Janelle Monáe Releases New Album ‘Age Of Pleasure’
Janelle Monáe’s Age Of Pleasure has finally arrived. The singer announced the star-studded tracklist this week which includes features from Sister Nancy (“The French”), Amaarae and Nia Long (“The Rush”), Doechii (“Phenomenal”), Ckay (“Know Better”), and Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (“Float,” a single), and the legendary Grace Jones (“Ooh La La”).
Prior to the release of the Age Of Pleasure, Monáe made headlines for her NSFW video celebrating the release of “Lipstick Lover,” the second single from the LP. They told Rolling Stone that they got the concept for the song from a party.
“I have a whole spreadsheet with 50 to almost 100 experiences that I had at this party,” they explained. “I’ve been a Lipstick Lover. I wear red lipsticks at the parties. I’ve had moments where if me and a girl or an energy want to engage, you’re going to see lipstick. […] I remember how it felt when I got kissed on my neck with red lipstick. I remember how I went to bed feeling. It was a deep rouge. It wasn’t matte. I remember the way the person looked. And I was like, ‘That’s a f—— song.'”
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“All the songs were written from such an honest space,” Monáe said of their new record, per Pitchfork. “So I hope that people feel that when they listen to the music, that they feel that when they come and, you know, counter with me when I’m around, I definitely have had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring me pleasure, the things that perhaps I should rethink and rework.”
This summer, Monáe will kick off a North American tour in support of the Age Of Pleasure in Seattle, Washington.
This is Monáe’s first full-length project in five years after their 2018’s Dirty Computer. The LP was nominated for Album of the Year and “Pynk” was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2019 Grammys.
Take a look at the full tracklist for Age Of Pleasure below:
01. Float (ft. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80)
02. Champagne Shit
03. Black Sugar Beach
04. Phenomenal (ft. Doechii)
05. Haute
06. Ooh La La (ft. Grace Jones)
07. Lipstick Lover
08. The Rush (ft. Amaarae and Nia Long)
09. The French 75 (ft. Sister Nancy)
10. Water Slide
11. Know Better (ft. CKay)
12. Paid in Pleasure
13. Only Have Eyes 42
14. A Dry Red
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