Janelle Monae: The Electric Lady

Janelle Monae has never been short on ideas and flights of fancy. She's also, as her dazzling second album shows, not short on songs to go with the grand notions. Monae is still riffing on the yarn of intergalactic android Cindi Mayweather, but the sci-fi back-story doesn't get in the way of the cosmic pop funk, soul and jazz that powers this remarkable album. There are guest appearances from Prince, Erykah Badu, Miguel and Solange, but it's Monae's own vision and supreme sense of self which makes The Electric Lady such a wow. In between paying tribute to women who've already blazed this way (astronaut Sally Ride, actress Dorothy Dandrige), Monae lights up her own path with the irresistible, irrepressible Q.U.E.E.N., Dance Apocalyptic, Give 'Em What They Love and the fantastic Ghetto Woman. jmonae.com Download: Dance Apocalyptic, Q.U.E.E.N., Give 'Em What They Love