Ahead of the release of her album Dirty Computer tomorrow, Janelle Monáe has explicitly confronted rumors about her sexuality, and with the best quote ever. “Being a queer black woman in America,” she told Rolling Stone today, apparently taking a deep breath, “someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.” Monáe had previously identified as bisexual before reading up on pansexuality. “[I] was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’” she added. “I’m open to learning more about who I am.” We are too.
Monáe also spoke about the androgynous, Afrofuturistic look she’s become synonymous with since dropping her first album, The ArchAndroid, in 2010. “I felt like I [didn’t] look like a stereotypical black female artist,” she said. “It had to do with the fear of being judged.” Looks like that fear is finally being overcome. After taking a five-year break from music to pursue acting, Monáe recently returned to music with “Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane” — bisexual and black excellence anthems that saw her former sci-fi alter ego, Cindi Mayweather, take some time out. And earlier this month, Monáe dropped an empowering self-love video called “PYNK,” rolling through the desert in full-blown vagina pants and giving birth to Tessa Thompson.
“PYNK is a brash celebration of creation. Self love. Sexuality. And pussy power!” Janelle said of the no-fucks feminist epic. Something says Dirty Computer, which includes “Make Me Feel,” “Django Jane,” “PYNK,” “I Like That,” is going to be quite the empowering, autobiographical adventure.