Pynk

Every time I see Janelle Monáe, the same three things hit me at once. How is one person allowed to be this perfect? What’s the trick with teeth that white? And why, why isn’t she the biggest star on the planet? She’s got everything—the talent, the discipline, the presence—and yet the world hasn’t quite made her untouchable in the way it should.

I’m usually quick about being attracted to artists I really respect. I’ll see something I love, get obsessed, and it’ll fade. Quick cycle. But Janelle’s different. There’s something almost frightening about her. So unnaturally flawless that she feels unreachable—genuinely the kind of person it would make me uncomfortable to be alone with. Her perfection is suspicious at best, threatening at worst.

Doesn’t matter though. She’s going to take over the world anyway. That’s exactly what she was made for.

Her new track Pynk with Grimes is a masterpiece. Feminist all the way through. It celebrates the color everyone secretly loves, but more than that—it’s unflinching about what that color actually means. It’s honest about bodies, about what they do, about all the things you’re supposed to keep quiet. She just puts it right there. That’s her move.