While reading the lyrics and listening to Janelle Monaes song Q.U.E.E.N. The first quote that stuck out to me was “They call us dirty ’cause we break all your rules down. And we just came to act a fool, is that alright? (Girl, that’s alright).” I was instantly reminded of the essay by Hadiya Roderique The Case for Black Joy. Both are referring to how as black people that being able to express joy and livelihood is somewhat looked down upon and having being constantly judged.
She also has another lyric in the song where she states: “Hey sister am I good enough for your Heaven? Say will your God accept me in my black and white? Will he approve the way I’m made? Or should I reprogram, deprogram and get down?” What I gathered from this was she was referring to herself being a queer individual and saying she isn’t “good” enough to fit into their mold of how someone should be. Yet she still stays true to herself because at the end of day her own happiness is what truly matters and not the opinion of others.
I’m posting a couple of remixed songs of Janelle Monaes that I’ve had in my playlists for a while now that are really good so I figured I’d share them and give you all a listen, The first one is a remix of her hit Q.U.E.E.N. and the other is Make Me Feel. Enjoy!
