For her fourth and fifth Metropolis suites Janelle Monae made an all out statement and cemented her spot as R&B royalty. For an album that featured guest spots from some of musics biggest names there is only one real star on this album and that is The Electric Lady herself.
“Monae already was a critical darling, but with this album she no doubt has ascended to the Queen of R&B (Sorry Bey). Song for song, this album does not dip in quality, nor suffers from any staleness. The elements that make this album great are so strong, from its exploration into nearly every fact of R&B/Soul from MoTown until now, its continued concept-story of a future run by cyborgs and android entertainers. But maybe the most impressive thing about Electric Lady is even when Monae enlists R&B Royalty like Prince, Erykah Badu, & Miguel to sing alongside her, you never question that she is the real crown jewel here –Daniel Benny
“On paper, ‘The Electric Lady‘ shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s a double album featuring tons of skits and big name guest stars. Typically that’s a recipe for disaster in the world of pop. However, Janelle Monae is bigger than pop. Sure her songs have a pop sensibility, but if you listen closely you’ll realize that she’s a vessel for over 50 years of black music tradition. She’s channeling bits of Motown, Hendrix, Aretha, James Brown, Quincy Jones, Prince, Michael Jackson, hip hop, and the civil rights and women’s movement in her songs. Her role as cultural torchbearer is even more apparent if you are lucky enough to see her live: truly immaculate stage presence and showmanship” – Roger Jao
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