One of my mantras is, 'Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.' I keep that with me in my back pocket. Shoot, I keep it in my front pocket! I keep it in my hair.
— Janelle Monae
Donald Trump is trying to build a wall. I'm trying to burn walls down and build more bridges.
When I first started in this industry, my goal was to be some best friend. The sidekick. I thought that would be an accomplishment.
I wouldn't be as comfortable with who I am if it had not been for Prince. I mean, my label 'Wondaland' would not exist without 'Paisley Park' coming before us.
I'm about women's empowerment. I'm about agency. I'm about being in control of your narrative and your body.
Music is an art form that I love dearly, and it's allowed me to bring so many people together and meet so many people.
I had a strong visceral reaction to the 'Moonlight' script, partly because I felt I knew all of these characters.
I enjoy how women dressed in the 1920s with the shimmering jewels and rich feathers.
I always carry my classic black-and-white tux and custom-made George Esquivel saddle shoes.
I'm a believer that the more I'm giving, the happier I am, and the more beautiful my exterior will be.
We don't all have to take the same coordinates to get to the same destination. Being a young African American female artist, I want to open doors for young black girls.
Children go with whatever makes them feel good - like if that's the color green or orange, they do that with their clothes. As I've grown older, everything reversed. My music, my personality - onstage those things became my colors.
I'll refer to my music in color, like 'This song needs to be bright red.'
You are only as beautiful as the many beautiful things you do for others without expectation.
Once you find what you like, it's like it worked yesterday, it works today, it'll work tomorrow.
One of my core values is to help redefine what it means to be a strong and beautiful woman in the music and fashion worlds and to empower the wonderful things that make us unique.
It's a big universe. To stay in one tiny place is doing a disservice to yourself.
I have mentors like Erykah Badu. She's been like a big sister to me.
If you walk into a room that's bro'd up, and you're in power, bring more women into the room.
Maybe I'm outdated in thinking this, but because I'm a young black woman and don't see very many being the lead in a film, I have this fear: 'Will I be working?'
I spend a lot of time in the future, But to help the future, sometimes you got to go back to the past, and sometimes you got to stay in the present.
I've been very blessed to have worked with two incredible directors - Barry Jenkins on 'Moonlight' and Ted Melfi on 'Hidden Figures' - and it was a collaborative effort in shaping my characters, Teresa and Mary.
I was constantly involved in music and theatre all through middle school and high school.
I'm a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all, and find my place in it.
I listen to Prince on my iPad. And I use a Chords & Scales app to warm up before performing.
There are months when I'm on a plane every day!
I won't sit here and say I've never had a pimple, but I try to have a really great diet, you know, lots of vegetables and fish. And I think stress plays a huge part too.
I always think about the next generation and creating a different blueprint for them. That's my goal: to let them know there's another way.
I'm attracted to things that scare me, like 'Psycho,' my favorite Hitchcock movie.
I'm inspired by the words: 'electrifying', 'epic', 'minimalistic', 'transcendent', 'timeless' and 'rock n' roll.'
I don't even know at what age I started, because it's always been there. Performing... creating... it's in my DNA.
I know what I like; if you go to my closet, I have at least four of everything.
I believe it's time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them.
I believe that imagination inspires nations. It's something that I live by.
Black history is part of American history, and it should be treated as such.
I will never stop making music.
I love men. But evil men? I will not tolerate that. You don't deserve to be in my presence. If you're going to rule this world, I am not going to contribute anymore until you change it.
I have worn a tuxedo, but I have never covered up for respectability politics or to shame other women.
I've gotten scripts over the years, but I believe it was the stories of 'Moonlight' and 'Hidden Figures' that really touched my heart and aligned with the messages that I felt were extremely important to me.
My grandmother was the matriarch. If you didn't have a place to stay, if you needed food, if you were just coming out of jail or rehab, you went to her. Watching her in our family and our wider community was what inspired me and still does.
I've never viewed myself as 'just' a musician or singer.
I take goldenseal, Echinacea and cod liver oil when flying to boost my immune system.
I have a great body, I really do. But I want to be taken seriously as an artist, and wearing anything that shows it off will be a distraction from the music. That's how my signature uniform, my tuxedo, came about. It's classic and timeless. You'll see me in black, white, and a pop of color on my lips. That pop adds a little magic.
My message is that I want to reach the people - the people who work each and every day.
When I was growing up, both my grandmothers would play the organ, and we would all sing.
I've cried over string arrangements.
Honestly, I don't believe in menswear. I focus on what pieces are most timeless, transcendent, match my lifestyle, remain remarkable, and command intriguing attention across the room at an art gallery.
Lauryn Hill, P-Funk, Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy - I have a very diverse palate for music. I can go from Judy Garland to Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Wonder to Rachmaninoff. I just love great music.
Becoming a CoverGirl is truly an honor and a gift. It opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out.
It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.
