JANELLE MONAE was born on this date.  Monáe is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, actress, and model. She is signed to her own imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, and Atlantic Records. After her first unofficial studio album, The Audition, she publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis Suite [The Chase] which peaked at number 115 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

n 2010, Monáe released her critically acclaimed first full-length studio album The ArchAndroid, a concept album sequel to her first EP. It was released by Bad Boy Records and reached the number 17 spot on the Billboard 200. In March 2012, “We Are Young” by fun, on which Monáe appears as a guest vocalist, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, her first appearance in the chart. In August 2012, Monáe became a Cover Girl spokeswoman. On September 10, 2013, she released her second studio album, The Electric Lady, to critical acclaim. In 2016, she had major roles in two feature films, Hidden Figures and Moonlight, for which she received widespread praise.

Her third studio album Dirty Computer was released on April 27, 2018, preceded by the singles “Django Jane”, “Make Me Feel”, and “Pynk”. Monáe’s music has garnered her six Grammy nominations. She has said that Prince was one of her most important mentors.

During a 2011 interview with London Evening Standard, Monáe said that she “only dates androids”, a reference to her musical alter-ego found in many of her songs. She also said, “I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new ‘Other’. You can compare it to being a Lesbian or being a Gay man or being a black woman… what I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the ‘Other’ to connect with the music and to feel like, ‘She represents who I am.'” She added that she would talk about her sexual orientation “in due time”. In 2013, Monáe stated that she wants both men and women to “still be attracted to [her]” and expressed support for the LGBTQ community.

In 2018, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Monáe said about her sexuality: “Being a queer black woman in America—someone who has been in relationships with both men and women—I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.” She said that she had originally identified as bisexual, but later “read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’