Indie-fave Janelle Monae lands her first ESSENCE cover where she reveals her thoughts on body image and sex appeal. Find out why she chooses to shield her body from fans inside and hear her cover of Jimi Hendrix's"Little Wing."
After winning her first grammy, Song of the Year, in February 2013 for "We Are Young" with the band Fun, indie-fave Janelle Monae may not be a underground artist for much longer as she bursts on the scene with a gorgeous ESSENCE magazine cover. In the May 2013 issue, the singer boasts to the magazine that "I made a decision to be unique" as she reveals the origin of her iconic black-and-while ensembles and why her fans won't ever see her using sex appeal to sell records." She tells the mag, "People don't ask Jay-Z to take his shirt off when he rhymes."
Since her debut in 2010, Janelle explains that her bold decision to remain covered up was to"...redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy."
She adds, "I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way."
Fans can pick up the May issue of ESSENCE (on newsstands April 5) and check out Janelle at this year's ESSENCE Festival in July.
And last night....
Janelle took the stage on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” to pay tribute to Jimi Hendrix with a beautiful remake of his “Little Wing” featuring The Roots and a solo from her guitarist Kellindo Parker. Enjoy it above....
