Video: Janelle Monáe – “Screwed” (ft. Zoe Kravitz)
From Dirty Computer, out now on Bad Boy/Atlantic.
I believe it when Janelle Monae says, “I lost my mind to rock and roll.” She’s one of the most exciting things happening in music today. She’ll be headlining Coachella and Glastonbury this summer, which has ruffled some old school rockers’ delicate plumage, but what do they know? Like her mentor Prince, she’s a free-ass motherfucker.
I like how “Screwed” is overtly political without sacrificing any of its party jam fun. Apparently written in the wake of the 2016 election, Manae expressed what everybody was thinking: We’re all screwed. But then she optimistically flips the sentiment on its head:
Let’s get screwed
I don’t care
You fucked the world up now
We’ll fuck it all back down
Let’s hope so. Janelle Monae for President in 2020. She’s got my vote.