When did David Bowie die? Janelle Monáe tells Lucy Dacus that she “travelled back" in time to meet the legendary singer

Singer Janelle Monáe made an interesting revelation about meeting English singer David Bowie, who died in 2016. Monáe and singer Lucy Dacus sat down on Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians, the episode of which was released on October 20. At one point during the conversation, Monáe reflected on the time she saw David Bowie, which seemingly surprised Dacus. The I Like That singer said:

“I did. I travelled back into the 1970s and I saw him do Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars and it was incredible.”

Lucy Dacus, who seemed surprised, asked once again if she traveled back. Janelle Monáe said:

“Yeah, I was backstage and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’ And so I jetted back to, you know, the 2000s and I was like, I can have the musical, make the music, create the lyrics, and create community around transformation and being queer and not even just in s*xuality but just in how we see the world. Let’s go outside the mundane and what people know us as everyday leave room to allow yourself to transform.”

Discussing the beauty of writing and how life happens in and around it, Dacus asked Janelle Monáe if that was true for her. The latter said it was an interesting outlook and said she considered herself a world builder. She said she had always done what was best for her albums’ protagonists.

Sometimes, she took inspiration from poems with which she could relate personally. She said she creates a scene in her mind and then transforms it into the form of a song.

Janelle Monáe on listening to soundtracks and her work, Cindi

Janelle Monáe shared that her writing comprised elements of her real experiences and the future version that she foresaw. She said that while growing up, she did not listen to much classical music. It was more of scoring as she loved films, which made her like the works of Henry Mancini and John Williams. She said:

“And when I would just listen to the soundtracks, I saw the world. I was like, ‘Oh, even without seeing the films, they are telling me a story right now, like I am through sound with not a lot of words. I am actually able to create my own stories by listening to their music.”

Lucy Dacus asked how often she thought about the characters she created and if she saw them as her family. Janelle Monáe replied positively. Mentioning her work, Cindi, she said it was inspired by the 1927 science fiction film, Metropolis. She said:

“I was like, ‘Oh, an android. It’s the future to our parallels between what it means to be an other is representative of how I feel in society, of being queer, being black, growing up to working-class parents. There’s so many parallels here, but we need to have a fresh take on that.”

Janelle Monáe said Cindi represents the idea of peace. She felt this work portrays her DNA in a futuristic setting.

Trending

Also Read: Who is Lexi Jones? All about David Bowie’s daughter as she opens up about pressures of living up to father’s legacy

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback