Janelle Monáe Dedicates Grammy Noms to 'Trans Brothers and Sisters'

Janelle Monáe took a minute at the Fem the Future Brunch last week to dedicate her Grammy nominations to her “trans brothers and sisters.”

Variety asked Monáe about her decision to come out publicly as queer last year, and her response was that she just thought it was important to live her truth.

“People do it everyday,” she said. “My trans brothers and sisters, they do it everyday. And they are shunned from these sorts of events. So this one is for them.”

Monáe snagged Grammy nominations both for Dirty Computer (album of the year) as well as for the song “Pynk” (best music video). She is one of two queer women nominated for album of the year, alongside Brandi Carlile.

“Last year, I remember taking that stage and you can feel my frustration around our representation, and this year, to have 15 women nominated in the big four categories is a beautiful thing, and it’s to be celebrated,” Monáe said.

She also spoke of how difficult it can be as a creative person who “color[s] outside the lines,” to also be out as a queer black woman.

“Some people can be a little afraid of that,” she admitted.

But that’s also why Dirty Computer’s nomination means so much to her.

“For years, I’ve watched these shows, and I have not seen that representation, the representation I feel like I needed to see,” she added. “The fact that Dirty Computer is an album that is about me and also about a community of marginalized voices, the fact that that got nominated, that means the world to me.”

“It’s really about us feeling represented at these events.”