On May 5th, 1998 Rawkus Records released the first installment of the Lyricist Lounge albums titled Lyricist Lounge, Volume One, which showcased New York. It was a double-disc compilation that featured De La Soul, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Tash of Tha Alkaholiks, Punch & Words, O.C, Ras Kass, Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Saul Williams, Kool Keith, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Jurassic 5, KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, Last Emperor, and Company Flow.
This CD is one of those that you don’t get often. It had incredible and intensely clever wordplay, and was great for the culture because of the positive support it showed for hip hop. Back then everyone thought hip-hop was rap music and rap music was gangsta. It made people think twice before making an assumption like that. Any hip-hop purist who enjoys freestyles and great rhymes that make you think then this is the album for you.
Janelle Monáe’s rap songs are more common in her discography than people may realize. While her singing abilities are well documented and have been showcased many times, she’s talented with rapping, too. Considering this and the fact her studio albums have some sort of concept/narrative, she truly puts her all into her creative musical expression.
Each of her studio albums has a song displaying her rap skills. Besides these moments, she’s had singles where she focused on rapping, too. Her most recent single, “Float,” is one of them. The song’s cover art features a semi-visible tracklist, so her upcoming project may have even more rapping. In the meantime, we’ve gathered some of her discography’s best past rap moments.
5. “Dance or Die” (feat. Saul Williams) (2010)
This rapped song from Janelle Monáe is on her debut album, The ArchAndroid. This one is more of a hybrid because her sung vocals are woven throughout the song, too. Not only do they appear on the hook, but they appear as ad-libs during her rap verses too. However, they do not detract from the skill displayed during the rapped moments.
Janelle uses fast rapped flows on this one. She drops a whopping six verses on the track, but her fast delivery makes it not even feel like that many. This song offers listeners an intro to the concept Janelle created for this album. She raps about the state of the world her character is in and how it’s up to people to make the change they want to see. There’s a cinematic feeling to this one that comes through with the guitars, horns, and bouncy drums.
This song has a closing rap verse from Janelle Monáe’s album The Electric Lady. For some listeners, the song has two highlights: the verse from Erykah Badu and Janelle’s outro rapped verse. Ms. Badu’s verse precedes Janelle’s rapped one. But between these moments, there’s an instrumental passage where a trumpet comes in and sets the tone for Janelle’s verse.
While the song celebrates individuality, Janelle’s rapped verse focuses on the unification of people and her power as a person. Strings come in during it, which gives it a grandiose and motivational feeling. Her delivery is a combination of confidence with just a hint of aggressiveness. It makes the words she says stick and resonate as they effectively contrast the sonically lighthearted aspects of the first portion of the song.
3. “Turntables” (2020)
This single is a song that finds Janelle Monáe in her full political rap bag. Listeners have seen Janelle speak on things like this for years, and this song captures her thoughts on the topic of this country well. The song was created for the documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy. The music video, credited as an “Emotion Picture,” captures multiple facets of the Black experience in America.
There’s footage from the Civil Rights era, protests from our modern era, and celebratory moments from both periods. Janelle raps against various backgrounds, all of which reference the country in one way or another. Her punchlines here reference her dissatisfaction with the country we’re in, while others proclaim she’s ready to make changes to it. Her delivery is not aggressive but confidently rhythmic. She and most of her listeners have known the country has had issues for centuries.
2. “Float” feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (2023)
This is Janelle Monáe’s most recent single, and finds her in her rap bag on a different level. Janelle has put the work in as an artist and an actress for over a decade. More recently, many people have recognized her talent and she takes pride in her continued accomplishments. This song is a declaration of this confidence and finds her speaking on how she has changed as an individual.
Like our previous entry, she sings on the hook and raps on the verses. There’s a certain relaxed confidence in Janelle’s rapped verses. She’s not bragging about material possessions but about improving her mental perspective. The production’s soundscape fits this well with triumphant horns balanced with relaxing keys and stuttering trap drums.
1. “Django Jane” (2018)
This rap song was the first single for Janelle Monáe’s most recent album Dirty Computer. Janelle’s music overall has a charming and uplifting tone to it. However, things are different this time around. Produced by Nana Kwabena, this one has a slightly menacing yet confident feel. Trap drums, strings, and what sounds like a bell appears throughout the song.
Janelle declares her pride in making it to the level she’s at while also boosting Black women worldwide. One unique thing about this song is it has no hook. This is something listeners in the rap world have seen done many times. Janelle did it with ease going through flow switches to keep the song interesting and also did the whole song without ad-libs. Many listeners hail this as her best-rapped moment. What’s your favorite moment where Janelle Monáe rapped? Let us know in the comments section.
