Q.U.E.E.N.
"Q.U.E.E.N." is a song by American recording artist Janelle Monáe featuring the singer Erykah Badu. It was released on April 23, 2013, as the lead single from Monáe's second studio album, The Electric Lady. Stylized in the form of question and response, each line of the song has Monáe expressing her thoughts on subjects ranging from sexuality to religion. Prince, a mentor to Monáe, called the music video for "Q.U.E.E.N." the best music video of 2013.
Song info
According to Monáe on her Twitter page, "Q.U.E.E.N." was inspired by "private discussions between her and Erykah Badu," and "is meant to make you jam, dance, funk out and dialogue later." While the album focuses on the empowerment of women and the need for women to control their own images, the single "Q.U.E.E.N." also focuses on the empowerment of other oppressed people. The title is an acronym for Queer, Untouchables, Emigrants, Excommunicated, and Negroid. Throughout the song, Monáe uses a question-answer format to explain the stereotypes, misconceptions, and oppression of those in the LGBT community, untouchables, emigrants, the excommunicated, and the negroid.Monáe uses various terms and phrases from LGBT slang at the beginning of the song. She opens the song with, "I can't believe all of the things they say about me, walk in the room they from left to right. They be like 'ooh, she,' and I just tell 'em cut me up and get down." Both phrases and are phrases used by many in the LGBT community, especially in the African-American gay community. She also alludes to lesbianism later in the song when she sings, "Hey, is it weird to like the way she wears her tights?" and, "Am I a freak because I love watchin' Mary?" Monáe then juxtaposes these references with religion by asking, "Hey brother can you save my soul from the devil?" and, "Hey sister am I good enough for your heaven? Will your God accept me in my black and white? Would he approve the way I'm made or should I deprogram, reprogram and get down?"
Music video
A music video for the song, directed by Alan Ferguson, was released on May 1, 2013, with a length of 6 minutes and 4 seconds. It features Janelle Monáe as herself in the future. She, along with her band members and Badulla Oblongata, have been frozen in time and placed on display in the Ministry of Droids museum. They are all described as "rebels who time travel" by a representative for the Ministry of Droids at the beginning of the video. One woman dressed in all black and another dressed in black and white arrive at the museum and knock down the guards. They then put on Monáe's song "Q.U.E.E.N." and within seconds, Monáe and her band begin to reanimate. As well as portraying herself in the video, Monáe also portrays her android persona, Cindi Mayweather. Cindi, along with her android sisters, dance and question each other throughout the song. Towards the end of the video, Monáe delivers her climactic rap wearing her tuxedo "work uniform." The camera focuses in on her as she raps and then cuts to black immediately after she finishes.Writing for Billboard, Gregory DelliCarpini Jr. said of the music video, "Channeling the retro swagger of Elvis's "Jailhouse Rock" video, Monáe jams while surrounded by six dancing ladies rocking bold black-striped looks. Janelle contrasts the backup dancers in a solid look while getting her groove on in a puffy sleeved white shirt and black second skin pants paired with fierce metallic Givenchy heels." The music video features a prominent black and white theme. It is shown in the clothes, the background, the furniture, and even the people. Janelle Monáe has four costume changes throughout the entire video; and other than the first outfit we see on her, the only colors that we see are black and white. The first outfit has a black jacket with a white shirt and pants followed by a red sash over her and ended with black boots. The second outfit is a white ruffled shirt with black pants and silver heels, and the third outfit is a dress that is striped with black and white. The last outfit, a black and white tuxedo, is worn at the end when she raps the last part of the song. As well as the furniture being a mix of black and white, there are also black and white people. In the music video it looks like they are dancing with each other and teaching each other to dance. This theme seems to be important to Janelle Monáe because of the lyric, "Will your God accept me in my black and white, would he approve the way I'm made". This means that this aspect of black and white is important to who she is as a person, as she has discussed in the many interviews that she has done.