She describes her upcoming short film as an 'emotion picture'.
Janelle Monae is back is she's fusing her two big loves; music and film; with this unique album trailer in the run up to the release of her forthcoming record 'Dirty Computer'. Far from being a run-of-the-mill music video, this is what she has defined as an 'emotion picture'.
Janelle Monae at the premiere of 'Annihilation'
'Dirty Computer' will mark the 32-year-old's first album in five years and comes alongside a short 'film narrative' that is set to hit select theatres ahead of the 'Black Panther' screenings. She has now unveiled the 30-second trailer for the visual, which stars Tessa Thompson from 'Thor: Ragnarok'.
It's full of sci-fi imagery featuring futuristic labs, a nightclub, street violence and seems to pair Janelle and Tessa as lovers. 'They drained us of our dirt and all the things that made us special', Janelle purrs in the voiceover. 'And then you were lost. Sleeping. And you didn't remember anything at all.'
Janelle defines the 'emotion picture' as 'a narrative film and accompanying musical album', and fans are already comparing the concept to Beyonce's 'Lemonade'.
'Dirty Computer' will be her first album since 2013's 'The Electric Lady'; her third released which reached number five in the US and included the singles 'Q.U.E.E.N.' featuring Erykah Badu, 'Dance Apocalyptic' and 'PrimeTime' featuring Miguel.
Since that album, she has been involved in multiple other projects. In 2014, she recorded the song 'What Is Love' for the 'Rio 2' soundtrack as well as a cover of David Bowie's 'Heroes' for 'Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game'.
In 2015, she appeared on the label compilation 'Wondaland Presents: The Eephus', as well as the song 'This Is for My Girls' from Michelle Obama's 'Let Girls Learn' campaign the following year. She has also collaborated with Duran Duran, Jeezy, Paolo Nutini, Grimes, Pharrell Williams and Jidenna among others.
More: Janelle Monae refused to perform with Kim Burrell
Plus, she's also been kicking off her acting career. In 2016 she appeared in 'Moonlight', and went on to share the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture following her role in 'Hidden Figures'. She is currently filming Robert Zemeckis' forthcoming fantasy movie 'The Women of Marwen'.
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