Quotes from Janelle Monae

My message is that I want to reach the people - the people who work each and every day.

I was constantly involved in music and theatre all through middle school and high school.

I think if people genuinely want to help ... that'll shine through, no matter what color or what race. We cannot see race before compassion.

Bring wings to the weak and bring grace to the strongMay all evil stumble as it flies in the worldAll the tribes comes and the mighty will crumbleWe must brave this night and have faith in love

I feel myself becoming the fearless person I have dreamt of being. Have I arrived? No. But I'm constantly evolving and challenging myself to be unafraid to make mistakes.

It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.

I will never stop making music.

One of my mantras is, 'Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.' I keep that with me in my back pocket. Shoot, I keep it in my front pocket! I keep it in my hair.

I have not lost any of my crazy, fearless, raw, soulful, eclectic side and I plan on continuing to tell universal stories in an unforgettable way.

It's a big universe. To stay in one tiny place is doing a disservice to yourself.

I enjoy how women dressed in the 1920s with the shimmering jewels and rich feathers.

I'm a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all, and find my place in it.

I take goldenseal, Echinacea and cod liver oil when flying to boost my immune system.

We don't all have to take the same coordinates to get to the same destination. Being a young African American female artist, I want to open doors for young black girls.

Everything is about balance. You can't work, work, work, work without any play.

I've cried over string arrangements.

Becoming a CoverGirl is truly an honor and a gift. It opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out.

When I was growing up, both my grandmothers would play the organ, and we would all sing.

Maybe I'm outdated in thinking this, but because I'm a young black woman and don't see very many being the lead in a film, I have this fear: 'Will I be working?'

Beauty is about enhancing what you have. Let yourself shine through.

I believe it's time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them.

Some songs you get. Some songs you may not. And I think that's the beauty of art: to question and to ask, to understand the deeper meaning after two or three or four listenings.

I've never viewed myself as 'just' a musician or singer.

I had a strong visceral reaction to the 'Moonlight' script, partly because I felt I knew all of these characters.