Retrospective Album Review: Janelle Monáe – Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase (2008)

As the padawan of Outkast’s Big Boi, with an attitude and quirky style much like Andre 3000, Janelle Monáe is set to rock the world of pop and hip-hop (much like her mentors) with her completely original brand of hip hop/space/soul.

Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase is the first of 4 instalments from Monáe. The opening track titled “The March Of The Wolfmasters” is a monologue by Monáe, acting as an announcer in a futuristic city. She announces that an android called Cindy Mayweather has fallen in love with a human named Anthony Greendown, and instructs the bounty hunters of the city to hunt her down for forced disassembly in exchange for a reward. From this point, 'Metropolis I' becomes a concept album, detailing Cindy’s escape from the city and her attempt to survive for love.

The next track “Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!” details the initial escape, and has a very cool driving hip hop beat that gives you a real sense of the chase. It is matched by Monáe’s vocal layers that include (presumably) neighbours of Cindy whispering things at her trying to help her escape, and Monáe singing the sound of a siren into a melody. The next track “Many Moons”, which is a single that won Monáe a Grammy last year, features 3 quite distinct sections that all intertwine and convey the same message of oppression. The first section sounds like a hip hop/60’s space pop track, which is followed by a spoken word section where Monáe spurts out a range of oppressive slogan or words or situations, which is then rounded off by a final soft lullaby type section.

This flows through to the next track without pause called “Cybertronic Purgatory”, which is a sad 1.5 minute song featuring a soft acoustic guitar and a vocoded “android” type vocal that wobbles and wails, presumable about the sadness that Cindy feels for being persecuted for simply falling in love. It really sounds like a sad robot. My only criticism is that this track does not go for any longer, as I find it beautiful and touching. Then in the last track “Sincerely, Jane”, which sounds a little like a 60’s hip hop James Bond score, Monáe discusses the need for change in Cindy’s city and empowers her to instigate such change.

Janelle Monáe represents an emerging new breed of original pop star, one who writes, performs, and produces their own music, without the influence of money-hungry record labels or trends. Her originality, honesty and fearlessness credit her with my respect and praise, and I eagerly anticipate the release of the following 3 movements of her intergalactic symphony.

Purchase Metropolis from iTunes here.



Track listing:
1. The March Of The Wolfmasters
2. Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!! (Alt Link)
3. Many Moons (Alt Link)
4. Cybertronic Purgatory
5. Sincerely, Jane

NB: The special Edition of this album features 2 bonus tracks called “Mr. President” and “Smile” which are completely unrelated to the concept, hence, I’m stressing here that I’m reviewing Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase and not Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Fantastic Edition).

Cheers, Thanks a lot,

Viv.