"I try not to get too caught up in who I am," says Janelle Monáe, her signature hairdo a wedge of nappy-chic, small legs crossed primly, hands clasped at the knee as if she were sitting at a tea party for the queen. "I try to find that balance of taking care of self and being selfless. [But] I do find comfort in embracing things that might make others feel a little uncomfortable." Yeah, that comes across. Since the 2007 release of her debut EP, Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase, Atlanta-based singer and performance artist Janelle Monáe has been producing wildly unleashed conceptual music, if not especially of the sing-along-in-the-car variety, and serving up live shows that seldom fail to arouse genuine astonishment and admiration from fans and critics alike. She is a psycho-inferno of talent with Tasmanian Devil energy, ferocious charisma and big ideas. Trust me, you're gonna want this one on your team come the apocalypse.

Read the full cover feature at PaperMag.com, or check out the photos here!

The Village Voice say they're "obsessed" with Janelle, and it's easy to see why! "Right now, she has the best live show going by orders of magnitude: a manic, schizophrenic tornado of bewilderment and exhilaration." Read the entire interview with Bad Boy's Janelle Monáe here.

Want more Janelle? Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/janellemonae

"Open happiness" ft.Janelle Monae is availabe on itunes now!!

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The Winter 2009 issue of Bleu Magazine, a quarterly lifestyle publication dedicated to urban gay men, recently featured Janelle Monae as an "Artist to Watch" in 2009. "A charismatic singer, songwriter, producer, and performer, Monae's ground-breaking style crosses musical genres in a captivating postmodern merging of soul, funk, and rock 'n' roll." Check out the full article below:

Check out Janelle Monae's feature on EW.com's Pop Watch!