Janelle Monáe opened up about showing her skin during the rollout of her upcoming album – aptly titled The Time of Happiness – in a new interview with Rolling Stonesaying that she feels “much happier without my tits.”
The artist’s latest single, “Lipstick Lover,” is an ode to queer liberation accompanied by a decidedly NSFW music video that shows her topless at one point. For the magazine’s latest cover story, Monáe talked about feeling more comfortable lately letting it all go, saying, “I’m happier when my titties are gone and I can run around free.”
as Rolling Stone Pointed out, Monáe also “elegantly wrapped her breasts in beads and mesh this past awards season.” In the press photo for his album announcement (see above) and the cover shoot, the artist barely covers it with his hands.
On a related note, Monáe also talked about how “Lipstick Lover” — which we named Song of the Week – was inspired by the wild parties thrown at Wondaland West, the LA compound where he lived and recorded. “I have a whole spreadsheet with 50 to almost 100 experiences I’ve had at this party,” he said. “I wear red lipstick at parties. I’ve had moments where if I and a girl or a strong… want to engage, you’ll see lipstick.”
Once Monáe started recording the album after filming Glass Onion: A Knife Mystery, those parties became a testing ground for new material. “I was like, ‘OK, if we have a party in the spring of 2022, I want to have the records ready,'” he recalled. “‘I want to honor this experience, and be very specific about it.’ The best way to find out? ‘Let’s play that shit at the party.'”
Monáe explained that too The Time of Happiness inspired by the Black diaspora, including his friends and a “community of people from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, the Caribbean, Atlanta, LA, Chicago.” He added, “Seeing all of us together in our Blackness, in the love that’s in our eyes for each other. People from the continent mocking the trap from Atlanta. You know what I’m saying?”
The Time of Happiness arrives June 9 via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records, and pre-orders continues. It also includes the previous single “Float.”
Read the full interview at Rolling Stone.