. It was a political and personal masterpiece that saw Monáe at her most ambitious but also her most intimate. It's being released on vinyl now so we thought it was a good time to take a look back at the album and the lyrics that catch our attention every time.
"I'm not America's nightmare, I'm the American dream" - Crazy Classic Life
Monáe manages to reference a famous Malcolm X speech about the illusion of the American dream in an anthem of positivity.
"You fucked the world up now, we'll fuck it all back down" - Screwed
Dirty Computer does an unexpectedly incredible job at pairing together the world's political state and sexuality. No song does it better than Screwed, talking about a seemingly crumbling world juxtaposed with metaphors of sexual liberation.
"Hit the mute button, let the vagina have a monologue" - Django Jane
Django Jane has some of the most quotable lines of the year but this one defines the entire song. It's difficult to explain this line any better than Monáe did herself. "Don’t listen to respond. Listen to understand," she said to men.
"Deep inside we're all just Pynk" - Pynk
While Dirty Computer is a proud declaration of femininity, one of Pynk's most potent lines suggest that despite everything, we're all just human beings inside.
"It's like I'm powerful with a little bit of tender" - Make Me Feel
Make Me Feel comes from intimate origins but this is Monáe wanting to scream her relationship to the world. It's the most liberated declaration she has ever made.
"If you try to grab my pussy cat, this pussy grab you back" - I Got The Juice
While Dirty Computer is political, it never explicitly aims at a political figure apart from right here. On the album's most groovy track, she references Trump's leaked comments where he said he can, "Grab [women] by the pussy," because he's a "star".
"But even back then with the tears in my eyes / I always knew I was the shit" - I Like That
Even when she was being bullied for not being able to afford the latest clothes she knew she was the shit. And she's right. Janelle Monáe is the shit.
"Sometimes I wonder if you were blind / Would it help you make a better decision?" - Americans
If Janelle Monáe was president, this would be her national anthem for a country where people aren't judged or disadvantaged based on their appearance. The song is interweaved with a speech that details the current state of America with the line, "this is not my America". Monáe's vision for America sounds far better, to be honest.
"I'm afraid of it all, afraid of loving you" - So Afraid
Monáe is so self-assured and potent on this record that it's somewhat reassuring to hear her doubts. On So Afraid she explores her insecurities with references to potentially being afraid of sharing her sexuality with the world.
Pick up Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer vinyl here.
