She’s just a cosmic girl

Janelle Monae is an unusual lady.

That, at any rate, is the impression she wishes to convey. The last time I spoke to the world’s hottest R’n’B singer, she delivered a five-minute monologue explaining how her new album was informed by her experiments in painting. Softly and sincerely, she described how, during her 2011 world tour, she would go on stage with a palette and easel and splash down watercolours as she performed. Eventually she was inspired to translate her emotions into music.

“That was a lie,” she says, speaking in advance of an appearance for Arthur’s Day on Thursday. “The record was really inspired by ants.”