Janelle Monae Is A 'Little Crazy, Little Sexy, Little Cool' On 'I Like That'

In just 11 days, Janelle Monae is dropping her third album, Dirty Computer, and a visual accompaniment she's calling a "emotion picture." And while last week, it was all about her joyous music video for "PYNK" — which she told MTV News is "a song that is near and dear and close to my heart" — Monae is kicking off this week with another album cut.


This one's called "I Like That" and finds her defining herself once again in the space where others may not pick to be: "I'm routinely left of center and that is correct where I belong," she sings on the pre-chorus, "I'm the random minor note you hear in major songs."


Here, over a springy backbeat (and amid a vintage TLC shout-out), Monae plainly lays down the deal: She understands what she likes, and she also understands that not each person likes what she likes. However that doesn't matter — because she likes them.

I remember whenever you laughed Once I cut my perm off

And you rated me a six

I was like, “Damn”

But even back then with the tears in my eyes

I routinely knew I was the shit

Last week, as Monae broke down her "PYNK" video, she also spoken about that song's genesis and why it fits into the framework of the album. "This is a personalized experience for me," she mentioned. "So any time Once I got with all that black girl magic and we were all with each other and we were coming as individuals yet collectively uniting, it was a powerful statement that was made."


In other words, "I like that / I don't really give a fuck if I was just the only one / Who likes that." Check out a portion of Monae's MTV News interview below.