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BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
Few contemporary artists have the artistic integrity of Janelle Monae.
While acts such as Miguel and The Weeknd are correctly branded alternative R&B, Monae has carved a successful – but really, why isn’t she a superstar? – career by taking the essence of soul, the roots of funk and her own weird, wonderful brainpower to craft a sound that simultaneously sounds classic and fresh.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
As an entrepreneur, the diminutive singer – a native of Kansas who ignited her career in Atlanta with the assistance of Big Boi – is relentlessly ambitious. And most of her aspirations orbit the music industry.
Earlier this year, she extended her brand to her own imprint, Wondaland Records, in partnership with Epic Records. To celebrate the August release of “Wondaland Presents The Eephus,” a compilation record spotlighting the stable of Wondaland artists – Jidenna, Roman GianArthur, Deep Cotton and St. Beauty – Monae and her crew did what they do best and unleashed their music in front of a live audience.
Since the second week of August, the musicians have zig-zagged around the country , playing a series of free, secret concerts for fans (those who wanted to attend registered online in advance and were given location details the day of the event).
Monday night marked the culmination of these love-fests, as fans in a packed Tabernacle stood, swayed, clapped, sang and welcomed the testimony of Monae and her cohorts.
GianArthur launched the concert, which at times felt like an old-school soul revue, with a stinging cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” during which Monae, clad in her trademark black and white, popped out to belt a verse and, secondarily, assure the assembled mass that the queen was indeed in attendance.
The commonality among the Wondaland roster is not only an appreciation of rock, funk, hip-hop and pop, but an ability to convey the emotion behind the music and perform.
Any of these artists is electrifying enough alone. But how progressive of Monae to organize a collection of musicians who bring infectious energy along with their astute musicality.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
The Deep Cotton duo – Chuck Lightning and Nate "Rocket" Wonder– shared coordinated footwork and an exhilarating delivery of “Far Enough From Heaven” and “Let’s Get Caught,” with Wonder’s falsetto in lockstep with his thrusting pelvis.
Monae’s male mirror, Jidenna, elicited screams when he stepped in to join Deep Cotton, all gentlemanly style with slicked down hair and clad in a natty suit jacket, vest and tie.
The graceful Jidenna led the seven-piece band and DJ through the finger-snapping smoothie “Knickers” before proclaiming, “I wish longevity for everybody in the building.”
Almost as fun as watching the various artists share the stage and merge in an out of each other’s sets was watching Monae and those not performing standing at the side of the stage, constantly in motion as they were moved by the music.
Last among the Wondaland team to take a turn was St. Beauty – Alex Belle and Isis Valentino – who sounded like a hipper Motown-era duo.
They’re more ethereal than their labelmates and their presence changed the energy in the room. But diversity is the backbone of any Monae project and they served a different musical purpose. They also, along with GianArthur, slayed a harmony-rich cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Strong Enough.”
Of course, even though the crowd responded fervently – as deserved – to these breakout stars, the volume in the venue thundered when Monae returned for a hand-waving run through “Q.U.E.E.N.”
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
She bumped backsides with her pair of female backup dancers (“the booty don’t lie”), handled the song’s searing mid-song rap (provided by Erykah Badu on record) over a trumpet solo and bounced as if on springs, her feet moving without any prompting.
Monae has the kind of pure voice that never seems to hit a false note and it was in robust form on Monday as she playfully slid around the stage and belted “Electric Lady” before steamrolling through her funk masterpiece, “Tightrope.”
Witnessing a performance of that song live is always like a religious experience, and this night was no different as Monae side-shuffled, wailed, whirled on one foot and even flipped over in a backward somersault as she performed.
Jidenna kept the adrenaline escalated with his party anthem, “Some Kind of Way” and his hit, the elegant thumper, “Classic Man.” Given the collaborative nature of the event, of course he was joined by his Wondaland comrades for the final chorus of the song.
But after 90-minutes of performing, Monae and Co. weren’t quite finished.
As they whacked snare drums in a marching beat, the musicians led the crowd in the chanting tribute to police brutality victims, “Hell You Talmbout.”
It was a striking – and fitting – end to a performance that, at its core, symbolized unity.
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