In a dream concert scheduled for Saturday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at Ravinia, trailblazers Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe will entertain the masses.
Monáe—a queer musician/actor/force who has released critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums such as The ArchAndroid, The Electric Lady and Dirty Computer—recently talked with Windy City Times about everything from growing up in Kansas to her advice for the next generation of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: I told a friend I was going to interview you, forgetting he’s from Kansas City. And the first thing he said was, “Oh, my God—she’s from Wyandotte County [Kansas]!” What was growing there like?
Janelle Monáe: That is right! As for what it was like, I grew up around a lot of beautiful family. There were a lot of interesting characters—and I had 39 first cousins. I have to tip my hat to my grandmother and bow down to her; she had 12 kids. One of my aunts had, like, 13 children, and one of my uncles had 14 children, so there you go. So I grew up in community—cousins and the rest of the family.
They taught me a lot of lessons, like sticking up for your cousins and having your cousins stick up for you. It’s about showing up for others. It also taught me that I’d meet a lot of different characters in the world who would remind me of family. And I know how to deal with them. [Laughs]
WCT: I bet you do. When I first saw saw that you two are performing together, I thought it was a misprint. I thought it was meant that you had a show and Grace had a separate show. [Monáe laughs.] Who approached whom? How did this collaboration come about?
JM: Oh, my goodness. Well, first, just know that I’m on my knees bowing down to Grace Jones. She’s one of the first creatures who taught me that I could be a free-ass motherfucker. I could be all of me; I could reflect all the love from God and the universe, and be sexy and sensual. I could be non-binary in how I approach my fashion and identity. She just opened the door for the weird, the odd. We knew we were artists; we just didn’t know how we would package ourselves. She made the blueprint so I could find my blueprint.
And I’m even more thankful that I can call her family. I’ve been to her house and she’s been to mine. She came to my birthday party in Jamaica last year—and we stayed up until six in the morning; she can party longer than me. And she is somebody who is so warm and down-to-earth, and we casually talked about doing shows. She said, “I’m on tour and I think I’m going to reach out to you about doing a show,” and I said, “Please do!” So we’re doing three shows: We’re in D.C. tonight, we’ll be in Illinois for the Ravinia festival and we’ll be in Brooklyn [on June 9]. There’s no ego; she could have an ego but she doesn’t. [Grace] is so warm, inviting and loving—at least, to me. She’s just been like a mother/father creature figure in my life, in the best possible way.
WCT: So what can we expect during the show? Maybe there’ll be some hula-hooping from her.
JM: [Laughs] She may—or may not. We’re unpredictable people. There’ll be some free motherfucker energy. She’s so authentically her, and I’m so authentically me. We like to be unpredictable. We love the impulses we get on stage and we just run with those.
WCT: As you know, this is an age of constant movement—but it’s also one of constant turmoil and trauma, especially regarding the queer community. With everything that’s going on, how do you find your balance in the midst of all this?
JM: Oooh—I stumble sometimes. I stumble when I feel the wind is being knocked out of our community with the legislation and the government—people who believe in transphobia or practice homophobia, or people who don’t want to see us as being who deserve love, respect and a piece of the American Dream. So I stumble, but I believe it’s community that helps me up. I can look to our community and see people walking taller and stronger, and I think about people like Marsha P. Johnson and others whose shoulders we stand on so we can stand taller.
I think the choice to get on stage and be brave and create a community reflects our freedom and the love we have for each other—I think that’s what you’re going to see in our show. The people whose churches have made them outcasts—we’re going to be the church for them. We going to be a refuge. I feel safe and untouchable when I’m with community, and when I’m isolating myself—that’s when I start to feel small.
WCT: What does queer representation mean to you, especially during this Pride Month?
JM: Queer representation—I don’t even think that you have to identify as queer to do something differently. You can be queer in the way you wear your hair or the way you see life. The world can show you how it is and you can say, “This is how I see it.” Regarding my identity, that’s how I see myself wearing clothes, singing songs or my sexuality—my essence. You can reimagine traditions: These are the rules? I think it’s time to do something a little differently.
It’s not one button that works for all of us. I love that we can be queer in different ways. My queerness may not look like your queerness. What works for Janelle may not work for you. There’s certainly respect for being bold enough to be queer. To be queer, you have to be bold.
WCT: Windy City Times is having its 30 Under 30 Awards this evening. What’s your advice to the next generation of queer individuals?
JM: I would say that you should run your own race; don’t feel like you have to be at the same pace as the people to your left and right. Don’t move in scarcity. When you don’t have something, it induces anxiety—and life is about being present. Get your plans, goals and dreams together, and give yourself grace as you achieve those things. And forgive yourself for the things you didn’t know. Have your mantras to encourage yourself, because this world will certainly try to deplete you of your happiness; you have to complete that.
I have to create something or work on a project, even if it’s not for the public but rather behind the scenes. Find your passion, even if it’s not for everybody.
WCT: You have to be your own foundation.
JM: That’s right.
WCT: It took me a long time to discover that. I’m 150 now, but I discovered that when I was 120. [Monáe laughs.]
JM: Well, I feel that I’m timeless; that’s what my cells believe.
To purchase tickets for the musical experience at Ravinia featuring Janelle Monáe and Grace Jones, visit this link.