"Make Me Feel"-Janelle Monáe
If you're one of the many who misses Prince's presence since his untimely death almost two-years ago, a hidden figure has come to your rescue.
I didn't realize it at the time but my ears were first exposed to the voice of Kansas City-born Janelle Monáe during the middle-eight of that 2011 fun. pop chart-topper "We Are Young." To be honest, I really didn't know much about this talented beauty until my eyes fell in love with her image on the big screen portraying NASA mathematician and engineer Mary Jackson in the 2017 Academy Awards "Best Picture" nominated film "Hidden Figures." (Bonus thrill: I discovered she was even more charmingly pulchritudinous when I had the thrill of meeting her at the Critics Choice Awards ceremony in LA last year! *sigh*)
Alongside her recent successes as an actress, Janelle had already proven herself as a model, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. Not only has Monáe credited Prince as her musical muse, but the two were working together on her new (soon-to-be-released) collection of songs (Dirty Computer) when he passed away.
Janelle explained to Rebecca Bengal of the Guardian, "It's difficult for me to even speak about this because Prince was helping me with the album, before he passed on to another frequency," but noted, "his spirit will never leave me."
And -- after first listening to Monáe's recently released single "Make Me Feel" -- I'm positive His Royal Badness would deliriously approve.
You'll first notice its tongue-in-cheek start, and I mean that literally. "Make Me Feel" kicks-off with mouth-clicks followed by a simple synth groove that'll transport you back to the 80s. In fact, the song immediately reminded me of Prince's 1986 million-seller "Kiss" with its very similar crisp and funky staccato guitar and oral sound effects... but instead of the clicks you hear on Janelle's record, Prince sent kisses. Plus Monáe -- who has described herself as a sexually liberated woman -- provides plenty of sensual Kinsey Scale fluidity that would make Darling Nikki blush.
"It's a celebratory song," she says. "I hope that comes across -- that people feel more free, no matter where they are in their lives, that they feel celebrated. Because I'm about women's empowerment. I'm about agency. I'm about being in control of your narrative and your body."
Now, for those who might have forgotten, this is what the color purple sounds like.
