Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Janelle Monáe - Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) (2010)





The first official single from her second album ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). The single premiered on February 11 on the Pitchfork Media website, earning an immediate 9/10 rating and their coveted "Best New Music" tag with the companion song entitled Cold War debuting the following day via Monáe's official website. The official Wondamix version features rappers B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco.

Discovered by OutKast's Big Boi, Monáe founded the Wondaland Arts Society with like-minded young artists and made appearances on Outkast's 2006 album Idlewild, where she is featured on the songs Call the Law and In Your Dreams. Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monáe, whom he had not heard of before. Combs promptly visited her MySpace page, and according to Bad Boy Records' A&R Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell in an interview with HitQuarters, the label boss loved it straight away."He felt like she has something that was different - something new and fresh."
Monáe signed to Bad Boy in 2006. The label's chief role was in facilitating her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and her music, because in the words of Mitchell, "She was already moving, she already had her records - she had a self-contained movement." Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out "A hot single which everyone jumps on, and then they fade because it's just something of the moment."
Monáe released the video on March 31, 2010. It was directed by acclaimed director Wendy Morgan. In the music video she portrays an inpatient that possesses the power to walk through walls and later she catches the 'crazy/ dancing feet' with her friends. Monáe talked about the video saying " Tightrope takes place at the Palace of the Dogs. A lot of the greats were admitted into this place, like Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix. We wanted to keep it raw and funky - just having it in an insane asylum made it that much cooler to me." The video references experimental filmmaker Maya Deren's iconic film Meshes of the Afternoon (1943).
Another artist I knew nothing about until I heard this track on Craig Charles Soul All-Nighter; I think this girl has 'star' written all over her. She's clearly been influenced by James Brown, even Michael Jackson (in his Off The Wall period), and has that TLC-like quality of coming off like a lady without having to resort to sexist clichés. Tightrope is a certified floor-filler, proof that you can make a modern Rn'B sound without having to resort to tired old ideas and Autotune.

When you come back from having your baby, Beyonce, this girls gonna be sitting in your throne.
You ain't shifting her.


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