Energetic, sexy, politically-charged and beautifully delivered, “Dirty Computer” is more a strong statement about femininity, sex, race, and womanhood than just another pop-infused R&B record.
While bringing new specialists into her discography such as Zoë Kravitz and Brian Wilson, the collection is joined by a spectacular ’emotion picture’ that exemplifies Janelle Monae’s creative force and talent as an artist who will continue to define traditional boundaries in music and film.
The first two tracks released from the emotion picture, “Django Jane” found Monae talking about what it feels like to be a black woman in our world today (“Let the vagina have a monologue”) and “Make Me Feel”, a Prince-inspired track that’ll get you on your feet the second its chorus takes.
Another standout is the Grimes collaboration “PYNK” accompanied by the bold music video which has been described as “a brash celebration of creation, self love, sexuality, and pussy power! ‘PYNK’ is the colour that unites us all, for pink is the colour found in the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of humans everywhere… ‘PYNK’ is where the future is born…” — It’s a superb mix of making an intriguing, appealing and summer-prepared hit, while at the same time wrapping it up in an inconspicuously political message of commending women, sexuality, and the parts of every single human body, things which some people still expect others to be ashamed of.
The most enjoyable parts of the record are when Janelle drops the singing, and begins to rap, like on the instant hit, “Crazy, Classic, Life” where she sings “if the world ends tonight, let’s have fun” until Monáe switches it up and begins to rap about wanting to “break the rules” like one of her white friends, but instead is always “standing out” no matter where she goes. She then continues to discuss how she and this friend could make “the same mistake, [but] I’m in jail [and] you on top of shit.”
The song is essentially about wanting to just live your life freely, however hints to listeners that to “just live your life” is an actual act of resistance for a lot of black and queer people.
The whole record is very cohesive and well thought-out. She ends the album with the line “Please sign your name on the specked line” showing that for sure, this is more than just an album, this is a statement. On Dirty Computer, Janelle Monae decides to focus on herself; a black, queer woman living in America’s bizarre political climate. And it worked, this is her “To Pimp A Butterfly’. It’s piercing, poignant and politically charged, something extremely relevant and significant to the circumstances we live in.
You can stream Dirty Computer on Spotify.
By Nick Lowe