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ENGL2089 Janelle Monae Annotated Bibliography
ENGL2089 Janelle Monae Annotated Bibliography
Rachel Plummer
Annotated Bibliography
Bascomb, Lia T.,“Freakifying history: remixing royalty.” African and Black Diaspora: An
www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/17528631.2015.1056403?scroll=top&needAc
In “Freakifying History”, Lia. T Bascomb describes the music video for "Q.U.E.E.N." by
Janelle Monáe and picks out the imagery and historical and cultural references Monáe uses to
artists Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena, who staged themselves in a cage in an
anthropological museum in Madrid and acted as "newly discovered" indigenous peoples. Their
efforts were similar to Monáe’s, forcing people to look at the outsiders of society and ask
themselves if racism and maltreatment has actually been eradicated. Then Afrofuturism is
discussed as an entire concept of reimagining the past and configuring a future that is based in
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 2
the progress and success of Black peoples. Bascomb writes Janelle Monae’s role in music as it
relates to other Black female artists like Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, and Betty Davis. The
journal probes the symbolism of the lyrics, scenery, and outfits in the “Q.U.E.E.N.” music video
– there are comments on sexuality and autonomy, and criticism of Western hegemony for
denigrating the bodies and agency of Black women. Bascomb makes important references to
Sarah Baartman and other “freaks” of the past. In all, Bascomb provides an insightful analysis of
Monae’s dissection of the term “freak” and how she reclaims it with dignity and royalty.
“Freakifying History” is a scholarly journal of the artistry and intent in Janelle Monáe’s
music video, “Q.U.E.E.N.” As a lense into the symbolism of Janelle Monáe’s work, it is well-
written and informative. Its notable downside is that, relative to Janelle Monae’s complete body
of work, the scope of this text is very narrow. However, that is only an issue if this journal were
to serve solely as an informational source on Monáe as a musician, which is not the case. It also
contributes to my research of discourse, and the differences in rhetorical devices and tone that
exist in scholarly journals compared to magazines and video documentaries. Like other academic
sources I have read, it opens up topics of politics, Afrofuturism, religion, and sexuality, and
allows me to better view the multi-faceted projects of Janelle Mone, with just one music video as
an example.
This Pitchfork cover story was written by Carrie Battan in a sequence of her following
Monáe’s schedule and process. First, she visits the Wondaland Arts Society Headquarters, and
observes the wacky and creativity-inducing elements of the building: specialized menus, grass
carpet, single-serve teepees. Here, Janelle Monáe and her team workshop to brainstorm for the
album and think of ways to achieve the effect they want. Some grooves even need to be tested
Secondly, Battan watches Monáe’s rehearsal for the televised BET Awards and screens
some new promotional videos as they are edited. She talks of Monáe’s position as full of
potential and backed by power players like Prince, but still not fully connected to the public as
she could be. As she discusses the inspiration for her single “Electric Lady”, Monáe shares that
she has been attending therapy, even though there is a stigma around it in the Black Christian
Then, Battan gives background information of Monáe’s artistic rise, focusing on her days
of self-promotion before the release of her Metropolis EP and signing to Bad Boy Records.
Monáe was the daughter of working-class parents who supported her plan for music. She had to
force gigs for herself into the Atlanta University Center Consortium to earn a name amongst
college kids. She continued her moves in music by networking and meeting inspirational
collaborators Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder. Keeping an online presence through MySpace
and continually pushing her music, she caught the attention of Big Boi and Sean Diddy Combs,
Battan finishes by reflecting on Janelle’s image and persona. Monáe builds up a wall by
means of a fantastical, intergalactic alter-ego, but is very honest while exposing her inspiration
and intention. She aims for some radio hits, but while keeping her sound fresh and not tied down
to a stressful goal. She is always adapting to the role she sees for herself in music, and the future
of her genre.
Pitchfork delivered a story that covered all the bases that I would expect: career
beginnings, performance stylings, recent critique and acclaim, and where she’s going next. In the
scope of my biography, this article adds a few key moments of her life and her growth about her
headquarters, her studio, with small sensory details and recorded quotes. This source was helpful
to me to see one form of musical review which focuses on the person’s background and behavior
rather than an album or concert. It also gives me a sense of Monáe’s personality and her
approach to her creative process. Probably about a third can be incorporated into my biography
Blair, Iain. "Janelle Monáe." Variety, Business Insights: Global, Penske Business Media, LLC., 6
Jan. 2014,
bi.galegroup.com/global/article/GALE%7CA357147349?u=ucinc_main&sid=summon,
Variety magazine gives a glimpse of Monáe’s musical career and gradual success. It
credits Monáe for great creativity and talent, then discusses how her success came despite
humble beginnings. The text runs through the sequence of her releases, giving light background
information. It finishes with a quote from Monáe explaining that she’s been having fun working
relevant business and career information about Janelle Monáe, while including a few interesting
details. Quotes directly from Monáe are sprinkled throughout in order to give insight into her
voice. The author of the article seems informed and keeps an admiring tone. This text is pretty
basic on its own, but useful as a supplement to a larger body of biographical info.
Caulfield, Keith "Post Malone’s ‘Beerbongs & Bentleys’ Breaks Streaming Record, Debuts at
No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart’." Billboard, Prometheus Global Media, 06 May
2018, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8454698/post-malone-beerbongs-
This source goes through the achievements of several artists who released albums in May of this
year, particularly of Post Malone. While this article stretched from Post Malone’s album
beerbong & bentleys to the music of Keith Urban and Godsmack, I only read the section about
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 6
the commercial success of Janelle Monáe’s album, Dirty Computer. She is named the “third-
biggest debut of the week” and Caulfield notes how Monáe has grown in sales over her last
albums.
This review of that week/month’s music scene appropriately included different artists of
different genres’ standings and status. It is equal parts statistics of loss/gain and personal
This source was necessary for me to gather some data on Monáe’s standings on the music charts,
but unexpectedly also helped me by giving me artists to compare her to, even if their audiences,
Frye, Caitlin. “The religion and political views of Janelle Monae.” The Hollowverse, The
2018.
Hollowverse is an online wiki that consolidates records of popular figures giving insight into
thier religious and political beliefs. This page is about Janelle Monae. It first follows her
religious life from attending her family’s church as a child to her comments in a recent Rolling
Stone interview. For Monae’s political views, it calls out various instances on social media
where she has shown support or disappointment in U.S. government and politicians.
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 7
The article was a good collection of information gathered from different points in Janelle
Monae’s life and career. However, it lacks some authority and validity because it was authored
by someone equal to any random observer; this article is not the absolute authority for Monae’s
political and religious views. Moreover, because this article was last updated in 2013 and
contains only a few publicized tidbits of information, it is not the most thorough or complex
representation of Monae’s total beliefs. However, it provided some help as I pieced together my
biography.
This source is a single page of Janelle Monáe’s history in Billboard’s database. It links to her
This page is not very substantial; it is helpful as a starting point for looking at what’s up with
Janelle Monáe, and by extension, any artist. It does not offer any commentary on her career, only
"Janelle Monáe." Contemporary Musicians, vol. 72, Gale, 2012. Biography In Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1608005783/BIC?u=ucinc_main&sid=BIC&xid=107da1d
This page contains unembellished, plain, and well-paced biographical information about
Janelle Monáe. She was born Janelle Monáe Robinson in Kansas City, in a turbulent and historic
neighborhood. Her family endowed her with strong Christian values and worked hard to support
She left her dilapidated neighborhood, graduated high school, and attended the American
Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City for one year. She then promoted her
She founded the Wondaland Arts Society and was “discovered” by Big Boi of Outkast.
Monáe released her first EP, Metropolis, a sci-fi collage of hip-hop, funk, soul, and new wave.
Sean “Diddy” Combs set up a distribution deal with her in 2007, and under his record label,
She then spent a year promoting through concert performances, magazine shoots, and TV
appearances. Her next release, The ArchAndroid, which continued her saga of Cyndi
Mayweather, reached new heights on music charts and earned much praise.
Monáe serves an offbeat, eccentric aura. She has spread her talent across a variety of
genres and musical stylings, and she has been appointed as the spiritual successor to musical
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 9
greats like Prince and James Brown. She tries her best to unite different kinds of people with
This reading from Biography In Context was a good read – I don’t know why I didn’t
start here, because it has a full bio (up to the date of its publishing) that treats each part of
Monáe’s life with equal attention. It is devoid of a tone or opinion from the author. There is just
a proper overview of her life as a person, a young aspiring artist, and now a respected figure in
the music industry. I appreciate the number of performances referenced in this text, because I can
look up those videos and understand the growth she has experienced through different eras in her
career. I am glad to get information about her birthdate, birthplace, and other such details that I
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1645547214/BIC?u=ucinc_main&sid=BIC&xid=3dd9aec
This extension of Biography In Context is a short list of essential information about Monáe, It is
rather bare, just naming her birthdate, birthplace, nationality, career type, and awards. I used it
for fact-checking, but it did not provide any more profound information than that. It was an
“Janelle Monáe - A Revolution of Love (Artist Spotlight Stories).” Youtube, uploaded by Janelle
directed Janelle Monáe’s music video for the song “Pynk”. In its beginnings, Monáe defines love
as a force of change, which proves to be a thread through her growth as a person and artist. The
video first flashes through clips of her performing at shows and speaking at rallies. The
production staff then refers to Monáe’s mother, who speaks about her daughter’s spirit and
passion even when she was a child. Monáe visits sits from her past where she lived, learned,
busked, and tried to reach out to an audience. There is a tour of Wondaland HQ, showing her
musical partners. Monáe speaks on her more candid writing, especially on the latest record,
“Dirty Computer”, which reveals her personal thoughts. She then explains concepts of
oppression and social conformity in her emotion picture “Dirty Computer” and music videos. All
in all, this video documents Janelle Monáe encouraging a movement of using love and art as a
This is the first video source that I have referenced in my research, so I do not have any
specific video with which to compare its contents. But with video as a medium, any subjective
tinge to the delivery of the information is usually up to the editor and director. Emma
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 11
Westernberg is the director, and because she has worked with Monáe as an artist, she focuses on
Monáe’s perspective and creativity in a positive light. YouTube is the producer/sponsor of the
video, because it is a YouTube special artist spotlight film; however, YouTube is to be credited
for allowing communication between artists and fans. After watching the video I looked at
comments to gauge fans’ opinions. Many said Monáe had a natural positive energy, they are
proud of her, and they identify with her. One great thing about this artistic film is that it has
auditory and visual components which don’t exist in text articles. This video is also useful
because it utilizes primary sources rather than secondhand retelling. There is direct discussion
with her colleagues of the Wondaland Arts Society, her family, and her Atlanta fans.
Biography.com lists facts and provides a narrative for Janelle Monáe’s life and career.
The page begins with quick facts and a briefing of her role in the entertainment industry. Then, it
scrolls through all the important aspects of Monáe’s work with a redundant and average
structure, but throws in loads of extra facts and quotes that are helpful and interesting. The page
gives info about Monáe’s adolescence, her career beginnings, successes, acting stints, and public
image.
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 12
At first, I thought this source to be a little generic and lackluster because maybe Biography.com
has such a vast coverage of biographical work they cannot thoroughly research everyone. Also,
this was one of the last sources I used, so I knew a lot of the information, quirky anecdotes,
memorable quotes mentioned by the media about Monáe. However, rereading it, rather than
treating the subject distantly, like one would expect from the academic tone of an encyclopedia-
type source, Biography.com does a good job of connecting details about Monáe’s first jobs, the
concepts of her albums, and the cultural context of her work. The text relies on direct
explanations from Monáe herself, which make the biographical information more intimate and
more accurate.
"Janelle Monáe Comes Out as Queer." Windy City Times, 33 (33), Windy City Media Group, 02
The Windy City Times has a small feature on Janelle’s latest announcement that she
identifies as queer. It says that her sexuality has been a point of speculation due to the videos and
lyrics of her latest singles “Make Me Feel” and “Pynk”. Monáe says she is free, open-minded,
and still learning about herself. The text closes saying Monáe has earned acclaim for both her
This short article was an interesting tidbit of information but adds nothing much of
consequence to my research. I am glad that it shows a connection between her personal growth
and the direction in which she’s taking her music. My analysis doesn’t include a political or
social agenda, but the fact that she is open about her life, especially when it diverges from the
“Janelle Monáe Explains Dirty Computer Visuals, What Pansexuality Means to Her, and more!.”
Power 106 Los Angeles, a hip-hop music broadcasting radio station based in Los Angeles, hosts
Janelle Monae in their studio and asks her about the newly released album “Dirty Computer”
The radio show hosts raise questions about the album-making process, her relationship with
musical artist Prince and how he advised her, and how that may have contributed to the “Dirty
Computer” emotion picture. Monae reveals her intentions behind her music videos, costumes,
image, and overall execution of “Dirty Computer” as an album and experience. Through the
entire interview, almost a half-hour long, she freely talks about personal subjects of sexuality,
her mental and physical status, and her presence on social media. On top of her reactions to
recent news, such as the Bill Cosby sexual assault case, and people in prison streaming on
Radio station interviews are an extremely common platform for musical artists to discuss
themselves, their lives, and their musical works. Despite that, this was the only radio interview
that I looked at during my research; they simply are not worthwhile sources for the kind of
research and analysis that this project needs. They are beneficial to the radio stations to draw
listeners and beneficial to the artists to promote and air their new music. So it follows that radio
interviews are in abundance and are often full of chitchat and repetitive questions. However, I
did need a useful interview to model my Praxis after, and for that purpose, one-on-one radio
interviews are more effective than magazine articles. Magazine articles contain much of the
author’s voice and the subject’s quotes get chopped up and spread around paragraphs. But the
way this interview was conducted was like a friendly celebration of “Dirty Computer” and it
tactfully and deeply addressed lots of aspects of Janelle Monae’s life and thoughts. The hosts
created a nice environment and did not interrupt, which made this source very useful for picking
“Janelle Monae takes on the art world.” Youtube, uploaded by Associated Press, 8 Dec. 2017,
This YouTube video records the scene of an art exhibit constructed by Janelle Monae,
entitled “What’s Your Frequency”. It exhibits the installation and contains short commentary by
Monae herself about how she is trying to portray the “weaponization of technology, cultural
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 15
uniformity, and mass surveillance.” People of the general public are shown enjoying the art and
there are comments made by famous singers and actors, like Kathryn Hahn.
This video allowed me to experience, to a small extent, what Monae’s art exhibit was
like. I only needed documentation to prove that she had ever entered the art world, but this
recording offered more than that. The video has just several hundred views and no comments, so
there was no external discussion from fans and viewers, but different celebrities give their
perspectives and approval of the event in the video, which adds context to what Monae is trying
Jones, C. L.. “’Tryna Free Kansas City’: The Revolutions of Janelle Monáe as Digital Griot.”
The article, “Tryna Free Kansas City” by Cassandra L. Jones, featured in scholarly journal
“Frontiers” offers a wide overview of Janelle Monáe’s assumed duty as a “digital griot” in our
time. It starts with an introduction to what a griot is (a traveling storyteller that maintains oral
accounts of tales and history), as well as the concept of Afrofuturism. Throughout the text, Jones
cites ideas of music critics, feminists, poets, and other relevant figures, like Alondra Nelson, Sun
The article talks about some different novelists and scholars use of Afrofuturism and how
into narratives of escape and rebellion; for example, Paul D. Miller has written that success is
defined by a late capitalist model, but the development of technology has extended the reach of a
content creator and connected them to many different places and people. Following on that, DJ’s
and music makers are “rhythm scientists” who experiment with sounds of the past, present, and
future to affect their audiences and bridges generations across time and space.
There is explication of Janelle Monáe’s music videos for “Q.U.E.E.N.” and “Many Moons”
and the imagery and symbolism within them, for example, auctions for cyborg model, which
symbolizes political movements being forced into fashion trends. Jones looks deeply into the
Wondaland activist group outlined in Monáe’s created universe and their manipulation of music
There is then general talk of music containing the ability to transcend time and space,
especially a piece of music with cultural significance, like one usually performed at a ritual or
celebration. Ergo, someone may perform an old slave spiritual in dialect, and essentially, they
become a time traveler. At the same time, they are accessing a cultural artifact that only a
Jones claims that being deemed an enlightened human has so continually been reserved for
white people that for Afrofuturists, it has become more appropriate to identify with post-human,
alien/robot beings. There is then the opportunity to explore themes of liberty and utopia without
And Cyndi Mayweather, who exists as a non-human machine, represents many different
people. In the lyrics of Monae’s songs and the imagery of her videos, she calls out prisoners in
particular.
Jones expresses the importance of placing black women into active roles of engaging with
our growing technological systems. A connection is made to the mass of Black Lives Matter
Then, Jones discusses Black artistry being set within the boundaries of western cultural
aesthetics and evaluation. Monae will play with this with phrases in her lyrics, for example,
mentioning Marie Antoinette in her song “Q.U.E.E.N.” and rejecting that stereotypical portrait of
royalty. Monae’s use of the word “queen” also reflects her emphasis on feminism and advocation
for the LGBTQ+ community. She acknowledges issues within the Black community, like the
neglect of Black women’s issues evident during the time of Black Power and the Black Panthers.
She remixes history to include Black people of all genders, sexualities, and identities. Her music
is compared to the funk of George Clinton and Parliament, but with more feminine views and
self-consciousness.
Jones presents our need to reconcile a fantastical “escape hatch” while showing that the
black culture that we have established in real life is valuable and not shameful.
Technology is complex, but Monáe uses it to bring together class, race, sexuality, gender,
and history to depict challenges and struggles that she is trying to rebel against. Her creativity
becomes her indecipherability as she attempts to flip overlooked, insulted, “low-culture” aspects
This article is super informative; it taught me a lot of terms, spanning political, literary, and
rhetorical meanings – like griot, la petit mort, and Astro Black Mythology. It also lent insight to
the bending of science fiction, horror, and fantasy into social critique, as we see these days in
popular culture with films like Get Out and Black Panther.
This article was written by Cassandra L. Jones, who teaches Africana Studies here at the
University of Cincinnati. Her analysis of Monáe’s latest work, coupled with her background in
researching Afrofuturism and the diaspora of African culture and identity in America, definitely
proved the level of intent, intelligence, and craft behind Janelle Monáe’s music and movement.
Some of it went over my head, in terms of the philosophical, political, and anthropological
theory involved, but it was really interesting. It is a well-researched and provocative source that
tied historical and scientific sources to Monáe’s artistry, and it was the exact type of article I was
The other main message of this article, besides scholarly analysis, was the inherent context
and highlighting of how historical and contemporary problems intersect. That popular figures of
this day and age, like Janelle Monáe, talk about historical eras like the Civil Rights movement,
and open up activism to young people. Lastly, this article even gave me a better understanding of
this class as a whole because I see better that musicians create stories that require intense
Metz, Brooke. "Amandla Stenberg, Janelle Monáe Get Real on Racism: 'Now is the Time to
Stand Tall'." USA Today, USA Today, a division of Gannett Satellite Information
search.proquest.com/docview/1928935041/fulltext/303739751C554B9APQ/1?accountid
USA Today restates a Teen Vogue interview with Janelle Monáe and Amandla Stenberg
discussing progress for black women in America and maintaining a healthy mental state. Monáe
talks about the vital historical figures she had the honor to portray in film “Hidden Figures”, and
This short text doesn’t do very much to add information to my research. It serves only to
confirm Monae’s values and how she wishes to use her visibility. It also shows her presence as a
celebrity by relating her to another young, influential face on the screen, Amandla Stenberg.
Spanos, Brittany. “Janelle Monae Frees Herself.” RollingStone, Rolling Stone LLC, 26 Apr
2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/janelle-monae-frees-herself-629204/.
The recent Rolling Stone article “Janelle Monáe Frees Herself” talks with the artist
herself about family, image, mental health, sexuality, and a number of personal topics that
explain who Monae it as a musical artist and person. The article first paints the scene of Janelle
Monae emotionally admitting that she is a flawed human being, not a fictional character. She
always tried her best to present the most perfect form of herself. After talking about her mental
health and sexuality, the article runs through the projects Monae has tackled, from acting to
producing an “emotion picture”. Author Brittany Spanos accompanies Monáe to her home
neighborhood of Quindaro, Kansas City, meets her family, and pores over old memories of
Monáe childhood and her gradual rise to success. At Wondaland Headquarters, Monáe talks
about her inspiration and some behind-the-scenes stories come out. The article closes talking
about Monáe’s goal to bring to light all the problems “dirty computers” face through her
activism and music, and make sure she uses her voice to inspire hope and change.
In this cover story from Rolling Stone’s April 2018 issue, Brittany Spanos dedicates time
to document and understand Janelle Monae as a creator and musician, and shares her experience
with the reader. The story covers details of Monae’s personal narrative, like her struggles with
baring her true self in her music and announcing that she is pansexual. Janelle Monae provides
many quotes and plentiful insight to her life and mind, but the words are also passive because
they are transmitted through Spanos. Yet, Spanos does a proper job of starting deep, new
conversations with Monae and enters territory that is probably welcome, rather than rejected,
because she does so with diligence and sympathy. RollingStone articles are trusted by the
general, music-loving public because of their historyand ethos. This source proves to be useful
and reliable because it spans many interesting topics critical for understanding Monae as a
human, and also explains the experience with Monae with knowledge and relatability.
Annotated Bibliography Plummer 21
WDAF FOX 4 Kansas City. “Janelle Monáe Remembers Her Roots,” Clip Syndicate, 18 Aug
2011,
www.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/10833/2766445cpt=8&title=cengage_broadcast&
WDAF FOX 4 Kansas City covers Janelle Monáe opening for Katy Perry’s concert. They
go to a video of Monáe singing her set, then speak with her. She discusses the pride she has in
her success relative to the circumstances she grew up in. She says she wants youth in Kansas
City to know “there is nothing you cannot do, with a great team, people who believe in you [and
The news channel that broadcasted this report was FOX Kansas City. Therefore they had
special impetus to report Janelle Monáe’s performance. Her success brings hope to the whole
city, especially in troubling times when youth are threatened by violence on the street. The
organization and delivery of the information could have been improved; they likely wrote the
story with short notice. This report is about the length and depth expected from a non-urgent,