In our February cover story, JanelleMonae talks ambition, Antebellum, and what an Afrofuture looks like: “Right now, it looks like an orgasm and the big bang happening while skydiving as Grace Jones smiles.” rgay writes
Jennifer Fisher rings, $250 - $295, at jenniferfisherjewelry.com. Photo: Elizaveta Porodina Two days before the 2019 Grammys, much to the chagrin of her team, Janelle Monáe went skydiving. Her album Dirty Computer was nominated for Album of the Year, she was scheduled to perform, and still she and some adventurous friends drove two hours outside Los Angeles on a clear and sunny afternoon.
Left: Gucci dress, $6,980; sunglasses, $505; chain, $340, at gucci.com. Right: Marc Jacobs dress, price upon request, at marcjacobs.com. Guiseppe Zanotti shoes, $825, at giuseppezanotti.com. Wolford tights. Palace Costume hat. Photo: Elizaveta Porodina Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas, where she nurtured a desire to perform, as did her large, matriarchal family.
This eclectic vision echoes across all of Monáe’s music. “Dirty Computer was really a reflection of where I was at that time. I was discovering more and more about my sexuality. I was walking into being more sex positive, also understanding different ways to love and to be loved,” she said.
She likened the public interest in her personal life to fanfiction; people take what they think they know of her and create stories that are nothing more than figments of the public imagination. And I suppose she’s right. That is what we do with celebrities. We finish the incomplete stories about their lives that they offer us in ways that fulfill our own needs and wants. Monáe wasn’t closed off, though. She was merely circumspect in entirely reasonable ways.
Stephen Jones for Marc Jacobs hat, prince upon request, at marcjacobs.com. Marc Jacobs top, pant, coat, and earring, price upon request, at marcjacobs.com. Photo: Elizaveta Porodina The club emptied out as the evening waned, and Monáe suggested that we repair to Wondaland West, the Hollywood Hills home she rents when she is in town. As we were leaving, a seemingly drunk man with strategic scruff and a deliberately casual manner waylaid her.