The Age of Pleasure has begun.
Friday, Janelle Monáe rolled out her 14-track new album—notably, her first in more than five years—ahead of an extensive tour schedule that’s set to kick off in August. As Monáe recently detailed to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the writing process behind this summer-initiating collection of songs saw her and her collaborators taking a decidedly party-focused approach.
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“Listen, I've had my age of depression, I've had my age of anxiety, I've had my age of struggle, and, again, it's not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out—How do I create a space for myself?” she said during the recent chat. “How do I redirect my mind on how I'm thinking about things? How do I realize that right now in this present moment, moments that we'll never get back, this is where you need to find your pleasure? This is your moment.”
The album, preceded by the singles “Float” and “Lipstick Lover,” more than delivers on this manifesto. Popping up across the album’s 14 tracks are Seun Kuti, Egypt 80, Doechii, Grace Jones, Amaarae, Nia Long, Sister Nancy, and CKay.
Dive into The Age of Pleasure below.
Also worth a dive is the aforementioned tour, which opens with a stop in Seattle on Aug. 30. See below for a full list of North American dates.
