Where Is Janelle Monae From?

Where is Janelle Monae from? Janelle Monae is from Kansas City, Kansas, where she was born Janelle Monae Robinson on December 1, 1985. As a young girl, the future R&B singer and songwriter dreamed of being a performer, and after high school, she moved to New York City, where she studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She was headed for a career in musical theater, but in 2004, after appearing in several off-Broadway shows, she changed course and moved to Atlanta. It was there that she got involved with the Wondaland Arts Society collective and eventually crossed paths with rapper Big Boi. The OutKast star included her on his “Got Purp? Vol. 2” compilation, and she later sang on OutKast’s 2006 “Idlewild” album. The following year, she released the EP “Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase),” in which she introduced Cindi Mayweather, a character whose sci-fi exploits have formed the basis of her subsequent output. The album “The ArchAndroid” followed in 2010, and in 2013, she returned with “The Electric Lady,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

The question of where Janelle Monae is from is an interesting one, as she sings her songs from the perspective of a cyborg living in 2719. Artistically, Monae is from a different world, though literally, she’s from Kansas City. Throughout her career, she’s drawn comparisons to such artists as Prince and George Clinton, and while she’s signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy label and often heard on pop radio, she’s an avant-garde R&B singer who’s taking the genre in new directions. Maybe that’s why she’s only landed two singles — “Q.U.E.E.N.” and “PrimeTime” on the R&B charts, and neither one was a major hit. Then again, she sang on the band fun.’s smash “We Are Young,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100.

Where is Janelle Monae from, geographically speaking? The third-largest city in Kansas, Kansas City was founded in 1868. Scenic though it may be, Janelle’s hometown is no showbiz mecca, so it’s no wonder she left for New York City and eventually Atlanta. These days, Janelle Monae is a global superstar, and when fans ask where Janelle Monae is from, the answer almost doesn’t matter. She’s here, making great music, and that’s all that matters.