Children go with whatever makes them feel good - like if that's the color green or orange, they do that with their clothes. As I've grown older, everything reversed. My music, my personality - onstage those things became my colors.
Janelle MonaeThe 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.
Janelle MonaeI listen to Prince on my iPad. And I use a Chords & Scales app to warm up before performing.
Janelle MonaeI'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."
Janelle Monae