Nearly five years after the release of her last album, The Electric Lady, Janelle Monáe has officially confirmed its follow-up. And you already know expectations are high.
The project, titled Dirty Computer, was announced Thursday along with an accompanying narrative film by the same name. Monáe shared a trailer for the latter project on her official YouTube channel, providing fans a small, but intriguing taste, of the “emotion picture.”
“They drained us of our dirt, and all the things that made us special,” Monáe says in the 30-second teaser. “And then you were lost, sleeping, and you didn’t remember anything at all.”
Sci-fi elements, elaborate costumes, beautiful cinematography, and an appearance by Tessa Thompson? We’re more than ready for this.
You can check out the Dirty Computer trailer above. A special trailer for the project will air in select theaters across the country prior to screenings of Black Panther. And be sure to stay tuned as more information about Monáe’s upcoming album is revealed.
Within the past several years, the multi-hyphenate talent took a break from releasing new music so she could focus on her film career. She went on to land notable roles in critically acclaimed projects like Moonlight and Hidden Figures; however, Monáe has reassured fans she has no plans to abandon one form of art for another.
“I’ve never considered myself to just be a singer,” she told American Way in 2017. “I have always considered myself to be an artist and storyteller. I want to continue to tell unique, untold and universal stories in unconventional ways. With both Moonlight and Hidden Figures, black people are presented as layered, complete human beings, not one-dimensional and not monolithic.”
