Diddy’s newest recruit drops debut

Metropolis: The Chase Suite, the first of four ‘suites’ to be released by Bad Boy Records… Metropolis: The Chase Suite, the first of four ‘suites’ to be released by Bad Boy Records newcomer Janelle Monae, takes listeners on a space age-inspired voyage with strong vocals and mood-lifting dance tracks. Influenced by the iPod generation’s tendency to listen to playlists rather than albums, Monae decided to release a series of smaller albums (suites), rather than full-length CDs, wanting to give fans a continual fresh set of music without overwhelming listeners. Included in this first set of tracks is ‘Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!,’ the song responsible for Monae signing with Bad Boy Records. P. Diddy himself came across ‘Happy Hunting,’ a bubbly song with strong percussion, on Monae’s MySpace page and sent her a message explaining his enthusiasm about her sound. It wasn’t until Outkast’s Big Boi’s (with whom she was previously acquainted) confirmation that Monae believed P. Diddy was personally contacting her. Before long, Monae, who grew up in Kansas but transplanted to Atlanta to take advantage of the rich cultural scene, was signed to Bad Boy with full creative control. It’s easy to see why P. Diddy would want Monae on his label ‘mdash; the girl definitely has talent. However, it’s much harder to believe that she’s on the same list of artists as ‘Making the Band’ artists Danity Kane and Day 26. If you’re looking for just another Top-40 hip hop song to add to your weekend playlist, this isn’t it. Monae manages to bring refreshing elements of electronica and soul to her jams. In her punky style, she’s far quirkier than most of her label mates. Outkast’s influence is apparent in her faster-paced songs, where her belting vocals combine with catchy beats and will surely leave you dancing. Her slower songs, while far from being flops but certainly not her best, resonate with Bjork’s eccentric crooning. Her voice, frequently compared to Lauryn Hill’s, is simply beautiful, and on tracks like ‘Smile,’ she showcases a chillingly operatic quality. ‘ Monae’s suite concept is an interesting one and allows her to experiment creatively. On a 26-minute album, however, every second is precious. Monae welcomes listeners to the album with ‘The March of the Wolfmasters,’ a cyber-spacey spoken piece explaining the story of a character named Cindi Mayweather: ‘Cyborg number 57821 / Otherwise known as Cindi Mayweather / Has fallen desperately in love / With a human named Anthony Greendown / And you know the rules / She is now scheduled for immediate disassembly.’ A little strange, no? Though Monae’s desire to make a fully themed album is admirable, this first track comes off as a waste of space. Fortunately, Monae picks up the slack with tracks like ‘Sincerely, Jane,’ where her live band adds another dimension to the music, the chorus of horns taking the album to a much more fulfilling level. The swanky track adds a touch of glamour to the suite and will bring listeners to their feet. She asks repeatedly, ‘Are we really living / Or just walking dead now?’ The question will ring through your head long after you’ve turned the album off. Though some tracks take the cyberspace theme too far, Metropolis: The Chase Suite creates promise for her future releases. Hopefully she’ll learn to take advantage of her shorter album format and skip the filler to focus on the soulful dance tracks she does best.