In a new Rolling Stone ‘Musicians on Musicians’ interview, Janelle Monáe nostalgically described to Lucy Dacus her experience “time-traveling” back to the 1970s to see David Bowie perform. “I traveled back into the 1970s, and I saw him do Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. It was incredible,” Monáe said, causing Dacus to question whether she heard them correctly. “You traveled back?” she asked incredulously, with Monáe responding, “Yeah, I was backstage. I was like, this is what I want to do. I jetted back to the 2000s and I was like, I can have the musical, make the music, create the lyrics, and create community around transformation and being queer — not even just in sexuality, but in how we see the world.” Monáe has long cited Bowie’s influence on their groundbreaking 2010 debut album, The ArchAndroid, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. (Rolling Stone)
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