The Age Of Pleasure

Janelle Monáe has become synonymous with pleasure since dropping their “Lipstick Lover” video, starring multiple butts, and plunging head-first into her The Age Of Pleasure album rollout, which will conclude with its highly anticipated release at midnight (June 9).

But the multi-talented artist is here to help those for whom pleasure doesn’t come as naturally.

Monáe held a private listening party for The Age Of Pleasure in New York City on Wednesday night, June 7, and one of the many visuals to emerge was a “Pleasure Guide.”

The handout includes several helpful tips:

“Safety first. Fun next 🙂
Focus on the present
Leave the past behind
Leave the future in the future
Discover something new about yourself
Focus on the feeling
Focus on the beauty around you
(And if you see no beauty make some!)
Dance like somebody’s watching (cause they are!)
Smile at a stranger
Dance harder than your neighbor
Float baby float
Celebrate you! You made it here.
Come dry leave wet
Unleash the ‘free azz mothaf*cka’ in you!
Hurry Up and Live!”

Monáe’s “Pleasure Guide” is extremely tame compared to what else they’ve released ahead of the album, including uncensored cover art and breast-centric CD and vinyl editions.

Uproxx’s Aaron Williams contextualized the necessity of Monáe’s NSFW Age Of Pleasure era coinciding with a time in this country when Black and queer people are under attack, writing, “She’s still presenting herself as the martyr and messiah, fighting back by being louder, bolder, and brighter than the hatred and those who’d rather see her silent and diminished. That’s not new either. It’s the story of America, of being Black, of being queer, of being non-binary, and always fighting to be seen, to be heard, and to not just survive in a hostile world but thrive.”

The 14-track project will feature Amaarae, CKay, Doechii, Egypt 80, Grace Jones, Nia Long, Seun Kuti, and Sister Nancy. Monáe will support the album with The Age Of Pleasure Tour across North America, beginning on August 30 in Seattle, Washington. See all of their dates here.

Check out more scenes from The Age Of Pleasure playback below.

The Age Of Pleasure is out 6/9 via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Janelle Monaé’s provocative rollout for their new album The Age Of Pleasure has been a sight to behold. In addition to two well-received singles, “Float” and “Lipstick Lover,” Monaé has captured the public’s attention with unapologetic displays of sensuality, from dancing on tables during Grammy week to flashing a crowd during a listening party, declaring that they are “much happier when my titties are out.”

Keeping that hedonistic streak going, the non-gender-conforming artist evoked one of the original emblems of youthful abandon, MTV, in a new trailer for the album. Transforming the iconic logo into a PTV (for “Pleasure TV”), the VHS-aping video imitates the look of a recorded episode of MTV’s popular Spring Break broadcasts, with a beach party hosted by a VJ, Tree Young. Meanwhile, Monaé can be seen in the crowd flying a Progress Pride flag, which was created in 2018 by nonbinary artist Daniel Quasar and combines the traditional rainbow flag with black and brown stripes to represent people of color and the colors of the trans flag, blue, pink, and white.

The Age Of Pleasure is due on June 9. You can get more info here.

Janelle Monaé is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Janelle Monáe is now a little over a week away from releasing her latest album, The Age Of Pleasure, and she’s done an amazing job at hyping the release up. Aside from strong advance singles, she’s also made use of some NSFW moments to hype up the project. That includes her reveal of the album’s NSFW vinyl edition, which features a gigantic illustration of breasts. Now, she’s offered a closer look at the release in a new video.

In the clip shared on Twitter yesterday (May 31), Monáe stands in front of a shelf full of her vinyl collection and takes viewers on a mini tour of it, pulling out choice albums like Prince’s Controversy and Les Hooper Big Band’s Raisin’ The Roof. They then grab a copy of The Age Of Pleasure, showing off the alternate cover art before opening it to unveil the boobs inside, as well as the striking various colors of vinyl the album has been pressed on

Check out the video above.

The Age Of Pleasure is out 6/9 via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Janelle Monáe is hitting the road at the end of August, bringing her new album The Age Of Pleasure to 26 cities across North America on tour. Kicking off in Seattle, Washington, the Age Of Pleasure Tour will meander its way across the US and Canada to its conclusion in Inglewood, California at the YouTube Theater. Tickets go on presale Thursday, June 1, for Verizon subscribers, while the general sale will begin Wednesday, June 7 at 10 am, just two days before the album itself drops. Monáe’s semi-recent propensity for popping her top in public could see them sell out at record speed so get those clicking fingers ready.

Check out the dates for The Age Of Pleasure Tour below.

08/30 – Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
08/31 – Vancouver, BC @ UBC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
09/02 – Portland, OR @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
09/06 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
09/07 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/09 – Kansas City, MO @ The Midland Theatre
09/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
09/13 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
09/14 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
09/17 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
09/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
09/20 – Montreal, QB @ Mtelus
09/21 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
09/24 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem*
09/26 – New York City, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
09/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
10/02 – Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/03 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
10/04 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
10/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre Atlanta
10/09 – Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/10 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
10/11 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater
10/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
10/17 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10/18 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater