Janelle Monaé

Janelle Monaé says her sensuous, hedonistic new album is a riposte to conservatives who want to suppress expressions of black, queer pleasure.

The record arrives amidst a spate of US bills targeting LGBTQ rights, and others that outlaw the teaching of African American history.

The 37-year-old says her latest album, The Age Of Pleasure, is just one way to resist the tide of anti-LGBTQ sentiment.

The star is also taking practical action with her Fem The Future charity, which provides grants to under-resourced girls and non-binary youth in music, the arts and education.

A record number of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the US since the start of the year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Along with a renewed push to ban access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, there has been a heavy focus on education.

A total of 283 proposed bills target schools, including bills that aim to limit discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom, and “forced outing” bills, which would require teachers to alert parents when a student begins going by a different name or pronouns, even without the student’s consent.

Several states have also proposed bills that would ban drag performances.

Monaé started releasing music in 2003, carving out a niche as one of America’s most forward-thinking, genre-bending soul and pop artists.

With hits like Make Me Feel, Tightrope and Q.U.E.E.N, she’s earned eight Grammy nominations, while building a parallel career on the big screen, with roles in award-winning dramas Hidden Figures and Moonlight, and last year’s murder-mystery Glass Onion, in which she co-starred with Daniel Craig.

The Age Of Pleasure is her first album since 2018’s Dirty Computer, a project that saw her acknowledge and embrace her sexuality in public for the first time.

But “understanding that I’m now non-binary freed me up,” she continued.

As a consequence, her new album focuses almost entirely on the pleasures of the flesh.

Naked skin is a big theme – and Monaé even appears bare-chested in the video for Lipstick Lover, a song inspired by a real-life liaison.

The album took shape over the last few years, at events she hosted in her “Wondaland West” campus in Los Angeles.

The property is a hub of creativity and community, with a party-ready courtyard that Rolling Stone magazine described as “magnificent, with its tranquil pool in the centre and troves of nooks, crannies, outdoor baths, and citrus trees”.

During the pandemic, Monaé opened up her property to the organisers of Everyday People – a globe-trotting event that celebrates Black and African culture – allowing them to host gatherings, under strict Covid-testing regulations.

Her new music reflects those bacchanalian nights, where people found freedom to be themselves “free from police, free from judgement”, said Monaé.

After lockdown restrictions eased, the parties continued, acting as a testing ground for Monaé’s material.

Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.