I'm so glad theirs a video on Monae! I always feel like I'm trying to convince my friends on how brilliant she is musically as well as how creative the music is that she creates. She is criminally under rated.
Massively agree. I get all animated and end up being like 'it's a fucking concept album based in a retro-futurist art deco city sung/produced by a fucking pixie/singularity figure who is literally channelling divinity.' Usually.
"Dance as a weapon" reminded me of Capoeira, a Afro-Brazilian Martial Art that can also been seen as a dance. It was created by slaves. Some say that the slaves called it a Dance in order to be allowed to practice it as a way of rebelling or self-defence. Great video!!
Another great video - I don't understand any of the backlash this video has received. Love or hate the artist, Polyphonic did a great job discussing Monae's music and motivations, and I don't see how this video is any different from his other high quality pieces. Very factual and well-researched - keep it up!
The backlash is because he chose to talk about social justice and black oppression as a legitimate topic and didn't just smugly dismiss it as something which only whining entitled libtards care about.
This was amazingly informative, I've met her in Manchester and she has an amazing energy. I absolutely love her futuristic vision and the long-term planning of her art.
I always wondered where Dirty Computer falls in on this story. Her film for it also uses her concept of Cindy Mayweather. But it wasn’t ever promoted as another suite like the previous albums
Music is so much more than notes and instruments. It goes beyond what we hear, because it is just another tool for communication. Thank you for this, keep it going.
Music, as a form of art and expression, has always been related to politics in a certain way. I don't know why some people here seem so displeased by it.
It's in the expression. When it is overt with little else to recommend it, it is rightly seen as poor propaganda or shite art. See: Simon Munnery venn diagram. And then you have someone like Monae, where all this time I thought I was listening to reimagined Motown with some sci-fi motifs, only to find it is much, much deeper than than that. That's subversive, and allows for multiple hues of appreciation (even if I disagree politically). Good show.
quintessenceSL Star Spangled Banner is only revered because it's propaganda, and people lose their minds if you simply don't like the song. So it really can't be _just_ that. People like propaganda most of the time.
She reminds me of Maurice White and his uplifting mentality in the music he made with Earth, Wind and Fire. Great to see that Janelle has picked up the same thing.
Dude you are killing it! I'm loving the Lamar and now monae videos. I feel like you could do a whole separate channel about these topics. Also did you hear the this American life about Afro futurism?
Dude, this is a great channel. Abstracting from the really cool take on people rightfully and cleverly fighting for equality, the Led Zeppelin and Flea videos add to the overall feel of the channel. I hope you're here to stay and to produce a lot of content, I will be here for all of it and might take it upon myself to become a patreon, this is some good stuff, great job!
If you consider the whole album as a continuous work of art it's up there with The Who's 'Tommy' in terms of how bloody daring and conceptually interesting it is, as well as how well executed and delivered. It's a work of genius.
The quantity/quality of information and responsible research packed into six minutes here embarrasses 100-page graduate theses attempting to communicate the same thing
After having watched most of this channel's videos, It's safe to say this is some pretentious shit. Empty calories is how I describe this channel. It's so shallow
This video got slept on. I didnt get it in my regular feed for some reason. The entire wondaland movement has political undertones. Love the channel use music clips when you can.
Music requires narrative which in turn requires imagination. No one can "make" music anything other than what it is but if you're telling a story - why not tell your own? The black "experience" is her story, something Janelle Monae hopes to share through her art. One doesn't have a racial "experience" but simply lives it. It's like walking into a clothing store and having some 18 year old clerk follow you around the shop thinking you are going to steal something. Historically, oppression has always turned against those enforcing it, the demise of whom often begins with artistic expression as a form of non-violent revolution. Art is a wonderful platform from which to launch... :)
Ms. Monet's brilliant Afro Futurism stories, music, dance transport me to "herstory." present day problems like racism and sexism, and a future filled with black droids yearning for freedom and love.
another point to consider about dance as a weapon, Native Americans, well Canadians (since I only know about or were taught about Canadian history when it came to Natives and opression), were not allowed to do their dances and were outright banned until the 1970's or so for fear of the power it has as a cultural force among them. Then there's the whole religious aspect too, some view dance or even music as a form of rebellion against their teachings and won't allow it except for hymns or certain songs.
This is a solid video for sure! I really think Monae perfected something that Del really tried to do with Deltron 3030 - I heard these lyrics in my head through this video, particularly around the point of dance being a technology and tool of resistance: Fuck dyin, I hijack a mech Control it with my magical chants, so battle advanced Through centuries of hip-hop legacy, megaspeed Hyperwarp to Automator's crib and light the torch They can't fight the force Victory is ours once we strike the source Enterprisin' wise men look to the horizon Thinkin' more capitalism is the wisdom And imprison, all citizens empowered with rhythm We keep the funk alive by talking with idioms
This was super interesting to me. I'm a white guy living in a very white country and even though people from other cultures are slowly getting more space it's still very much "my" culture that is dominant. I have always looked to mostly Star Trek as an ideal goal, where humanity has grown way beyond race, gender and class and so on but now I wonder if since I've never had anything taken from me or been marginalized I don't grasp the importance of something like what Monae is doing. Since "my" culture is everywhere around me, I take it for granted and it doesn't really mean that much to me. Definitely gonna check out more of her work, thanks for a great video!
Apan Apandottír Apan Apandottír Yeah, unless monae is around 80 years of age or more, she also hasn’t had anything taken from her or been marginalized.
Ehm. I do value much of my culture and I think my country is great. I also like to watch it evolve and grow. I guess I just don't have the energy to worry about who my neighbour prays to or which holidays other people celebrate. I just can't be bothered to be threatened by other peoples culture. I'm also a proud race traitor.
4:04 isn't that literally the entire plot of Hairspray? using Dance to destroy social boundaries and live in harmony away from oppressors? a Movie released 3 years before the song? Also a bit on the plot of Footloose? A Movie released in 1984?
dude, you're a great discovery. Anyone who really gets Bonham, Monae and the Chilli Peppers is definitely worth following. Will give it another spin, but, as I recall, the follow-up album to the utterly stunning Archandroid was seriously lame chart pop. And like some commenters here, I also think that there's a great deal of over-claim about Monae's (and others') philosophical importance and coherence. However, great work..again. Thanks!
Im dissapointed that you didn't talk about Prince's avant garde ideas of afrofuturism and how they are a blatant influence for Monae. For example, his utopia Uptown that is referenced in many of his early albums that describes a place of gender and racial nutrality putting an emphasis on dance and sex.
Always thought tightrope was brilliant. I won't say my political affiliation but I feel as though there will be a lot of negativity in these comments. More power to Monae though
Now I, a liberal, am quite curious of your political leanings....because you seem cool as shit. Doesn't it suck that we all label everything so easily? Why not just be 100% aware of what is....and let go of ALL ideology? Anyway, more power to Monae indeed!
I'm a socialist/syndicalist. Wanna have a Kumbaya-thread and just agree that Monae seems to be a very interesting artist and ignore the "virtue-signaling, PC, blah blah"-comments? This is the first time I've heard of her and I'm definitely gonna look into more of her stuff. This video made me think about some stuff and that is always good IMHO.
Why is Janelle Monae not Beyonce level yet lol, ay once she decides to drop a new project then she better unlock Beyonce level of fame cause I feel like everyone should sit and listen to her projects, they have absolutely amazing messages
"...insanely funky and catchy." I can take your word for it, but it would REALLY help if you interjected your narration with a few seconds of music here and there to illustrate what you're talking about. This should fall under 'fair use' (as critique) copyright law. Awesome channel otherwise, up there with the best.
So for her the dream that one day people will be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character, is a nightmare? Great musician shame about the divisive ideology.
Didn't know that a piece of sci-fi films like Metropolis can be of all things considered White Histories? Really and hear I thought Metropolis was about a dystopian ,industrialized future controlled by maniacal machines? Lmao!!!
Cuppa Tea I don't think you understand social justice... Social justice means righting the wrongs that society has/continues to commit to groups. Because of the broad range of topics that definition may cover, many unorganized and not-well-defined groups have fallen under it, and have then been vilified by the majority of people who don't make up those groups (ie, BLM and feminists). If you want a musical taste of more radical social justice, listen to midnight oil (it also gives you some cool Australia facts), or System of a Down, or rage against the machine (all of these are quite left leaning but admittedly I don't have much of a right leaning example of this stuff other than certain pro-trump and anti-tax stuff that I haven't gone that deep into). A note on social justice though: the particular wrongs that society needs to fix, according to social justice advocates and social justice warriors, varies greatly from person to person. Also, social justice is often attributed to the left, but it is also very prevalent on the right too (I think Alex Jones and his ilk count as pretty great examples). The thing is that the right believes that society is going to start slighting them (unless you're apart of mgtow or something) so they tend to be much more preemptive and reactionary than the left who believes that society has already slighted certain individuals. This is an extremely short overview of a complex and nuanced topic, but I just couldn't leave you with, "it's anti-white propaganda". After all, there are plenty of whites who make up groups that are considered to be marginalized (ie the realm of sexuality and gender identity and religious discriminating (and yes, there are many Christians who believe that society is slighting them, just look at the attacks on planned Parenthood and that judge who is still in office who believes that he's a martyr because he put up the 10 commandments in his court room or something)). I do agree that a good amount of people who are zealous about social justice (the stereotypical social justice warrior) do tend to vilify white people since, historically, they put many of the marginalized groups in the position that they're in. I don't condone this way off thinking though (neither do many others who believe that society should be, but isn't an equal playing field), because it leads to this hierarchy of injustices and this pride in being a part of some marginalized group (which might I add is just really sick) that is completely antithetical to what the purpose of social justice is. Too bad that those people tend to speak for the majority, but whatever. I hope that helped a little. Sorry for the length mate.
This music is maybe really interesting and fun and artistic, sci fi, black futurism, concept albums sounds potentially kind of cool, but your pandering presentation of it "she uses dance as a weapon of resistance" just feels cringy and makes me not want to explore it. It can be cool to express something political in your art but when your art is just the means for a political agenda it seems kinda boring and propaganda-like, it might not be like that in her case, but it just seems that way after watching this.
I guess art Can be propaganda and still be interesting, not my cop of tea I guess. it depends how brave and needed the political message is I guess, and "black people are oppressed" while it may or may not be so simple or true, .. Idk, just kind of boring and a cliché. again, she might have her own unique interesting version of this message, it just didn't come across that way in this video.
a political opinion you don't agree with? well, that basically means he's actually trying to fuck Janelle Monae and/or some black activist or he wants to be cool now. you do realize Afrofuturism is by default absurdly political, right?
scotty686 how is it virtue signaling? He discussed a concept. He didn't put his personal opinion about the concept in it, much less call his viewers to action or try to change their views. It was an objective look into an artist's influences and sociological lineage. What about it made it virtue signaling, because all I'm getting is that you just don't want him to talk about anything that has to do with social influences?
idk but he's hinted at this uber leftist political ideology in one of his other videos where he mentions "cultural appropriation" right at the beginning of the video.
CutThroatNin3 because he's talking about black people being oppressed in the past and present he's all of a sudden saying it as all being nothing but victims. This was such a great well made video yet you put it down to the negative of things.
what do you think Afrofuturism is talking about? i mean, with all the whole "blacks in space" deal Sun Ra and Death Grips pretty much exploit, you think it's just gonna be "blacks in space" or do you think - just think - that they're gonna use it to talk about social issues? because Sun Ra often got pretty political in a very abstract way. yeah, he didn't use the Arkestra as a pulpit, but he used it to talk about how often a majority culture tries to snuff out a minority culture - hence why he said "fuck it," changed his name to Sun Ra and came up with the Afrofuturist gimmick in the first place. also top kek at "uber leftist political ideology," cultural appropriation is considered an academic term and trust me, academic leftism is not uber-left. uber-left is something like authoritarian left, i.e. tankies who say that stalin did nothing wrong, or andrea dworkin and germaine greer basically being against both sex workers and trans women. people who are too radical even for the radicals. talking about how trades of culture can often be exploitative and benefit only one side of the equation (or, you know, stating that any form of trade to benefit a culture is effectively appropriation - either good, neutral or bad) or how people do those little things that get on your nerves despite being so little isn't radical in any sense. now being so far left you call leelah alcorn by her deadname and openly support her parents' decision to try to send her to a quack church-sponsored psychiatrist who tried to send her to gay conversion therapy - that's radical. ｓｐｉｃｙ ｄｉｓｃｏｕｒｓｅ
TheMurrut Yeah, I gotta agree. I really liked and appreciated previous videos. I like that they don't contain any BS, focus on the music and artist and explain what made them special, what made their sound. But the Bruno Mars one (seriously, sub par pop artists making song that steals everything it can is supposed to be a classic?) and this are just.. ugh. Like I said, I didn't learn anything about the music. I actually did listen to some of the songs, they are very decent for what they are, but they are still overpolished pop trying to blend genres to be varied. Nothing I'd come back to. The political agenda is ok. However from what I got from this video, the entire discography of her is just about social justice of black people. If that is the case, really? Maybe try to talk about other subjects too? Also, the whole "robots are metaphor for black people" sounds like horrible soap opera plot to me, not a great lyrics. Last but not least, the visual presentation + dancing. I don't really care about visual presentation, I feel like in most cases it's crutch to attrack people visually since the music is not interesting enough. This is also focused solely on black people, and the black people surrounded by white color in one video. TL; DR please go back to music and leave visuals and social justice to others ;(
POC doesn't mean black, it means non-huwite. Progressives use this term to create a divide in people's minds between huwites and ethnic minorities in a similar way to how huwite nationalists use the term non-huwite. Arguably, POC is a more insidious term because race baiters who use it hide their tribalistic intentions in a politically correct euphemism, which is why the use of POC is increasing among the wider public.
True. Black people use POC to buddy up with other non white races and vilify white people. This is over analyzed, pedestrian garbage. Much better music out there.
You're gonna get backlash for this video... As interesting as Afro futurism is, nothing should be white-washed or black-washed. I think her 'focus' on unity is exclusive, much like her videos. Brilliant people can have twisted world views.
What is a "black experience"? Do I have a "hispanic experience"? What's the difference if we both live in modern America? Does it matter? Why does one have to have a "racial experience"? Why do we have to try to make music racial?
Yeah, I never watched a movie or listened to music and thought "boy, do I hope enough white people are part of this". I just don't give shit about who made it. If the end product is good, it's irrelevant. But hey, I'm not american, so I'm probably not the target audience for this anyway
Precisely! I've never watched or listened to something just because the performer was Mexican/Hispanic, all that matters is that I like it and that it's good. In fact now n days i'm very wary of it because more often than not it's an attempt to racially manipulate me or fill an arbitrary racial quota.
how is he virtue signaling? he sounds pretty genuine about what he's talking about. and besides, a lot of Afrofuturism tends to comment on the black experience as it relates to sci-fi - like using the conventions to talk about the past and the present. also, as far as people saying "people of color," you really want to have an entire video clogged up for 15 seconds just so the guy can say "black people, hispanic people, middle eastern people, asian people, pacific islanders, and so on" or do you abide to "don't bore us, get to the chorus" and have him use a term that's used to refer to minorities without trying to say "minority" a hundred times. minority is a bit of an outdated term anyway and really only applies to white-dominant Western countries. or are you just really uncomfortable that Afrofuturism, by design, is meant to be this politicized art movement, so you're trying to figure out a way to call Polyphonic a pseudointellectual while using terminology that you've picked up on the Internet and used to fit into the ingroup, i.e. doing the exact same thing you're going against? because it sounds like that you're using virtue signalling as a buzzword, i.e. using it without understanding what it means or because you've seen other people use it. and if you're doing that, well... ...i dunno how to break the news, but it sounds like you're virtue signalling all the way to the moon. and of course you're gonna accuse me of virtue signalling. okay, i'll buy that. i don't want to be cool. i don't intend to be cool or to fit in or whatever. and besides, if being an individual means either not giving a fuck or wearing nazi armbands while singing skrewdriver songs from albums that aren't "all skrewed up," then i dunno, sounds like individuality might not actually be individuality in your eyes but just another hive mind.
@@auggiecunningham People choose whether to hate or not. Even if you sweep Identity Politics under the carpet, the injustice still exists. So, the Caged Birds will not fall silent.
JD this channel is about art, art is about life You wouldn't complain if they talked about how traveling or growing up affected someone's music or how someone's love of chocolate influenced their lyrics or whatever the fuck else. You're only complaining now cause you don't want people to discuss relevant issues. You don't feel comfortable in that these things are important or that they're a part of life and thus can't be avoided forever. If you believe in free speech, how about you DON'T try to shut down or police discussions that aren't harmful?
Hmm... Well, this is the first video I've seen of yours without and direct excepts of music. If you want to make a video focusing on Afro-futurism, at least let us hear it. Cool dancing and stuff, but yeah... Quite a bit of SJW stuff going on here, too. Interesting message, I guess, (although you never actually let us hear any music) But, please. I love your breakdown on actual musical (instrumental/lyrical/skillfull) talent. Would love to see more of that.
Scientifically, there is no such thing as race. There is no biological difference that one can find to indicate someone's race. Any differences found are due to lifestyle, genetics and diet. If A eats a Mediterranean diet and drinks wine, they will have a different kidney and liver than B who lives in a tribe in Papua New Guinea who has no access to olive oil, figs and wine. But, they may have the exact same color skin. Pointing out race means the person has nothing else to offer as an individual and is trying to ride the bandwagon, play the race card, win by association, ride the coattails of, and 6 other cliches. And if you're going to use the grimace-inducing, useless-and-inaccurate phrase "African-American" then you must also use Caucasian-American to describe white people (just not the ones in the US that are of European or Nordic descent) but then you would have to include the history of the Caucuses as the first humans on the planet, not Africans. White people aren't Caucasian, black people aren't African. I personally know more white people from Africa than black if you go back 5 generations. Most of the empirically encountered humans of dark skin are from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and one scary bastard from Ethiopia, but him I would not call black (not to his face) for he is truly Af-ri-cannn and lives in America legally, but do not call him African-American either, he is Ee-tee-oh-pee-ahn, and he will shoot you.
BariumCobaltNitrog3n > Tries to lead with science, as if trying to be objective > Ends with nothing but anecdotes, faulty opinions, and generalizations With all the words in your wall of text, it's amazing that you haven't stated anything meaningful. Seriously, pretty much all the stuff you just said means nothing in the context of this video. It just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to a word.
when I subscribe to a channel because it expertly uses music theory to explain why good music is good, what I really want is a politically correct lecture on the divisive political views of an artist without hearing a single note from that artist - no thanks. I'm done.
I'm so glad theirs a video on Monae! I always feel like I'm trying to convince my friends on how brilliant she is musically as well as how creative the music is that she creates. She is criminally under rated.
You criminally underrate grammar.
💯❤️🦾 I can def relate lol
Massively agree. I get all animated and end up being like 'it's a fucking concept album based in a retro-futurist art deco city sung/produced by a fucking pixie/singularity figure who is literally channelling divinity.' Usually.
@@ferdinandm.6255 you criminally underrate sense since you mean spelling and not grammar. You also criminally underrate kindness.
@@butterflymoon6368 I'm a different person than I was 3 years ago
"Dance as a weapon" reminded me of Capoeira, a Afro-Brazilian Martial Art that can also been seen as a dance. It was created by slaves. Some say that the slaves called it a Dance in order to be allowed to practice it as a way of rebelling or self-defence. Great video!!
Your point about how Monae uses dancing as a weapon reminds me of Deltron 3030 where rapping is used as a method of spellcasting.
Another great video - I don't understand any of the backlash this video has received. Love or hate the artist, Polyphonic did a great job discussing Monae's music and motivations, and I don't see how this video is any different from his other high quality pieces. Very factual and well-researched - keep it up!
The backlash is because he chose to talk about social justice and black oppression as a legitimate topic and didn't just smugly dismiss it as something which only whining entitled libtards care about.
This was amazingly informative, I've met her in Manchester and she has an amazing energy. I absolutely love her futuristic vision and the long-term planning of her art.
I always wondered where Dirty Computer falls in on this story. Her film for it also uses her concept of Cindy Mayweather. But it wasn’t ever promoted as another suite like the previous albums
Music is so much more than notes and instruments. It goes beyond what we hear, because it is just another tool for communication. Thank you for this, keep it going.
she's a god damn badass and soo underappreciated.
Music, as a form of art and expression, has always been related to politics in a certain way. I don't know why some people here seem so displeased by it.
Not really. Most music in history was created for religious divination/reverence, communal rituals and romantic love.
Auto Didact I never said it was just for that nor that it was created because of it.
It's in the expression. When it is overt with little else to recommend it, it is rightly seen as poor propaganda or shite art. See: Simon Munnery venn diagram.
And then you have someone like Monae, where all this time I thought I was listening to reimagined Motown with some sci-fi motifs, only to find it is much, much deeper than than that. That's subversive, and allows for multiple hues of appreciation (even if I disagree politically).
Good show.
quintessenceSL Star Spangled Banner is only revered because it's propaganda, and people lose their minds if you simply don't like the song.
So it really can't be _just_ that. People like propaganda most of the time.
She reminds me of Maurice White and his uplifting mentality in the music he made with Earth, Wind and Fire. Great to see that Janelle has picked up the same thing.
*I'm falling in love for this channel* *-*
TheJoker ™ your the joker
Your the smoker
Your the midnight talker
Dude you are killing it! I'm loving the Lamar and now monae videos. I feel like you could do a whole separate channel about these topics. Also did you hear the this American life about Afro futurism?
Dude, this is a great channel. Abstracting from the really cool take on people rightfully and cleverly fighting for equality, the Led Zeppelin and Flea videos add to the overall feel of the channel. I hope you're here to stay and to produce a lot of content, I will be here for all of it and might take it upon myself to become a patreon, this is some good stuff, great job!
I'm going to be honest this is one of my favorite videos you have done yet!
Electric Lady is one of my favorite albums of all time. The first half of it is about as perfect as can be..
Dylan Neel
Agreed, mate, agreed. "Queen" and the title track in particular are classics.
If you consider the whole album as a continuous work of art it's up there with The Who's 'Tommy' in terms of how bloody daring and conceptually interesting it is, as well as how well executed and delivered. It's a work of genius.
Dude, I really wish you'd update this topic with the inclusion of her latest album, Dirty Computer.
The quantity/quality of information and responsible research packed into six minutes here embarrasses 100-page graduate theses attempting to communicate the same thing
you are wrong
What a compelling argument you've made to support your position.
After having watched most of this channel's videos, It's safe to say this is some pretentious shit.
Empty calories is how I describe this channel. It's so shallow
After having reviewed your response, it's safe to say you can kick rocks
This video got slept on. I didnt get it in my regular feed for some reason. The entire wondaland movement has political undertones. Love the channel use music clips when you can.
What We Dig Because it’s about a black woman.
I truly hope the movie for her albums will be made
This whole channel is amazing, but I especially love this video. Wonderful information!
She said, years ago, 'I'm from the future,' in an interview and, boy, was she right.
Music requires narrative which in turn requires imagination. No one can "make" music anything other than what it is but if you're telling a story - why not tell your own? The black "experience" is her story, something Janelle Monae hopes to share through her art. One doesn't have a racial "experience" but simply lives it. It's like walking into a clothing store and having some 18 year old clerk follow you around the shop thinking you are going to steal something. Historically, oppression has always turned against those enforcing it, the demise of whom often begins with artistic expression as a form of non-violent revolution. Art is a wonderful platform from which to launch... :)
this video is so powerful..............im holding back tears
You're brilliant! Keep up the good stuff!
Yo I would love to see you do a video on SUN RA
Wonderful video and wonderful tribute to an incredible artist. I got chills just watching this. Thank you.
Alice Coltrane is a worthy mention when talking about Afrofuturism. Black women have led the movement for awhile now. It's rad.
Ms. Monet's brilliant Afro Futurism stories, music, dance transport me to "herstory." present day problems like racism and sexism, and a future filled with black droids yearning for freedom and love.
another point to consider about dance as a weapon, Native Americans, well Canadians (since I only know about or were taught about Canadian history when it came to Natives and opression), were not allowed to do their dances and were outright banned until the 1970's or so for fear of the power it has as a cultural force among them. Then there's the whole religious aspect too, some view dance or even music as a form of rebellion against their teachings and won't allow it except for hymns or certain songs.
This reminds me of how native Maori in New Zealand have a ceremonial war dance called the haka, which is now performed during sporting events
Great video, I really hope you do a piece (or several) on Prince at some point.
I love your channel, it's awesome every video you develop. Keep going, I hope you growing more and faster.
If I can't dance I don't want to be in your revolution
This is a solid video for sure! I really think Monae perfected something that Del really tried to do with Deltron 3030 - I heard these lyrics in my head through this video, particularly around the point of dance being a technology and tool of resistance:
Fuck dyin, I hijack a mech
Control it with my magical chants, so battle advanced
Through centuries of hip-hop legacy, megaspeed
Hyperwarp to Automator's crib and light the torch
They can't fight the force
Victory is ours once we strike the source
Enterprisin' wise men look to the horizon
Thinkin' more capitalism is the wisdom
And imprison, all citizens empowered with rhythm
We keep the funk alive by talking with idioms
This was super interesting to me. I'm a white guy living in a very white country and even though people from other cultures are slowly getting more space it's still very much "my" culture that is dominant. I have always looked to mostly Star Trek as an ideal goal, where humanity has grown way beyond race, gender and class and so on but now I wonder if since I've never had anything taken from me or been marginalized I don't grasp the importance of something like what Monae is doing.
Since "my" culture is everywhere around me, I take it for granted and it doesn't really mean that much to me. Definitely gonna check out more of her work, thanks for a great video!
Apan Apandottír Apan Apandottír Yeah, unless monae is around 80 years of age or more, she also hasn’t had anything taken from her or been marginalized.
Of course, the world is just THAT simple.
Take a nap.
Fantastic rebuttal. Didn't expect anything else anyway :)
Ehm. I do value much of my culture and I think my country is great. I also like to watch it evolve and grow. I guess I just don't have the energy to worry about who my neighbour prays to or which holidays other people celebrate. I just can't be bothered to be threatened by other peoples culture. I'm also a proud race traitor.
This channel is amazing! Keep up the good work!
"Appropriation of the historical non-black generes", how did you even finish this statement?
Kick arse video man. Keep up the good work son!
I love your videos. Keep going, really great job.
Can you do a video on the album mothership connection from parlaiment because its amazing and it would stimulate the diversity of your channel !
I'm so excited for Dirty Computer.
I saw her here on the Dirty Computer tour. It was truly a spiritual experience..
4:04 isn't that literally the entire plot of Hairspray? using Dance to destroy social boundaries and live in harmony away from oppressors? a Movie released 3 years before the song? Also a bit on the plot of Footloose? A Movie released in 1984?
I loved this video so much I made subtitles for it in my language. lol
It's Brazilian Portuguese, and it's waiting approval.
Nem acreditei qnd vi q esse vídeo já tinha legendas :D
Gabriel Ferraz de nada :)
Pls make a video on The Cure! This was amazing!
dude, you're a great discovery. Anyone who really gets Bonham, Monae and the Chilli Peppers is definitely worth following. Will give it another spin, but, as I recall, the follow-up album to the utterly stunning Archandroid was seriously lame chart pop. And like some commenters here, I also think that there's a great deal of over-claim about Monae's (and others') philosophical importance and coherence. However, great work..again. Thanks!
I love Janelle Monáe! Thank you this 🙏💕🙏.
Man i love your channel, make a video on Against Me! please!
I love this. This is great. What's the song in the background?
Im dissapointed that you didn't talk about Prince's avant garde ideas of afrofuturism and how they are a blatant influence for Monae. For example, his utopia Uptown that is referenced in many of his early albums that describes a place of gender and racial nutrality putting an emphasis on dance and sex.
Wondaful piece about a mindblowing artist!
Monae is the doctor who of music
Excellent video wowowow
Always thought tightrope was brilliant. I won't say my political affiliation but I feel as though there will be a lot of negativity in these comments. More power to Monae though
Now I, a liberal, am quite curious of your political leanings....because you seem cool as shit. Doesn't it suck that we all label everything so easily? Why not just be 100% aware of what is....and let go of ALL ideology? Anyway, more power to Monae indeed!
I'm a socialist/syndicalist. Wanna have a Kumbaya-thread and just agree that Monae seems to be a very interesting artist and ignore the "virtue-signaling, PC, blah blah"-comments? This is the first time I've heard of her and I'm definitely gonna look into more of her stuff. This video made me think about some stuff and that is always good IMHO.
Lord Fupa This probably sounds ignorant asf but omggg I didn’t know there were Irish black people.
Did you know Bill Murphy is voiced by a 27-yr-old female singer? ua-cam.com/video/sB6HY8r983c/v-deo.html
Can you talk about her recent album, Dirty Computer??? Pleaseee
more rock legends and songs please
I hadn't even heard of Monae until a few weeks ago. Isn't that sad?
Please talk about Tool.
Great video! My only critique is that you didn't play any of her music.
Trust me, you're no' missing much mate.
trip2themoon and you’re totally incorrect. Her music is incredible.
Interpol video or video on post punk.
I love this!
Historically non-black genres of rock, electronica & folk music; you will find that black people are at the root of all these genres!
When is her album series getting its own film?
The dirty computer emotion picture comes pretty close.
Primus/Les Claypool video please!!!
What about a possible debt to Earth Wind & Fire's Raise!
Well somebody listens to This American Life....
how come did I recieve a notification yet I can't find it on your channel?
❤️🙌🏿
Why is Janelle Monae not Beyonce level yet lol, ay once she decides to drop a new project then she better unlock Beyonce level of fame cause I feel like everyone should sit and listen to her projects, they have absolutely amazing messages
You and Anthony Fantono should do some kind of collab that would be awesome
Fuck that melon
what fonts did you use on here?
Wouldn't rock be a black music genre? It did come from the blues
Yeah, but who's the Miracle and who's the Sleeper?
"...insanely funky and catchy." I can take your word for it, but it would REALLY help if you interjected your narration with a few seconds of music here and there to illustrate what you're talking about. This should fall under 'fair use' (as critique) copyright law. Awesome channel otherwise, up there with the best.
Intro song?????
❤️❤️❤️🙌🏼🙌🏼
Ok, now, messy-onnik? Not messianic?
Why oh why didn’t you pronounce it correctly? Archangel, archandroid. See the similarity? Not arch, as in archway.
U should do a video on daft punk
So for her the dream that one day people will be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character, is a nightmare? Great musician shame about the divisive ideology.
Do Jimi Hendrix!!
Didn't know that a piece of sci-fi films like Metropolis can be of all things considered White Histories? Really and hear I thought Metropolis was about a dystopian ,industrialized future controlled by maniacal machines? Lmao!!!
Ayreon does concept projects a lot better
Kolot god damn right he does
ATL FTW
The video is great, but prepare for a shitstorm in the comments because of the title.
Hey Polyphonic, could you define social justice for those of us that missed that day of class?
Cuppa Tea I don't think you understand social justice... Social justice means righting the wrongs that society has/continues to commit to groups. Because of the broad range of topics that definition may cover, many unorganized and not-well-defined groups have fallen under it, and have then been vilified by the majority of people who don't make up those groups (ie, BLM and feminists).
If you want a musical taste of more radical social justice, listen to midnight oil (it also gives you some cool Australia facts), or System of a Down, or rage against the machine (all of these are quite left leaning but admittedly I don't have much of a right leaning example of this stuff other than certain pro-trump and anti-tax stuff that I haven't gone that deep into).
A note on social justice though: the particular wrongs that society needs to fix, according to social justice advocates and social justice warriors, varies greatly from person to person. Also, social justice is often attributed to the left, but it is also very prevalent on the right too (I think Alex Jones and his ilk count as pretty great examples). The thing is that the right believes that society is going to start slighting them (unless you're apart of mgtow or something) so they tend to be much more preemptive and reactionary than the left who believes that society has already slighted certain individuals.
This is an extremely short overview of a complex and nuanced topic, but I just couldn't leave you with, "it's anti-white propaganda". After all, there are plenty of whites who make up groups that are considered to be marginalized (ie the realm of sexuality and gender identity and religious discriminating (and yes, there are many Christians who believe that society is slighting them, just look at the attacks on planned Parenthood and that judge who is still in office who believes that he's a martyr because he put up the 10 commandments in his court room or something)).
I do agree that a good amount of people who are zealous about social justice (the stereotypical social justice warrior) do tend to vilify white people since, historically, they put many of the marginalized groups in the position that they're in. I don't condone this way off thinking though (neither do many others who believe that society should be, but isn't an equal playing field), because it leads to this hierarchy of injustices and this pride in being a part of some marginalized group (which might I add is just really sick) that is completely antithetical to what the purpose of social justice is. Too bad that those people tend to speak for the majority, but whatever.
I hope that helped a little. Sorry for the length mate.
Ah yes, the we wuz kangz and sheet delusion.
We
Wuz
Robots
interracial love is still treated horribly lmao
WE
This music is maybe really interesting and fun and artistic, sci fi, black futurism, concept albums sounds potentially kind of cool, but your pandering presentation of it "she uses dance as a weapon of resistance" just feels cringy and makes me not want to explore it. It can be cool to express something political in your art but when your art is just the means for a political agenda it seems kinda boring and propaganda-like, it might not be like that in her case, but it just seems that way after watching this.
I guess art Can be propaganda and still be interesting, not my cop of tea I guess. it depends how brave and needed the political message is I guess, and "black people are oppressed" while it may or may not be so simple or true, .. Idk, just kind of boring and a cliché. again, she might have her own unique interesting version of this message, it just didn't come across that way in this video.
Helgi Hilmarsson please explain how you can express politics through art without having a political agenda..
I subscribed for your interesting deconstructions of genres and bands, not virtue signalling shit.
a political opinion you don't agree with? well, that basically means he's actually trying to fuck Janelle Monae and/or some black activist or he wants to be cool now.
you do realize Afrofuturism is by default absurdly political, right?
scotty686 how is it virtue signaling? He discussed a concept. He didn't put his personal opinion about the concept in it, much less call his viewers to action or try to change their views. It was an objective look into an artist's influences and sociological lineage. What about it made it virtue signaling, because all I'm getting is that you just don't want him to talk about anything that has to do with social influences?
ur worst video yet lol
I'm so glad that me and other POC's are just relegated to victims.
Cause that's something to be proud of, right?
idk but he's hinted at this uber leftist political ideology in one of his other videos where he mentions "cultural appropriation" right at the beginning of the video.
CutThroatNin3 because he's talking about black people being oppressed in the past and present he's all of a sudden saying it as all being nothing but victims. This was such a great well made video yet you put it down to the negative of things.
Mike Craig English please, no spider talk.
what do you think Afrofuturism is talking about? i mean, with all the whole "blacks in space" deal Sun Ra and Death Grips pretty much exploit, you think it's just gonna be "blacks in space" or do you think - just think - that they're gonna use it to talk about social issues? because Sun Ra often got pretty political in a very abstract way. yeah, he didn't use the Arkestra as a pulpit, but he used it to talk about how often a majority culture tries to snuff out a minority culture - hence why he said "fuck it," changed his name to Sun Ra and came up with the Afrofuturist gimmick in the first place.
also top kek at "uber leftist political ideology," cultural appropriation is considered an academic term and trust me, academic leftism is not uber-left. uber-left is something like authoritarian left, i.e. tankies who say that stalin did nothing wrong, or andrea dworkin and germaine greer basically being against both sex workers and trans women. people who are too radical even for the radicals. talking about how trades of culture can often be exploitative and benefit only one side of the equation (or, you know, stating that any form of trade to benefit a culture is effectively appropriation - either good, neutral or bad) or how people do those little things that get on your nerves despite being so little isn't radical in any sense. now being so far left you call leelah alcorn by her deadname and openly support her parents' decision to try to send her to a quack church-sponsored psychiatrist who tried to send her to gay conversion therapy - that's radical.
ｓｐｉｃｙ ｄｉｓｃｏｕｒｓｅ
TheMurrut
Yeah, I gotta agree. I really liked and appreciated previous videos. I like that they don't contain any BS, focus on the music and artist and explain what made them special, what made their sound. But the Bruno Mars one (seriously, sub par pop artists making song that steals everything it can is supposed to be a classic?) and this are just.. ugh.
Like I said, I didn't learn anything about the music. I actually did listen to some of the songs, they are very decent for what they are, but they are still overpolished pop trying to blend genres to be varied. Nothing I'd come back to.
The political agenda is ok. However from what I got from this video, the entire discography of her is just about social justice of black people. If that is the case, really? Maybe try to talk about other subjects too? Also, the whole "robots are metaphor for black people" sounds like horrible soap opera plot to me, not a great lyrics.
Last but not least, the visual presentation + dancing. I don't really care about visual presentation, I feel like in most cases it's crutch to attrack people visually since the music is not interesting enough. This is also focused solely on black people, and the black people surrounded by white color in one video.
TL; DR please go back to music and leave visuals and social justice to others ;(
"people of colour"
Lol
POC = black person.
When it comes to mass media, it's always been a white vs black game lol.
Hispanics?
Asians?
Indians?
Naw, slavery was bad!
except "people of color" doesn't mean black, dumbass.
except it does, you idiot
POC doesn't mean black, it means non-huwite. Progressives use this term to create a divide in people's minds between huwites and ethnic minorities in a similar way to how huwite nationalists use the term non-huwite. Arguably, POC is a more insidious term because race baiters who use it hide their tribalistic intentions in a politically correct euphemism, which is why the use of POC is increasing among the wider public.
True. Black people use POC to buddy up with other non white races and vilify white people. This is over analyzed, pedestrian garbage. Much better music out there.
You're gonna get backlash for this video... As interesting as Afro futurism is, nothing should be white-washed or black-washed. I think her 'focus' on unity is exclusive, much like her videos. Brilliant people can have twisted world views.
music should never be relegated to a specific race or color, we all like what we like regardless of who makes it
I mean it's an album that is trying to talk about the black experience as well as providing hope
What is a "black experience"?
Do I have a "hispanic experience"?
What's the difference if we both live in modern America?
Does it matter?
Why does one have to have a "racial experience"?
Why do we have to try to make music racial?
Yeah, I never watched a movie or listened to music and thought "boy, do I hope enough white people are part of this". I just don't give shit about who made it. If the end product is good, it's irrelevant.
But hey, I'm not american, so I'm probably not the target audience for this anyway
Precisely!
I've never watched or listened to something just because the performer was Mexican/Hispanic, all that matters is that I like it and that it's good.
In fact now n days i'm very wary of it because more often than not it's an attempt to racially manipulate me or fill an arbitrary racial quota.
stop virtue signaling
how is he virtue signaling? he sounds pretty genuine about what he's talking about. and besides, a lot of Afrofuturism tends to comment on the black experience as it relates to sci-fi - like using the conventions to talk about the past and the present.
also, as far as people saying "people of color," you really want to have an entire video clogged up for 15 seconds just so the guy can say "black people, hispanic people, middle eastern people, asian people, pacific islanders, and so on" or do you abide to "don't bore us, get to the chorus" and have him use a term that's used to refer to minorities without trying to say "minority" a hundred times. minority is a bit of an outdated term anyway and really only applies to white-dominant Western countries.
or are you just really uncomfortable that Afrofuturism, by design, is meant to be this politicized art movement, so you're trying to figure out a way to call Polyphonic a pseudointellectual while using terminology that you've picked up on the Internet and used to fit into the ingroup, i.e. doing the exact same thing you're going against?
because it sounds like that you're using virtue signalling as a buzzword, i.e. using it without understanding what it means or because you've seen other people use it. and if you're doing that, well...
...i dunno how to break the news, but it sounds like you're virtue signalling all the way to the moon.
and of course you're gonna accuse me of virtue signalling. okay, i'll buy that. i don't want to be cool. i don't intend to be cool or to fit in or whatever. and besides, if being an individual means either not giving a fuck or wearing nazi armbands while singing skrewdriver songs from albums that aren't "all skrewed up," then i dunno, sounds like individuality might not actually be individuality in your eyes but just another hive mind.
Hal Emmerich I just don't want identity politics
So you accused him of being disingenuous to discourage him talking about a topic you don't like? Sounds pretty dumb
Chad Dinglebutt I don't like race bating, all it does is make both races hate eachother
@@auggiecunningham People choose whether to hate or not. Even if you sweep Identity Politics under the carpet, the injustice still exists. So, the Caged Birds will not fall silent.
I thought this channel was about music, not current BS politics?
I guess you didn't watch his channel intro video.
JD: "current political BS"
Video: "Cultural movement that has been around for sixty years"
someone made a post after 20 seconds of intro. Look at the title again.
JD this channel is about art, art is about life
You wouldn't complain if they talked about how traveling or growing up affected someone's music or how someone's love of chocolate influenced their lyrics or whatever the fuck else.
You're only complaining now cause you don't want people to discuss relevant issues. You don't feel comfortable in that these things are important or that they're a part of life and thus can't be avoided forever.
If you believe in free speech, how about you DON'T try to shut down or police discussions that aren't harmful?
And it recently became BS...
Hmm... Well, this is the first video I've seen of yours without and direct excepts of music. If you want to make a video focusing on Afro-futurism, at least let us hear it. Cool dancing and stuff, but yeah...
Quite a bit of SJW stuff going on here, too. Interesting message, I guess, (although you never actually let us hear any music) But, please. I love your breakdown on actual musical (instrumental/lyrical/skillfull) talent. Would love to see more of that.
any*
Uncomfortable, boy?
Maxime Bourgoin he captions each song... you can find her videos very simply on UA-cam.
Scientifically, there is no such thing as race. There is no biological difference that one can find to indicate someone's race. Any differences found are due to lifestyle, genetics and diet. If A eats a Mediterranean diet and drinks wine, they will have a different kidney and liver than B who lives in a tribe in Papua New Guinea who has no access to olive oil, figs and wine. But, they may have the exact same color skin.
Pointing out race means the person has nothing else to offer as an individual and is trying to ride the bandwagon, play the race card, win by association, ride the coattails of, and 6 other cliches. And if you're going to use the grimace-inducing, useless-and-inaccurate phrase "African-American" then you must also use Caucasian-American to describe white people (just not the ones in the US that are of European or Nordic descent) but then you would have to include the history of the Caucuses as the first humans on the planet, not Africans.
White people aren't Caucasian, black people aren't African. I personally know more white people from Africa than black if you go back 5 generations. Most of the empirically encountered humans of dark skin are from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and one scary bastard from Ethiopia, but him I would not call black (not to his face) for he is truly Af-ri-cannn and lives in America legally, but do not call him African-American either, he is Ee-tee-oh-pee-ahn, and he will shoot you.
BariumCobaltNitrog3n > Tries to lead with science, as if trying to be objective
> Ends with nothing but anecdotes, faulty opinions, and generalizations
With all the words in your wall of text, it's amazing that you haven't stated anything meaningful. Seriously, pretty much all the stuff you just said means nothing in the context of this video. It just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to a word.
@@muntu1221 We know what denial is, and it isn't a river in Egypt.
BigHenFor and it’s not here, either.
when I subscribe to a channel because it expertly uses music theory to explain why good music is good, what I really want is a politically correct lecture on the divisive political views of an artist without hearing a single note from that artist - no thanks. I'm done.
What subhuman liberal and colored garbage call "justice" is the exact opposite of that word.