Janelle Monae
I had a strong visceral reaction to the 'Moonlight' script, partly because I felt I knew all of these characters.
I was constantly involved in music and theatre all through middle school and high school.
Music is an art form that I love dearly, and it's allowed me to bring so many people together and meet so many people.
I've gotten scripts over the years, but I believe it was the stories of 'Moonlight' and 'Hidden Figures' that really touched my heart and aligned with the messages that I felt were extremely important to me.
Maybe I'm outdated in thinking this, but because I'm a young black woman and don't see very many being the lead in a film, I have this fear: 'Will I be working?'
When I first started in this industry, my goal was to be some best friend. The sidekick. I thought that would be an accomplishment.
I will never stop making music.
If you walk into a room that's bro'd up, and you're in power, bring more women into the room.
I have mentors like Erykah Badu. She's been like a big sister to me.
Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.Collection: Unique
Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable. i didn't have to become perfect because I've learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.Collection: Unique
Beauty is about enhancing what you have. Let yourself shine through.Collection: Shining
I will not be a slave to my image, nor will I be a slave to anyone else's interpretations of me.Collection: Slave
Silence is our enemy, and sound is our weapon.Collection: Silence
I really just want to encourage and inspire people to use their freedom in a positive way and in a way that is inspiring to other people. I want to continue to pass down the seeds of change within the world. I think that it can start with just one person. Just like a rumor can get carried on, so can inspiration.Collection: Inspiration
Things might not go as planned, but at the end of the day it’s up to me to take those risks and do what I love most. And I don’t owe anybody an explanation. My journey is my journey.Collection: Journey
Don’t get high off praises, and don’t get too low on critiques.Collection: Getting High
Even if it makes others comfortable, I will LOVE who I amCollection: Who I Am
When you realize it's your responsibility to be a leader and create the world that you want to see, you have to do it.Collection: Responsibility
Perfection is often the enemy of greatness.Collection: Greatness
I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new 'other.' You can compare it to being a lesbian or being a gay man or being a black woman ... What I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the 'other' to connect with the music and to feel like, 'She represents who I am.'Collection: Gay
I'm not focused on being perfect. I like trial and error. You learn through uncomfortable experiences. And now I know what doesn't work for me, and I know what does.Collection: Perfect
Part of what my music represents is to stand up and be the voice of those who feel like they are not heard and want to be treated with respect regardless of race, color, orientation - android, cyborg, whatever.Collection: Voice
You cannot police me, so get off my areolaCollection: Police
I hope women feel confident with themselves and realize that we don't all have to look alike or be the same size to be beautiful. I hope they feel like representing what it means to be an individual and to remain comfortable in your own skin.Collection: Beautiful
There are some groups that for years and years have not gotten the rights that the majority of human beings have, and I think that it's important to continue to draw these parallels so that when we think about our future we can change some of the lives of people who love differently than we do, look different than we do, who come from a different class. It's all about bringing awareness to how important it is to be accepting of people...and there will be oppression if one group thinks they're more important or superior.Collection: Thinking
I wanna scream and dream and throw a love parade / Is that okay?Collection: Dream
People don't ask Jay-Z to take his shirt off when he rhymes.Collection: People
As a businesswoman you have to be open. I'm always open to listening and learning and considering. However, I don't look at business as anything other than a partnership. And in any partnership both parties need to leave the table happy.Collection: Party
You had to change who you were to become famous. I thought that for a very long time. Even after signing a record deal, and then eventually getting my own recording company, Wonderland Records, I had to say no to a lot of opportunities to become well known. If it didn't align with my values and if it didn't support the image I had created for myself, I'd pass.Collection: Opportunity
I'm really thankful to have my own record label. I've always looked up to people like Madonna when she launched Maverick Records. Even Jay Z and Sean "Puffy" Combs, who's a mentor and also gave me a shot when I was an independent artist in Atlanta. He came to my show, and he said, "I just want people to know about you."Collection: Independent
I love great music and if it doesn't move me I don't listen to it.Collection: Moving
I want people to know about these visionary artists. I want people to know what they stand for and (that) they are representing something unique, something fresh. I am just so excited about their careers.Collection: Artist
Honestly, I don’t believe in menswear. I focus on what pieces are most timeless, transcendent, match my lifestyle, remain remarkable, and command intriguing attention across the room at an art gallery.Collection: Art
I feel like Harriet Tubman, except I am trying to free people through underground music, to free themselves creatively and inspirationally.Collection: People
I always feel the need to give the unfiltered truth, (or) what I think is the truth, at least.Collection: Thinking
I'm not a politician; I'm an artist. So I always feel the need to give the unfiltered truth, (or) what I think is the truth, at least.Collection: Artist
I believe it's time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them. Becoming a CoverGirl is truly and honor and a gift: it opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out.Collection: Beautiful
Redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy. I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way.Collection: Girl
I'm always thinking about young people first when I'm writing music. Whenever I can reach that young person and inspire them to go after their own dreams, start their own movement just like I did with Wondaland. Starting their own tribe and showing people that we are not all the same, we're not all monolithic. I think that's what it's all about for me.Collection: Dream
Android is a new form of the other, but you can parallel the other to so many different types of people. Even if you don't consider yourself to be the other, at one point in time I'm sure you felt like that.Collection: People
No matter if you wear a small amount of makeup, no makeup, or heavy makeup, as long as you feel beautiful internally and you're doing beautiful things for other people, and not just focusing on the exterior to make yourself happy, I think you should do what works for you. You should rock on.Collection: Beautiful
It's hard for me to be serious. I can't really rub oil on me and go all the way with it [laughs]. I hear some screams and I laugh to myself. I always get a kick out of it. I'm three feet tall, basically.Collection: Oil
First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.Collection: Artist
The colors black and white are my uniform, to honor the working class. People like my parents, who were janitors and had to wear a uniform every day. It keeps me grounded.Collection: Black And White
I'm always thinking about that young girl or young boy who doesn't quite know if their music, their messaging, their imaging, their voice is going to pop, if people are going to understand them. So I represent the other and those who feel like they don't even want to be normal. They embrace the things that make them unique.Collection: Girl
I don’t even know at what age I started, because it’s always been there. Performing … creating … it’s in my DNA.Collection: Dna
I think if people genuinely want to help ... that'll shine through, no matter what color or what race. We cannot see race before compassion.Collection: Thinking
Perfection is the often the enemy of greatness.Collection: Greatness