A Prince-y empowerment anthem for the ladies of the #expressyourself generation, “Q.U.E.E.N,” Janelle Monae’s new single from her forthcoming The Electric Lady LP, is all about declaring independence from shade, sin, and shame. Against a backdrop of squirmy synths and funk guitar, Monae breaks down the paradigms of modern womanhood. “Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?” she says, adding, “And am I weird to dance alone late at night?” “Naw,” go the frequent responses, coaxing the song’s carnality in return. The song contains the same mercurial arrangements you’ve come to expect; frilly funk slowly steps aside to make way for hip-hop, only to drift off into jazzy territory. Midway through, who should stop in but the first lady of neo-soul herself, Erykah Badu, who uses the song’s catchphrase (“the booty don’t lie”) as a lead-in for a soulful jam combining bass, bongos, trumpets, and — oddly but fittingly enough — cinematic strings. “Q.U.E.E.N.” plays with the same musical free-associations of past Monae smashes (“Many Moons,” “Cold War”), fueled by the sensual stirrings pulsing at its core. The track may not be as immediate as “Tightrope,” but what it lacks in instant pop appeal, it makes up for with solid grooves and an earnest ideology.
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• Janelle Monae: http://www.jmonae.com/queen
• Bad Boy: http://www.thedungeonfamily.com