Janelle Monáe (born December 1, 1985 in Kansas City as Janelle Monáe Robinson) is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, dancer, and performer. She is currently signed to the Wondaland Arts Society and Bad Boy/Atlantic Records. It’s a big universe,” says singer Janelle Monáe. “To stay in one tiny place is doing a disservice to yourself.” The 24-year-old is operating way outside the hackneyed American Idol set that a lot of music seems currently slumped in to be sure: Her four-part album, Metropolis, is a concept record about a female android on the run in a futuristic police state.
and the literary science fiction ofOctavia E. Butler and Isaac Asimov, caught the attention of Diddy and OutKast’s Big Boi, both of whom signed on to executive produce the records. Monáe once made an escape of her own, breaking from a drug-addled family in Kansas City, Kansas, first to study musical theater in New York, and then to thrive in Atlanta’s funk scene. “Not having a lot of resources at my disposal, I needed to use my imagination,” she says. “I needed to show my cousins that there is hope.” Metropolis is an exhilarating trip through party jams and semi-operatic arias. Her music, in fact, has garnered comparisons to OutKast. Diddy said she’s the most important artist he’s ever signed to his Bad Boy Records label. Monáe, who also co-owns the record label The Wondaland Arts Society, attributes her eclectic sound to a fundamental vision quest. “It’s unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that,” she says. “I don’t have to do anything by default.”onolithically R&B this-or-that,” she says. “I don’t have to do anything by default.”
 

Marcus Miller was born and raised in New York. The first knowledge of music theory and practical lessons he received from his father, the organist and director of the church choir. Miller's first musical instrument was a block-flute. Later, still in school, he began to absorb B-flat clarinet, playing in school band and in New York All-City band. After high school, Marcus went to the High School of Music and Art as a clarinetist. He wanted to continue his musical education at the Conservatory, but was not sure of the correctness of the chosen instrument. So he went to college

Thirteen years old and playing in local funk group. He mastered it by himself, using the knowledge and skills gained from his clarinet studies. Miller spent approximately 15 years performing as a sideman or session musician and observing how great band leaders operated. During that time he also did a lot of arranging and producing. During the late seventies he was a member of the Saturday Night Live band from 1978 through 1979. He played on over 500 recordings, including those by Luther Vandross, Grover Washington Jr., Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, McCoy Tyner, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol. He won the "Most Valuable Player" award, (awarded by NARAS to recognize studio musicians) three years in a row and was subsequently awarded "player emeritus" status and retired from eligibility. In the nineties, Miller began to record his own records, he had to put a band together to take advantage of touring opportunities. As a composer, Miller wrote "Tutu" for Miles Davis, a piece that defined Davis' career in the late 1980s, and was the title song of Davis' album Tutu, upon which Miller wrote all the songs with only two exceptions, and one of those was co-written with Davis. He also composed "Chicago Song" for David Sanborn and co-wrote "'Til My Baby Comes Home", "It's Over Now", "For You to Love", and "Power of Love" for Luther Vandross. Miller also wrote "Da Butt", which was featured in Spike Lee's School Daze.nolithically R&B this-or-that,” she says. “I don’t have to do anything by default.”
 


Katy Perry is set to release her second major-label album, Teenage Dream, in late August, according to a May 11 anouncement. The album will include the American singer's single "California Gurls," which can now be streamed at katyperry.com. which featured Snoop Dogg, was a response to Jay-Z's"Empire State of Mind," according to Perry. "What about California?," said Perry in a press release. "What about all the homies, the gin and juice, the swaying palm trees, the sun-kissed skin 24-7. I decided that we needed to make a response.
The new album's title is getting some media criticism for its resemblance to the recently released Teen Dream by Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House, which counted Jay-Z and Beyoncé among its audience members during a performance at the Coachella Festival in April. Katy Perry's previous album, 2008's One of the Boys, earned the singer two Grammy nominations, went platinum in nine countries, and spawned the chart-topping singles "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold." Teenage Dream will be released by Capitol Records on August 24 in the US and Canada and August 30 in the rest of the world.ally R&B this-or-that,” she says. “I don’t have to do anything by default.”