Dirty Computer

At any hour of the day, when I go to start my car and push to turn on my radio, I will likely be met by one of the voices of the rising star that is Lizzo, the absolute powerhouse that is Beyoncé, or the business empire mogul that is Rihanna. Throughout my childhood, a lot of Saturdays in my home were spent cleaning along to the songs playing from the likes of Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, or Mary J. Blige because those women represented some of my mother’s all time favorites. If I were at my grandma’s home, I would likely be met at the doors by the tunes of Ella Fitzgerald, or Nina Simone, and most definitely I would hear Diana Ross and The Supremes at some point during my stay. Around my high school years, I spent a considerable amount of time with my aunt who was positively in love with the music of Aaliyah, India.Arie, and FKA Twigs. Often I think back to a moment when I was young, it was during what felt like a years long car ride with the shouting of far too many children. I can still hear my uncle yelling, “Can you please shut up, Whitney is singing!” If only but for the length of the song, he desperately wanted a moment to hear Whitney Houston and nothing else. It stuck out to me, he does not come across as the image of a man who would be truly taken with “I Will Always Love You”. But nevertheless, it was what he wanted to hear. So many of my memories will always connect back to the art I consume the most, music, and I know I’m not the only one.

On a micro-scale, I can say that black women have made up so much of the music I have had the pleasure of listening to my entire life. On a macro-scale, I can say that black women’s influence on mainstream American music culture is quite literally immeasurable. Of course, music created by black artists as a whole have been extremely culturally significant, but I think there’s something to say specifically about black women. If you were to ask ten different people who they thought was the greatest black female artist of all time, you would likely get ten different answers. Reality is that everybody has their absolute favorite and there is no shortage of legendary and iconic black female musicians to choose from. We have the pleasure of being able to look back to some of the voices that sang soundtrack to our childhoods and the lives of those before us. Then we also have the opportunity to experience the incredible up and coming talent of today’s female black artists which will surely come to be just as culturally significant.

When I think of who today is changing the music game, regardless of race or gender, Janelle Monáe is who first comes to mind. While I am not under the impression that I am by any means introducing you to her, I do believe that she is an artist who deserves more celebrating. Janelle Monáe is writing, producing, and performing some of the most creative, smart, and interesting music of today. Her work is incredibly thought-provoking and in my opinion, quite underrated. Notably, she has also come to be a very renowned actress, starring in films such as Hidden Figures and Moonlight. She clearly is very intentional with the types of movies and roles specifically which she chooses to take on. I would also personally categorize Monáe as a fashion icon with the ability to play with androgyny and blur the lines of her own gender expression. Whether it be her signature style of wearing a crisp suite and bold lipstick, or her eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, it is apparent that wherever she goes, she leaves her mark. While I could go on about her personally, as she is quite fascinating, her music is quite brilliant in its own right.

Quite possibly, the work of Janelle Monáe’s which I think is most notable and truly an impeccably well thought out multi-facetted work of art is Dirty Computer. My personal favorite tracks of the album include Pynk, Make Me Feel, and Crazy, Classic, Life, but truly the whole album is amazing. It’s fun and witty and really unexpected compared to what most pop music sounds like at this moment in time. The artist’s third studio album was also reimagined as a film which is self-described as an “Emotion Picture”. Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. But moreover, it is substantive and has real world political implications. The imagery of pink panties that say, “I grab back” is quite possibly the best response to the infamous words of Donald Trump. Clearly, Monáe is absolutely unapologetic for who she is and stands strong in her identity as a black, queer, woman in America. Through the film, she uses the lens of a sci-fi futuristic world to critique our own modern-day society, what it values, how it treats people, and what direction we appear to be heading in. The film utilizes a dystopian world not unlike what is seen in Margaret Attwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. Monáe’s character Jane 57821 is set to have her memory wiped as there are impurities present in her system, she is a dirty computer. Generally speaking you don’t really go into what appears to be an extended music video expecting to leave asking yourself deep philosophical questions, but that is exactly what Dirty Computer left me doing. What makes a person bad or dirty? Why is the other always being persecuted? How does gender, sexuality, and class, and race contribute to the social treatment of an individual? The amount of symbolism and metaphors used throughout the film is extraordinary and all contributes to painting a uniquely vivid picture. Dirty Computer really is a critique and a celebration in the same breath, it is a beautiful celebration of blackness, womanhood, queer identity, and who Monáe is as a person. Overall, Monáe really offers incredible insight to her perspective of the world creating a unique form of self-expression which she lets people see through music, visuals, and storytelling.

Having the ability to eloquently articulate social commentary through an artform such as music is a talent and type of intelligence which I think we rarely see as immensely as we do with Monáe’s work. Music will always be an incredible source of escapism, but when it’s also able to make us critique the world around us, I think that’s quite a marvelous thing. For me, Janelle Monáe is more than anything else elevating what we get out of music, she creates so much more than enjoyable rhythms and beats, she contributes to greater discussions and challenges societal norms and expectations. There is a lot to be said of Monáe’s work, the least of which ever could be being that it lacked originality, creativity, or intrigue. In the year 2021, I am not sure of much, but I am sure that I will continue to look forward to the work of Janelle Monáe, and maybe just maybe one day we will have the joyous opportunity to be able to see her perform live in concert again.