"What Is Love"- Janelle Monáe

To let you all down gently, no this isn't a take on Haddaway's guiltiest of music pleasures
"What Is Love?" When I first saw this posted on another site, I thought the exact same thing. In my mind I was already imagining the Electric Lady effortlessly gliding all over the track, giving it a soul that was lost under the bright lights of the original.

While that's not at all what we get, Monáe's "What Is Love" from the upcoming Rio 2 is equally as catchy. You'd expect a track from a kids movie set in a tropical paradise to be incredibly colorful and hook-laden and with "What Is Love" you'd be exactly right. Guitars are strummed in quick succession, teasing out riffs with just the right amount of bite. Drums dance in circles. A synthesizer scatters across a golden beach. Full crowds occasionally join in to intone "this is a crazy love," forming the world's most upbeat beach-party in the process. For her part Monáe is head over heels in love.  She gleefully lilts on almost every line and wonders aloud "what good is love, if it's not your love?" Based on the high everyone is on, it's a question she'll never have to answer. 

The Rio 2 soundtrack is out March 25th.

 

"Primetime" ft. Miguel- Janelle Monáe

As I mentioned when writing about the unmitigated bliss of "Mirrors", commitment can be a tricking thing to convey in a song. Sincerity can often bubble over into the syrupy. Being in love is fine; stopping everyone in the streets to tell them about it is irritating. Janelle Monáe and Miguel's duet on "Primetime" lacks that forced feeling. When the booming beat first echoes out Monáe is positioned in front of a clock, dutifully noting every tick and tock of the clock. She's waiting for the perfect moment to reaffirm her faith, soaring into the chorus "when you're down, and it's hard, and you feel like you've given your all, baby our love will always keep it real and true." Her other half returns after a ripple of guitar, symbiotic in his promise to put off all distractions. "My love will always be here for," Miguel sings in his velvety tone, returning Monáe's volley. No rookie mistakes or big-game nervousness here, just two people ready for the bright lights of "Primetime". 

Janelle Monáe's sophomore LP The Electric Lady arrives Sept. 10 via Bad Boy.