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September 6th, 2023 marked 10th anniversary of Janelle Monaeâs second studio album, The Electric Lady. An album in Janelleâs discography that I feel gets a lilâ forgotten about, being sandwiched in between the opus that was The ArchAndroid and the album when Janelle came out.
So I wanted to talk a bit about a couple of songs from this album that I played and still play the absolute shit out of.
One of my favourite songs on The ArchAndroid was âSir Greendownâ. So I was stoked that Janelle revisited this sound and vibe school sound for The Electric Lady.
âLook into My Eyesâ is Janelleâs second application to helm a James Bond theme. The first being âBabopbyeYaâ from The ArchAndroid. Barbara Broccoli needs to pick up the phone.
The 007 franchise had distanced itself somewhat from Bond themes of this style for a minute, and itâs understandable as to why. As the franchise moved through the decades, naturally the sound of the Bond themes did the same. Only in retrospect do we now look at some of the earlier Bond themes as signature sounds of the franchise. But it doesnât mean it couldnât steer back, especially given Sam Smithâs âWritingâs on the Wallâ for Spectre and Billie Eilishâs âNo Time to Dieâ for the film of the same name having classic Bond sounds which herald back to the 60s. After all, all thatâs old is new again. And weâre at a time of throwbacks. Although I doubt a Bond theme from Janelle now would follow this style.
âLook into My Eyesâ is so beautifully hypnotic and mysterious. Thereâs both a calm and unease about the song which just draws me in. And then there is Janelleâs performance. The way she sings the song is so theatrical and outward, yet so intimate. Itâs no wonder she went into acting. Itâd be great to see her in a musical.
The first time I heard this song I was so taken aback at how much it sounded like a Stevie Wonder song. I mean, shit. It pretty much IS a Stevie Wonder song. And I adore it for that.
Itâd be easy to berate âGhetto Womanâ and cast it off as a rip-off of a Stevie Wonder song. But I actually like how unashamed Janelle is about the whole thing and that she commits to it; because she more than likely intended for people to hear âGhetto Womanâ and say âThis is as a Stevie Wonder songâ. The same way that she probably intended for people to hear âLocked Insideâ and say âThis is a Michael Jackson song from Off the Wallâ. The same way she probably intended for people to hear âMake Me Feelâ and say âThis is a Prince songâ. And yet even so, she manages to give just enough of herself that the songs still feels like hers. And Janelle not being a cis male also gives her takes a cool twist in the energy she brings to them.
The sound of âGhetto Womanâ alone did it for me. But then there are also the lyrics. The message of âGhetto Womanâ is ever relevant, and itâs something which I identify with.
I grew up in a working class family which was very matriarchal in every generation. My grandparents were immigrants and my grandmothers worked just as their husbands did, in order to support their families, in addition to being homemakers. Being a stay at home housewife was a luxury for some, but not one which was afforded to them. But even if my grandmothers could have quit their jobs and been âtypicalâ housewives, I donât think either of them would have. They enjoyed the independence of working their own jobs and realising every facet of who they were outside of just being a mother and a wife. But now being older, knowing men ainât shit and seeing how women always end up screwed over when the relationship falls apart after years of them not working and having to rely on the income of a man – my grandmothers being the smart and forward thinking women they are, probably didnât want to set themselves up to end up in that type of a situation.Â
So, Iâm a huge fan of âGhetto Womanâ being a love letter to work class Black women who forge their own paths. Something which is also close to Janelleâs heart, as she was also raised in a working class family, which also influenced her choice of clothing early on in her career – the black and white suits being like a work uniform. And the subject matter of the song being one about social inequality, the shit Black people have to put up and how our achievements are disregarded is also very Stevie. It was something he touched on multiple times in songs with the likes of âLiving for the Cityâ, âVillage Ghetto Landâ, âBlack Manâ (which âGhetto Womanâ sounds a bit like), âCash in Your Faceâ and âItâs Wrong (Apartheid)â.
Itâs a shame âGhetto Womanâ wasnât made a single.