words by
Cindy Hoedel
photo by
Danielle Levitt
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Janelle Monáe
S
he is 5-feet-zero of incandescent, electrifying star power. At 34, singer/songwriter/actor/producer and Kansas City, Kansas, native Janelle Monáe is harnessing her celebrity to liberate the world. On Twitter, she regularly calls out racism, sexism, imperialism, voter suppression, and homophobia. Speaking about the #metoo movement at the 2018 Grammys, she announced, “We come in peace, but we mean business.” Born into a large, close-knit clan (she has 50 first cousins) in the Quindaro neighborhood, Monáe starred in high school musicals at Schlagle High School and won the Juneteenth talent show three years in a row with covers of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. After high school she went to New York to study musical theater, then moved to Atlanta, where she was discovered by Big Boi and Sean Combs. She’s earned eight Grammy nominations so far, including for best album for Dirty Computer in 2018. Prince and David Bowie were fans as well as mentors, and Monáe still calls Stevie Wonder for advice. She performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration and attended his 55th birthday party. In 2016, Monáe starred in two movies that racked up multiple Oscar nominations, Hidden Figures and Moonlight, which won Best Picture. Currently she is starring in Antebellum, a horror film in which Monáe’s modern-day character is transported back to a pre-Civil War plantation. She also took over the lead role from Julia Roberts in the second season of Homecoming on Amazon Prime. IN Kansas City caught up with our homegrown superstar in
SEPTEMBER 2020
a lengthy telephone call from Los Angeles, where she is sheltering during the pandemic. What are you working on today? I was just interviewing an incredible activist, Janaya Khan, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter. They just celebrated their seven-year anniversary, so I’m feeling very high and uplifted from that call. I saw a video of you and Maxine Waters delivering lunches to families in Watts as part of your Wondalunch program, which provides boxed meals to people in need. That started in Atlanta, when we partnered with Gate Gourmet to keep 500 people from being laid off by paying them to cook for the community. I haven’t been able to travel, so I couldn’t be there in Atlanta, but my mom, who lives in Atlanta now, was there. I’ve been partnering with Maxine Waters here in LA, and we distributed probably 15,000 meals. My hope is that I can come to Kansas City and do the same thing for my hometown whenever we get the word that it’s safe to travel. How is your family in Kansas City doing? They’re good. It’s a big family. I have 50 first cousins. I came into the world at my grandmother’s house, right off 21st and Quindaro. I spent most of my days down there in that community. Have your family members been able to stay healthy? Yes, I haven’t had any phone calls about anyone being sick, so I’m super
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