Meet Janelle Monáe

Whether on screen, on stage, or on record, Janelle Monáe's immense talent — and potent voice for feminism and inclusivity — shines through.

Transcript

00:00And to those who would dare try and silence us, we offer you two words

00:05Time's up

00:08We say time's up for pay inequality

00:11Time's up for discrimination

00:13Time's up for harassment of any kind and time's up for the abuse of power

00:30Everybody should have a right to the American dream, no matter who you love, no matter where you came from

00:37No matter what you look like and no matter what God you served

00:42Music

00:55Shirley Chisholm said it best when she says service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth

01:01Music

01:06My way of giving back has been through the arts

01:09Music

01:14We go from being our father's daughters to our husband's wives to our baby's mothers

01:19Now stop putting your head down in my house

01:22You know my rule. It's all love and all pride in this house

01:26And when I read for the role of Teresa in Moonlight

01:31some might have

01:33Seen Teresa as just the drug dealer's girlfriend

01:37But to me Teresa reflects the need in our society to make sure we look out for each other

01:44Teresa reminds us that it is indeed our responsibility to protect those who are bullied

01:51Protect those who are outcasts because they're different

01:55Music

02:04I want to remind you

02:08That it was woman that gave you dr. Martin Luther King jr.

02:15It was woman that gave you Malcolm X

02:20And according to the Bible it was a woman that gave you Jesus

02:24Music

02:27And times up for the abuse of power

02:31Because you see it's not just going on in Hollywood. It's not just going on in Washington

02:36It's right here in our industry as well

02:39And just as we have the power to shape culture

02:43We also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well

02:49Music

03:00And I think that's what Prince respected is that we came in

03:05With our core values and our belief system and not wavering

03:08But standing up for the things that we feel we deserve as artists and as musicians

03:14Music

03:22I want to create or cater to just a red state or a blue state

03:25But I want to create a purple state and just bring people together over the music

03:29Music