The Electric Lady

On September 10, 2013, genre-blending singer-songwriter Janelle Monáe released her second full-length album The Electric Lady. As with her other releases, here, she collaborates with a lot of artists including her musical mentor and hero Prince and her creative collective and record label Wondaland Arts Society.

This album is divided into the Suites IV and V (out of a total of seven) of Monáe’s Metropolis saga which follows the story of the ArchAndroid Cindi Mayweather. Previously set to be released only as four suites, Monáe decided to extend the series to seven suites as she was unsure about how to end the series. As with the whole Metropolis saga, this album uses science fiction as a driving tool to explore similar themes of freedom from oppression, self-expression, and romantic love.

In a Billboard article, Janelle Monáe suggested that The Electric Lady is a prequel to her previous album The ArchAndroid. The ordering helps make sense of the lack of Anthony Greendown’s presence, Cindi’s human love interest featured in previous projects including Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) and The Audition. The only exposure he got was a mention in the liner notes.

Unlike The ArchAndroid which effectively jumps between multiple, distinct genres, The Electric Lady is sonically rooted in R&B, but captures its diversity, bringing in influences from other genres like soul and funk. Suite IV explores more of this diversity with tracks like “Q.U.E.E.N.,” “Dance Apocalyptic,” and “Look Into My Eyes,” while Suite V displays more of a lax, classic R&B vibe.

The album cover art was drawn by Sam Spratt, who has also done work for Childish Gambino.