Janelle Monae might seem like a relatively new name in music, but she’s been working at it for a while now to make a name for herself. Find out more about the very motivated singer below in part one of this list!
Number Fifteen: She Comes From a Working Class Midwestern Background
She is known for her Atlanta connections – probably because that’s where she got her start. But she actually hails from Kansas, where her mother worked as a janitor and her father worked as a garbage collector.
Number Fourteen: Janelle Monae Dropped Out of AMDA
That’s the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. She dropped out because she didn’t feel creatively challenged at the school, and she soon left New York altogether.
Number Thirteen: Toured Local Colleges On Her Own to Support Her Music
That’s some initiative. This tour came soon after she released her appropriately named demo, Janelle Monae: The Audition, and though it wasn’t this tour that propelled her to fame, it certainly gave her some experience performing.
Number Twelve: Big Boi From OutKast Discovered Her at an Open Mic
She was performing “Killing Me Softly” at an open mic night in Atlanta, where she lived at the time. Atlanta rapper Big Boi just happened to be in attendance and liked what he heard. She would soon be featured on a number of OatKast songs thanks to this single performance.
Number Eleven: She Has a “Uniform”
But it’s self-imposed. She has said that she wears her signature black and white tuxedo to honor her hard-working parents.
Number Ten: Her Debut Record is a Concept Album
The album is The ArchAndroid. The concept is that it’s an album about a robot named Cindi Mayweather – which is Monae’s alter-ego – set in 2719.
Number Nine: She Loves Tim Burton
She has said she would love to collaborate with the ingenious director at some point. Maybe he could direct a black and white music video to match her uniform. That’s all of the Janelle Monae information we’ve got for you right now, but be sure to check back soon for part two!