In the years BC (Before Covid), Janelle attended Everyday People, one of the hottest globe-trekking parties of the Black diaspora. until a brand-new community coalesced around her in the uncertainty of a global crisis. She decided to take Wondaland to California, but she wasn’t sold on L.A. But in 2020, as the pandemic began to unravel, Janelle recalls, “We were like, ‘Do we want to be in Atlanta writing indoors, or do we want to be around nature and stuff?’ ” Atlanta had practically raised Janelle Los Angeles was just a place of business. Janelle, Wonder, and Lightning’s Wondaland Records began in Atlanta as an indie label and artist collective before it grew into a partnership with Epic Records. That instinct - we’re having a party, so we’ve got to make some music - is exactly how The Age of Pleasure came to be. “I’ve gotten used to right before we a night, making new songs to play. Later, Wonder tells me he made the remix that day, especially for the gathering, right before it started. Janelle catches a groove and freestyles some bars to an Afrobeats edit of “Work,” by Rihanna, a remix so vibrant and unfamiliar it catches me off guard. Game night at Wondaland is soundtracked by all sorts of music: Afropop hits, “Losing You,” by Janelle’s old friend Solange (Janelle helped match-make Solange’s last marriage), “Persuasive,” by Janelle’s new friend Doechii. “I’ve changed my whole fucking lifestyle. It’s not about an album anymore,” Janelle says. “I didn’t know if I could sing, but when I motherfucking mastered that song, I knew I could motherfucking sing.” “I remember being in the basement singing with my seven best friends,” Janelle notes from atop the furniture. “Weak,” of course, is Nineties R&B at its best, but it’s particularly special to Janelle. Still, prioritizing pleasure has its challenges, especially when a world of anxiety lurks somewhere underneath.ĪS GAME NIGHT winds down, an impromptu group performance to SWV’s 1992 hit “Weak” begins with Janelle belting out the song atop an ottoman, and ends with her and Wonder tucked in a corner of the sectional sofa seriously working out new harmonies for the song. I’ve changed my whole fucking lifestyle.” Community has been so helpful to me it’s beautiful that I have a title called The Age of Pleasure because it actually re-centers me. “Most people don’t understand what’s going on in my brain. “I think being an artist gets lonely,” Janelle tells me. She explains how things have changed on her new single “Float”: “I had to protect all my energy/I’m feelin’ much lighter now.”Īt 37, Janelle has reoriented her world around pleasure, trying to consciously enjoy herself, to quiet her mind, to party but also be present. She seems positively buoyant these days: the life of the party at enviable bacchanals (many of them hosted at Wondaland West), the centerpiece of this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend (scoring several head-turning looks, despite scoring no points in the Celebrity Game), and the most enthusiastic fan in the sprawl of Coachella VIPs. (Several involve downing shots.) We take turns scanning for matches and choosing challenges while sitting in a square in Wondaland’s den, where a tan, L-shaped sectional is offset by boxy, burnt-orange armchairs, funky plush dining ones, a sleek, cream lounge chair, and a straddle-able sheep.Įspecially as of late - and this is important - Janelle is also fun as hell, determined to savor the fruits of her labor. To play Consequences, we flip over a grid of cards they printed up, two at a time, in search of matching pairs the cards also direct players to endure a series of dares, from simulating sex with someone in the room to pitching an item there like a salesperson. (It went on to be one of the most popular Netflix movies ever.) Her friends Stephanie and Tree invented it when they were visiting Janelle in Greece as she filmed Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery, the 2022 murder-mystery comedy in which she plays essentially four starring roles. Janelle’s butt makes its appearance via Consequences, a game she requested we play. It’s game night at Wondaland West, the homey Los Angeles campus where Janelle works and communes, complete with a studio, living quarters, and an immaculate teal pool nestled within a grove of tropical flora. Janelle Monáe slides down the front zipper on her onesie, slings the suit down her back, and wiggles her bare ass toward about 20 of her dear friends.
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