Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer (2018)

1
They started calling us
computers.
People began vanishing
and the cleaning began.
You were dirty if
you looked different.
You were dirty if you refused
to live the way they dictated.
You were dirty if you showed
any form of opposition at all.
And if you were dirty...
It was only a matter of time.
Yea, yea, yea, just, okay.
You will repeat after me.
Your name is Jane 57821.
My name is Jane 57821.
I am a dirty computer.
I am a dirty computer.
I am ready to be cleaned.
I am ready to be cleaned!
Unfortunate, my dear. Cleaners
please initiate the nevermind.
Your so damn electic, you, alright
you know you got that
juice, you know you got that juice
You know you got that juice, uh huh, now
squeeze all that passionfruit, squeeze
Ain't no one fresher than you,
ain't no one
I need sector clearance.
Prepare for retinal scan.
Jane 57821 cleared.
Down dog, don't think about
it, down dog, don't think about it
Down dog, you're number one,
down dog, and don't you doubt it
Down dog, don't think about
it, down dog
You told us, we hold these
truths to be self-evident
That all men and women are
created equal
And that they are endowed by
their creator
With certain inalienable
rights, among these
Life, Liberty, and the,
and the pursuit of happiness
Young black wild and free
naked in a limousine
oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
ridin through the
hood real slow
I love it when I
smell the trees
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, uh
I just wanna party hard
sex in the swimming pool
oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
I don't need a lotta cash
I just wanna break the rules
oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
oh, we don't need
another ruler
All of my friends are kings
oh oh oh oh,
oh oh oh oh, ohh
I am not America's nightmare, I am
the American dream, oh oh oh oh
Just let me live my life,
I want a crazy classic life
I want a crazy classic life
so if the world
should end tonight
I had a crazy classic life
I don't need a diamond ring,
I don't wanna waste my youth
I don't wanna live on my knees,
I just gotta tell the truth
I don't wanna be locked down,
I don't wanna cheat on you
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
I just wanna find a god
and I hope she loves me too
Oh oh oh oh, ohhh
we don't need another ruler,
we don't need another fool
Oh oh oh oh, yea oh oh oh oh
I am not America's nightmare,
I am the American cool, oh oh
Just let me live my life
I want a crazy classic life
I want a crazy
classic life
So if the world
should end tonight
I had a crazy classic life
I want a crazy classic life
I want a crazy
classic life
So if the world
should end tonight
I had a crazy classic
life
ohhh ohhhh
oh, a crazy classic life
Yo, uh, yo yo yo uh
handcuffed in the bando
white boy in the sandles
police like a Rambo
blow it out blow it out like a
candle sambo
Me and you was friends but to
them we the opposite
The same mistake I'm in jail
you on top of shit
You livin life while I'm
walkin' round moppin' shit
Tech kid backpack now you a
college kid
All I wanted was to break the
rules like you
All I wanted was for them to
love me too
But no matter where it was I
always stood out
Black Waldo dancin with the
thick brows
We was both runnin naked at
the luau
We was both on shrooms prayin'
face down waist down
Member when they told ya
I was too black for ya?
Now my black popping like a
bra strap on ya
I was kicked out
said I'm too loud
Kicked out said
I'm too proud
But all I really ever felt
was stressed out
Kinda like my Afro when
it's pressed out
Ahhhh
Good morning, Jane.
Jane?
My name is Maryapple 53.
I'm here to escort you from
the darkness into the light.
Zen.
You won't be able to move
your legs for a while
I didn't think I was ever
going to see you again.
Did they hurt you?
Is it okay if I call you Jane?
What?
It's what we have in your file, right?
Yeah...
If there's anything else you'd rather
be called, you just let me know.
I'm here to make your
experience sweet as pie.
Why are you talking to me like
you don't know me zen?
Like I said, my name is
Maryapple 53,
and I don't know you,
at least not yet.
But what I do know is that you
have some bugs.
So we are here to get you clean.
We'll be with you shortly.
I'm not the kinda girl you
take home to your mama now
I tell you no lies,
I tell no lies
Your code is programmed not to
love me but you can't pretend
Oh what a surprise
maybe it's lust maybe it's
love maybe it never ends
Oh say your goodbyes
Say'em now, play in my hair and
nibble there all on my mocha skin
Yeah, just take a byte
take a byte,
just take a byte
Help yourself,
help yourself
It's alright,
it's alright
I won't tell, it feels so good
when you nibble on it
Take a byte,
just take a byte
Help yourself, you look so
good just help yourself
Don't think twice,
don't think twice
I won't tell
You will repeat after me.
I will repeat after you.
Your name is Jane 57821.
My name is Jane 57821.
I am a dirty computer.
I am a dirty computer.
I am ready to be cleaned.
I am ready to be cleaned.
Ready for cleaning.
She's ready for cleaning! I heard her,
I heard her actually, but um which
well?
Which... which memory exactly?
Any memory you see.
Trash 'em and bag 'em.
Yes, yes. Trash and bag. Okay.
I live my life in a magazine
I live my life
on a TV screen
I live my life
on birth control
I lost my mind on
rock and roll
And I, I, I hear
the sirens callin'
And the bombs are fallin' in
the streets we're all, screwed
And I, I, I it's
my birthday baby
Thought I'd go sex crazy but
I feel so screwed
Sex, body, we're gonna crash
your party
Let's get screwed
I don't care,
I don't care
You fucked the world up now
we'll fuck it all back down
let's get screwed
I don't care
we'll put water in your guns
we'll do it all for fun,
let's get screwed
I, I, I hear
the sirens callin'
And the bombs are fallin' in
the streets we're all
The streets we're all,
screwed
I, I, I it's your
birthday baby
Thought we'd go sex crazy
but we feel so screwed
I, I, I hear the
sirens callin'
And the bombs are fallin' in
the streets we're all
Streets we're all screwed
Haha we're so screwed
let's get screwed
I don't care
let's get screwed
I don't care
see everything is sex except
sex which is power
You know power is just sex
you screw me and I'll
screw you too
Everything is sex except sex
which is power
You know power is just sex
now ask yourself who's
screwing you
100 men telling me cover up my
areolas
While they blocking equal pay
sipping on they Coca colas
Ohhh, fake news, fake boobs,
fake food what's real
Still in the matrix eating all
the blue pills
Ohh, the devil met with Russia
and they just made a deal
We were marching through the streets
they were blocking every bill
I'm tired of hoteps
tryna tell me how to feel for real
Yeah, yeah this is my palace
champagne in my chalice
I got it all covered like a
wedding band
Wondaland,
so my alias is Alice
And we gon start a muthafuckin'
pussy riot
Or we gone put em on a
pussy diet
Look at that I guarantee
I got'em quiet
Look at that I guarantee they
all inspired
A-town made it out there
straight out Kansas City yeah
we made it out there
Celebrated, graduated made it
pass, fail
Sassy, classy, kool aid with
the Kale
Momma was a g, she was
cleaning hotels
Poppa was a driver,
I was working retail
Kept us in the back
of the store
We ain't hidden no more,
moonlit nigga, lit nigga
Already got an Oscar
for the casa
Running down grammys with
the family
Prolly give a Tony
to the homies
Prolly get an Emmy dedicate it
to the highly melanated
Archandroid orchestrated
yeah we highly melanated
archandroid orchestrated
yeah, jaminati still jammin
box office numbers and they
doing outstanding
Runnin outta space on
my damn bandwagon
Rememba when they used to say
I looked too mannish
Black girl magic
y'all can't stand it
Y'all can't ban it,
made out like a bandit
They been trying hard just to
make us all vanish
I suggest they put a flag on a
whole 'nother planet
Jane bond, never Jane Doe
and I django never sambo
black and white, yeah that's
always been my camo
It's looking like y'all
gone need sommo ammo
I cut'em off, I cut'em off I
cut'em off like Van Gogh
Now pan right for the angle
I got away with murder,
no scandal, huh
Cue the violins and violas
we gave you life,
we gave you birth
We gave you god,
we gave you earth
We fem the future,
don't make it worse
You want the world? Well
what's it worth?
Emoticons? Decepticons?
And autobots,
who twist the plot
Who shot the sheriff,
then fled to Paris
In the darkest hour,
spoke truth to power
Made a fandroid outta
your girlfriend
Let's get caught downtown
in a whirlwind
And paint the city pynk,
paint the city pynk
And tuck the pearls in just in
case the world end, huh
And nigga down dog,
nigga move back
Take a seat you
are not involved
And hit the mute button, let
the vagina have a monologue
Mansplaining I fold'em
like origami
What's a wave baby Thissa Tsunami
for the culture, I kamikaze
I put my life on the
life line
If she the G.O.A.T. Now would
anybody doubt it?
If she the G.O.A.T. Now
would anybody doubt it?
Do anybody got it? Do anybody got it?
I say anybody got it?
I don't know what this is,
this doesn't even look
like a memory.
What is that, that a dream?
You just pull the content,
keep moving.
Uhh, yeah but, what is it?
Delete it and move on.
What just delete everything?
Yeah. Just delete it.
War is old.
So is sex.
Let's play god.
You go next.
Hands go up.
Man go down.
Try my luck.
Stand my ground.
Die in church.
Live in jail.
Say her name.
Twice in hell.
Uncle Sam.
Kissed a man.
They called this place "the
house of the new dawn".
This place where they drained
us of our dirt...
And all the things that
made us special.
And just when you thought you
could remember something,
just when you thought you
could see the past clearly,
they would hit you with
nevermind.
This gas would take over,
and then you were lost.
Sleeping.
And you didn't remember
anything at all.
Jim crow Jesus.
Rose again.
Pink like the inside of
your, baby
Pink behind all of the
doors, crazy
Pink like the tongue that
goes down, maybe
Pink like the
paradise found
Pink when you're
blushing inside, baby
Pink is the truth you can't
hide, maybe
Pink like the folds of your
brain, crazy
Pink as we all go insane...
So here we are in the car
leaving traces of us
down the boulevard
I wanna fall through
the stars
Getting lost in the dark is my
favorite part
Let's count the ways we
could make this last forever
Sunny money keep it funky
touch yo top and let it down
yeah somethin like that
Owww! Somethin like that
yeah somethin like that
'cause boy it's cool,
if you got blue
We got the pink
Pink like the lips around
your, maybe
Pink like the skin that's
under, baby
Pink where it's deepest
inside, crazy
Pink beyond forest
and thighs
Pink like the secrets you
hide, maybe
Pink like the lid of your
eye, baby
Pink is where all of it
starts, crazy
Pink like the holes
of your heart
So here we are in the car
leaving traces of us
down the boulevard
I wanna fall through
the stars
Getting lost in the dark is my
favorite part
Let's count the ways we
could make this last forever
Sunny money keep it funky
touch yo top and let it down
yeah somethin' like that
Owww! Somethin' like that
yeah somethin' like that
'cause boy it's cool,
if you got blue
We got the pink
yeah somethin' like that
Owww! Somethin' like that
yeah somethin' like that
'cause boy it's cool,
if you got blue
We got the pink, I just wanna, I just
wanna, I just wanna paint the town
I Don"t wanna to
hide my love
I just wanna hold your hand
and be the one
that you think of
When you need a holiday
when you wanna drink rose
I just wanna paint your toes
in the morning
kiss your nose
'Cause when I'm with you
I Don"t feel afraid
Maybe this love will
indoctrinate
I echo every
word that you say
The way you feel yeah
I feel the same way
Remember the night when
I combed your hair
I hope I don't freak
you out when I stared
I donate my truth to
you like I'm rich
The truth is my love
ain't got no off switch
So if the walls
come tumbling down
And if the ocean
really does drown
And if my memories
never come back
I"ll still remember where
we first was naked at
Picture our faces
in new oasis
When we made love
we left many traces
Just like the blush
that's on your cheeks
Deep inside
we"re all just pink
Pink like the inside of your,
baby - we're all just pink
pink like the folds in your doors,
maybe - we're all just pink
pink like you're fingers in
my, maybe
Pink is the truth
you can't hide
Pink like your tongue going
round, baby
Pink like the sun going
down, maybe
Pink like the holes in your
heart, baby
Pink is my favorite part
Yeah
baby don't make me spell
it out for ya
All of the feelings
that I've got for ya
Can't be explained but
I can try for ya
Yeah baby don't make me
spell it out for ya
You keep on askin' me the same
questions, why
And second guessing all
my intentions
Should know by the way I use
my compression
That you got the answers
to my confessions
It's like I'm powerful with
a little bit of tender
An emotional sexual bender
mess me up yeah but no one
does it better
There's nothin better
that's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
Uh huh
so good so good so,
fuckin real uh huh
That's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
You know I love you so please
don't stop it
You got me right here in your
Jean pocket
Layin' your body on a shag
carpet, ooh
You know I love it so
please don't stop it, ah ah
It's like I'm powerful with
a little bit of tender
An emotional sexual bender
mess me up yeah but no one
does it better
There's nothin better
that's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
Uh huh so good so good
so fuckin real uh huh
That's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
Oh! That's just the way that
I feel now baby
Good god, I can't
help it, uh, hey
That's just the way that I
feel, yeah
Please! I can't help it!
It's like I'm powerful with
a little bit of tender
An emotional sexual bender
mess me up yeah but no one
does it better
There's nothin better
damn
that's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel uh huh
So good so good so
fuckin real uh huh
That's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
Oooo, that's just the way you
make me feel, you make me feel
So good so good so,
fuckin real, so good so good
That's just the way
you make me feel
That's just the way you make
me feel
They're taking everything
away from me.
Huh.
I don't even remember how we
met anymore...
I'm not sure if any
of this actually happened
Listen.
Thinking will only
make it harder.
It's best if you just
enjoy the process.
Accept it.
People used to work so hard to
be free.
But we're lucky here.
All we have to do is forget.
But I don't want to forget you.
You don't have a choice.
Oooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo
oooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo
sometimes a mystery
sometimes I'm free
Depending on my mood
or my attitude
Sometimes I wanna roll
or stay at home
Walking contradiction
guess im factual and fiction
A little crazy, a little sexy
a little cool
Little rough around the edges
but I keep it smooth
I'm always left of center and
that's right where I belong
I'm the random minor note
you hear in major songs
And I like that
I don't really give a fuck if I was
just the only one, who likes that
I never like to follow, follow
all around, the chase is on
Oh me oh me oh me oh my
oh me oh me oh me oh my I
oh me oh me oh me oh my
I like that
I Don"t care what I look
like but I feel good
Better than amazing
and better than I could
Told the whole world I'm
the venom and the antidote
Take a different type of girl
to keep the whole world a float
Cause I'm crazy and
I'm sexy then I'm cool
Little rough around the
edges but I keep it smooth
I'm always left of center and
that's right where I belong
I'm the random minor note you hear
in major songs and I like that
I don't really give a fuck if I was
just the only one who likes that
I never like to follow, follow
all around, the chase is on
Oh me oh me oh me oh my
oh me oh me oh me oh my I
oh me oh me oh me oh my
I like that
I remember when
you called me weird
We was in math class, third
row I was sittin' by you
Right before
Mr. Ammon's class
Cause my mama couldn't
afford new J's, Polo,
Thrift stores, thrift clothes,
that was all I knew
Do you remember?
I remember when you laughed when I
cut my perm off and you rated me a 6
I was like, damn
but even back then, with the tears in
my eyes I always knew I was the shit
I like that
I don't really give a fuck if I was
just the only one who likes that
I never like to follow, follow
all around, the chase is on
Oh me oh me oh me oh my
oh me oh me oh me oh my I
I like that
oh me oh me oh me oh my
I like that
I like
that
Wh-what is that?
That's not memory.
What part of delete everything
you don't understand?
Mother Victoria? May I speak
with you for a minute?
I hope this is important.
It's about Jane 57821.
Go on.
It's as if she remembers me.
Like really knows me. She tells
me things about myself.
About where I'm from.
She says that my name was zen.
And I made films, played
instruments.
And she says that,
that we were in love.
That's enough. Now
you know that's impossible.
A dirty mind will do
anything to survive.
Right now she's dirty.
Tomorrow after the walk
she'll be clean.
And if she's lucky in a few days
she'll be a torch just like you.
And we'll have all this
nonsense behind us.
Yes, mother.
La la la la ooooo la la la la
ooooo la la la
Ia la la la ooooo
la la la la oooo la la la
Iaaaaaa
I thought we deleted this beach
stuff already.
You remember...
It's too late.
Just walk.
Ohhhhhhh oooo ohhhhh
oooooo oohhhh oooooo
Good morning. Che Achebe.
Patient 06756.
Jane?
I'm Maryapple 54 and I'm your torch.
That means that I'm here to bring you
from the darkness into the light.
Let's go. Alone, don't
fight your war alone
I always used to say I would
never hurt a fly...
But I would put one to sleep.
We will win this fight
let all souls be brave
we'll find a way to heaven
we'll find a way
war is old, so is sex,
let's play god
You go next, hands go up,
man go down
Try my luck, stand my
ground, die in church
Live in jail, say her name,
twice in hell
Uncle Sam kissed a man
Jim crow Jesus, Rose again
I like my woman
in the kitchen
I teach my children
superstitions
I keep my two guns on my blue
nightstand
A pretty young thang, she can
wash my clothes
But she'll never ever wear my
pants ahhhhh
I pledge allegiance to
the flag
Learned the words from my mom
and dad
Cross my heart and
I hope to die
With a big ol piece of
American pie
Love me baby
love me for who I am
falling angels
sing and clap yo hands
don't try to take my
country
A dirty computer is
someone who is told because of
their sexual orientation,
their gender, the class that
they come from...
Those that are in those
marginalized groups,
being told that they
have these bugs,
that they have these viruses
and they need to be cleansed.
But dirty computers
don't see their bugs and
their viruses as negatives.
They see them as features,
as attributes, something
to be celebrated.
My name is Jane 57821.
I am a dirty computer.
I am a dirty computer.
I am ready to be cleaned.
I am ready to be cleaned.
So on the album you have three,
three different stages.
The first few songs represent
the reckoning, you know
realizing that hey, I represent
to society a dirty computer.
It's like the first time
a black person is
called a nigga,
or the first time a woman
is called a bitch by a man
and having to reckon
with what that means.
And then you have the
celebration towards the
middle of the album where
you have those songs like
'pynk' and 'make me feel'
and 'django Jane'
that's saying hey,
despite being a dirty computer,
despite what the world
says about me, I'm going
to celebrate my bugs,
I'm going to
celebrate my viruses.
Y'know, I'm going to be
the best fucking dirty
computer I can be.
And then when you get
to a song like 'American',
that's a part of the
reclamation.
That's saying that
I am a dirty computer,
but I too am American.
You know my ancestors
helped build this country.
We worked hard - blood,
sweat, and tears.
And those are the stages,
and so visually what
we wanted to do was we
wanted to create a story that
allowed you to focus in on
what it would mean to have
those in the position of
power erase your identity.
When we were working
on the music,
we were envisioning this dystopian
near-future um society,
an America that had kind
of succumbed to,
I guess the worst impulses
of our current president
and it became something
really sickening and dangerous.
We were trying to figure out:
How can we take the music,
how can we take a film,
how can we tell this like really
cool story with these elements?
We had come into the story
with ummm seeing that Jane
had been captured and
put in this institution.
So 'crazy classic life'
is a memory.
They're erasing her memory,
so this is how we get to
see what the outside
world looks like.
What her experience was
before she got put in.
The fact that these songs
and this album and these
concepts came along at this
point in our history of this
country was really
gripping and poignant.
We use that as fuel.
With 'I like that' I was
trying to accomplish making
a video that really celebrated
black girl magic. I kind of knew where
she was going and what direction
she was going in with her project before it
even came out, and I wanted to kind of show
that she was going to be stripping
down a little bit and showing
a little bit more of herself and
being more vulnerable.
The song is about embracing
the things that make you
unique even if it makes
others uncomfortable.
And so it was important to sort
of exaggerate certain images
to show that my world y'know
how I see life umm is
just slightly different,
y'know it's, it's surreal.
On one of our shoot days we umm,
we shot with a umm,
an actual peacock.
So he started to take flight
behind Janelle and she like
freaked out and like ran off set
and said she was done,
basically like that was the end
of the shoot day,
but we got everything
we needed so it was cool.
It's like I'm powerful
with a little bit of tender
an emotional sexual bender
With 'make me feel'
I knew that I wanted
to come out with a
focus on duality.
And 'make me feel'
with the song and what
it represents in terms of
women's empowerment and agency
over your body and image it was
important to have clothing
and dancing and just like
performance that gave you
the rawest sexy most unfiltered
version of who I am.
When Janelle put on that
chain mask and she came out
I was just blown away.
Like that was my
favorite outfit,
and I had seen her practicing
in rehearsal like how
she was gonna interact
with the guitar and things
like that and I was like 'wow
I can't wait to shoot that.'
so I did 'make me feel'
and 'django Jane'
at the same time and I knew I
wanted those to go together.
What you don't know is there is
a video for 'django Jane'
that did not get released.
'Django Jane' was a ah
an interesting come about.
Uh very different than your
average music video.
Um I had been working with the
team on 'dirty computer'
and 'django Jane' was obviously
like an essential keystone
piece of the project.
And they shot a really cool
video with a great team,
but uh as many of us in
the music video world know
visual effects are
time consuming
and expensive and the 'django Jane'
video was initially entirely
green screen, so as deadlines
were coming and I was kind
of tracking along with the video
and watching progress
there was this moment
where you realize there
was no chance of finishing it
in its original form.
We didn't have an idea
for django until Sunday
morning before our
Monday evening shoot.
So in the span of three
and a half, maybe four days
we wrote the video, shot the
video, edited the video,
colored the video and upload
it and it was just a total
whirlwind of a process.
Pink like the inside
of your baby
Pink behind all of
the doors crazy
The infamous vagina pants,
the labia pants, the flower pants.
They have so many names.
I was actually calling them
the coochie pants at first,
but then everybody
just calls them vagina pants
and I guess that's
what they are, so
a friend of mine
who is a designer Duran Dontick,
he uhh made some sketches
and sent them over to Janelle
and I think Janelle
had a really clear idea of
what she wanted from them
as well so she sent notes back
and then he sent a new
version and kind of went
back and forth and he flew
in the night before ahhh
we were gonna shoot
this scene and uhh came
to the desert with
these pants and put them on her
and the dancers and
made some adjustments
and yeah we shot the next day.
Doing the fitting I was like
I can't believe it.
I just kept opening my legs,
closing them, open them,
close them. I mean,
they're very fun.
There's some women
in the 'pynk' video
that don't have on the pants
because one of the things
we wanted to say is that
you don't have to have
a vagina to be a woman.
You don't have to look
like her to be respected
and so umm for us we wanted to
just showcase the diversity.
We wanted to be as
inclusive as possible,
uhhh and we also wanted, yeah we,
we wanted to do something fun.
It took two, two and a
half years probably
to make this thing
and during that time
there was probably
a good ten times that
all of us were throwing
in the towel,
it's not happening, it's not
gonna happen, it's over.
The label was, you know,
emailing us, we're costing
so many people money.
I'm spending money,
we're spending money
as wonderland.
Oh it was stressful, but it really, really
happened the way it was supposed to.
I kind of walked away with this,
this feeling of pride that, y'know
we're able to make
this content, we're able
to show these different
sides of humanity and
show there's beauty
in the imperfections
So I think there are some really,
really, really heartbreaking moments.
One in particular is when
Tess is walking me down
the hall and I'm going
to get my last dose of
nevermind and y'know I'm
basically gonna become a torch.
And I just remember when
we were doing that scene
it was just, uh, painful,
just going through it and
just thinking about what it would
really mean to lose your identity.
To have, have two actors that
already know each other really helps,
'cause we didn't have
rehearsals.
Tessa was a trooper. She was filming
Westworld, she was filming another movie,
and she was with us.
And her schedule was bananas.
When it was time for
her to like forget me
and to be like a torch,
she was very convincing
to the point that I was just like,
"this is, this is next level."
It's as if she remembers me,
like really knows me.
She tells me things about
myself, about where I'm from.
She says that my name was zen.
It's just kinda crazy, 'cause it
all lived, it all lived
and died in that one day
where like we're either
going to have a great day
today and this thing is
gonna make it, or if
we have a horrible day today
this whole project is
gonna be crazy.
The last scene was
that hallway scene,
and we knew by that time
that if it was gonna work
it was going to really have
to come together,
and um they did it they,
it really came together
and they really did.
It was important that
I was working with women
on this project, and black
women in particular and
Lacey Duke was one of
my first picks to work with.
She knows my music,
she knows me as a person,
as an artist and we would
just have great conversations
around art and around
the importance of making
sure that our stories are told
and we had so much fun.
Emma Westonburg, um I love her.
I saw her work online
through a friend and
I was just blown away.
When she sent the treatment
over for 'pynk' I was like you
ma'am, your mind is crazy,
let's do this. I love working
with Andrew as well,
uhh he came through.
I'm telling you like
Andrew came through.
We were able to connect
over this story, over what
it meant to be a dirty computer,
how important it was
to create something that
dirty computers could
feel umm seen by,
you know celebrated and loved.
Chuck lightning really did
help bring this story together
and write it up and make sure
that all of our ideas were there.
Chuck knows me best
because we did the
album together, so he knew the
integrity of the project.
Nate Wonder and Wynne Bennett
putting them in the room
as producers umm on this
project was just incredible.
I would just watch them take so
many amazing like new and
interesting synth sounds and like
they exceeded my expectations.
Alan Ferguson has been around since
like the Genesis of us making visuals.
He did 'many moons'
and he's believed in me
umm when nobody on the visual
side even knew who I was.
He said, "I'll do this."
Like he's put in
a lot of blood, sweat,
and tears like us.
The ambition for it. Wanting to push
the boundaries. I really respected that.
Y'know I really hope
the film kind of shows
there is a world out there
and there is a community
and there is a rebellion
that you can be a part of.
And you don't have to fall into line
with the way that you're supposed to be.
I think we all believed
in the message so much.
You know that we just
wanted to help,
so it really didn't
matter you know if
who had the idea,
at the end of the day
everybody was pitching
in to make sure that
we could make this
emotion picture umm
and Janelle's vision come um to life and
be as great as it could possibly be.
It was great to work with Janelle
and her wonderland team.
She and her team really have
fun in collaborating and
in actually in the making of
and I think that is uhhh
what makes beautiful stuff,
and that is worthwhile as well.
What I'm learning throughout this
process is like, freedom is not free.
It comes with a price.
It comes with great sacrifice
and I'm realizing that
more and more and more
as I've done this project
and I've put out these visuals.
I'm just thankful y'know
to be able to have an outlet,
to be able to have songs,
to be able to have visuals
a story that allows me,
even in my darkest hours,
even in my most
insecure moments,
in my most vulnerable
moments that I can put on
'dirty computer' and you know
I can reconnect with who I am
and, and what I am,
and be proud of my dirt
and be proud of where I come from
and I can find myself again.
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
Learned the words
from my mom and dad
Cross my heart and
I hope to die
With a big ol' piece of
American pie
Love me baby,
love me for who I am
Fallen angels singing,
"clap your hands"
Don't try to take my country,
I will defend my land
I'm not crazy, baby, naw
I'm American,
I'm American
I'm American, I'm American
seventy-nine cent
to your dollar
All that bullshit from
white-collars
You see my color
before my vision
Sometimes I wonder if you would fly would
it help you make a better decision?
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
Learned the words
from my mom and dad
Cross my heart and
I hope to die
With a big ol' piece of
American pie
Just love me baby,
love me for who I am
Fallen angels singing,
"clap your hands"
Don't try to take my country,
I will defend my land
I'm not crazy, baby, naw
I'm American,
I'm American
I'm American, I'm American
let me help you in here
until women can get equal pay
for equal work
This is not my America
until same gender loving
people can be who they are
This is not my America
until black people can come
home from a police stop
Without being shot
in the head
This is not my America
until poor whites can get a
shot at being successful
This is not my America
I can't hear nobody
talkin' to me
Just love me baby,
love me for who I am
Fallen angels singing,
"clap your hands"
Don't try to take my country,
I will defend my land
I'm not crazy, baby, naw
I'm American, love me baby
Action! I'm American, love
me for who I am, fallen angels
Let's go. Until Latinos and
latinas don't have to run from walls
This is not my America
but I tell you today that the
devil is a liar
Because it's gon' be my
America before it's all over
Please sign your name on the
dotted line