Maps of Music

The Age of Pleasure (2023)

Where the lyrics of The Age of Pleasure take you, and where it was really made.

Janelle Monáe released this album after dancing out the songs at parties first, keeping only the tracks that worked on a dance floor.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

The Age of Pleasure: fourth studio album by American musician Janelle Monáe
Released 9 June 2023 through Atlantic Records
First studio album in over five years, following Dirty Computer (2018)
Preceded by singles "Float" featuring Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (February 2023) and "Lipstick Lover" (May 2023)
Announced alongside the second single, first previewed at Monáe's Met Gala after-party
Debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200
"Water Slide" released the month after the album

Monáe played the songs at parties, including the Met Gala after-party, to see how friends responded
Monáe's rule: if a song cannot work at a party, it does not go on the album
Monáe said the album was made for a Pan-African circle of friends and as a love letter to the diaspora
Album sound: Afrobeat, reggae and soul inspired
Support: Age of Pleasure Tour, beginning August 2023

Songs were written from what Monáe described as an honest creative space
Monáe discussed the writing process in a May 2023 interview with Zane Lowe
Album credits include Nate Wonder, Nana Kwabena, Sensei Bueno and Monáe on arrangements
Guest artists include Doechii, Grace Jones, Amaarae, Nia Long, Sister Nancy, CKay, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80
Sean "Diddy" Combs is credited as executive producer

Born December 1, 1985 in Kansas City, Kansas, raised in the working-class Quindaro community.
Raised Baptist and learned to sing in a local church; dreamed of performing from a young age.
Studied musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, then moved to Atlanta and enrolled at Georgia Perimeter College.
Self-released the demo album The Audition in 2003.

Signed to Bad Boy Records in 2006; debut EP Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) received critical acclaim.
Debut studio album The ArchAndroid (2010) peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200.
Guest vocals on fun.'s "We Are Young", which topped the charts of more than ten countries.
The Electric Lady (2013) debuted at number five on the Billboard 200.
Dirty Computer (2018) was named best album of the year by several publications and was accompanied by a film.
The Age of Pleasure (2023) was nominated for Album of the Year at the 66th Grammy Awards.
Acting: Moonlight and Hidden Figures (2016), Harriet (2019), Glass Onion (2022), and Homecoming (2020).
Founded the Wondaland Arts Society label, which formed a joint venture with Epic Records in 2015.

Metacritic: score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, "generally favorable"
NME (Erica Campbell): called it "liberating" and "an Afrobeats and disco-laced 14-track joy ride"
The Independent (Adam White): described it as "a sex record" and a "frothy, horny ode to erotic delight"
AllMusic (Andy Kellman): said it "still sounds just like a Wondaland production"
The Guardian (Alexis Petridis): named it album of the week and wrote that Monáe "blends Afrobeat, reggae and laidback soul"
The Line of Best Fit (Sam Franzini): found the songs "lackluster" and the writing "unusually one-dimensional" despite a free feel
Slant Magazine (Charles Lyons-Burt): called it "hookiest, most pop-forward album" but "surprisingly joyless" on several tracks
ESSENCE (Okla Jones): called it "an anthem for liberation, sexuality, and self-love"
Pitchfork (Heven Haile): described it as a "rapturous Afrofuturistic sound collage for sunny days and sticky nights"
The Telegraph (Neil McCormick): wrote "Nothing feels overdone or excessive" and said it "lacks the dizzying splendour" of earlier works
Robert Christgau: singled out "Water Slide" as a "secret classic"

Reviews were mostly positive, with criticism that it was inferior to Monáe's earlier records

Billboard 200: debuted at number 17
Charted modestly in several other countries
66th Annual Grammy Awards: nominated for Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album
Soul Train Music Award: nominated for Album of the Year (2023)

The album's last song, "Water Slide", was released as a single the month after the album came out
Critic Robert Christgau cautioned listeners not to overlook the lyrics amid Monáe's musicality
Monáe's writing for the album was said to be on a "Pan-African" and "queer" theme
Monáe's Met Gala after-party was where the second single was first previewed
The album was announced alongside the second single