Janelle Monáe’s highly-anticipated sophomore album, The Electric Lady, is now streaming one week ahead of its official release date (September 10th via Bad Boy/Wondaland/Atlantic). Take a listen below (via VH1).
The 19-track effort includes collaborations with Prince, Erykah Badu, Solange Knowles, Miguel, and Esperanza Spalding.
A two-disc deluxe edition will also be available exclusively at Target. It comes with alternate artwork and four bonus tracks, including one with Cee-Lo Green and Big Boi.
Monáe spoke extensively on the inspiration behind The Electric Lady (via Jet):
The title was inspired by my paintings. Id paint and sing at the same time. When I was on tour last year and the year before, I was painting and singing in front of thousands of people. So I would paint this female silhouette night after night and I didnt quite understand why I was so drawn to this image, this silhouette.
I knew that whoever she was, she didnt want to be marginalized. You could not put her in a fence or categorize her. She was so much bigger than that, you know. I just felt an energy, a very visceral feeling of energy from her, so the words came to my spirit: The Electric Lady…because thats what it felt like when I looked at her and thought of the colors and the vibrant colors and how it made me feel. There was electricity. It was electric and she was electric.
And that made me think about a world where there were more electric ladies who transcended size and color and these were just women…a new breed of woman, a new 21st-century woman. And it made me think, what does The Electric Lady think about love? What doe she think about politics, sexuality, religion, community and that helped me write my entire album.
Pre-orders for the album are ongoing. Below, watch the video for “Dance Apocalyptic”:
The Electric Lady Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Suite IV Electric Overture
02. Givin Em What They Love (feat. Prince)
03. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu)
04. Electric Lady (feat. Solange)
05. Good Morning Midnight (Interlude)
06. PrimeTime (feat. Miguel)
07. We Were Rock & Roll
08. The Chrome Shoppe (Interlude)
09. Dance Apocalyptic
10. Look Into My Eyes
Disc 2:
11. Suite V Electric Overture
12. Its Code
13. Ghetto Woman
14. Our Favorite Fugitive (Interlude)
15. Victory
16. Cant Live Without Your Love
17. Sally Ride
18. Dorothy Dandridge Eyes (feat. Esperanza Spalding)
19. What An Experience
20. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu) (Wondamix) (Bonus)
21. Electric Lady (feat. Big Boi and Cee-Lo Green) (Dungeon-Wondamix) (Bonus)
22. HYTB (Bonus)
23. I Want You Back (Bonus)
