Janelle Monáe

Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3NS

Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Janelle Monáe can probably vie credibly for artist of 2018. She certainly isn’t a new artist. Her first (unofficial) album The Audition was released in 2003, and she has already released scores of great singles as well as albums like The ArchAndroid (2010) and The Electric Lady (2013). However this year’s Dirty Computer really captured the zeitgeist. Although the openness of her sexuality undoubtedly helped in raw commercial terms with the publicity regime the album fully deserved its commercial and critical success. It wasn’t the one we listened to the most necessarily, but it certainly stood out for its freshness, sexiness and incredible funk and new wave sounds. This week in our Spotlight Artist spot we’ll track back over some great songs from Monáe’s career, stretching from The ArchAndroid through to today.