Janelle Monáe featuring Big Boi – Tightrope (Video)

Arguably one of the most underrated singers in recent years Janelle Monáe seems to finally receive the recogintion she deserves. The soulful crooner from Atlanta unleashes the creative and dance-heavy visual, directed by Wendy Morgan, to her Big Boi-featured single “Tight Rope” off her forthcoming Bad Boy-debut The Archandroid due May 18th. Her music plus visuals evokes the spirit of the golden era of Motown – an element that is missing in today’s music world.

In an interview with Artist Direct earlier this month, this promising artist explained the message behind her single:

Tightrope’ deals with balance. Early on in my career, and even now, it’s a daily struggle to stay balanced and not get too high or too low. It was something that I hadn’t really heard in a song. If I was telling somebody how to make it through life, I would definitely tell them that balance is important. You can’t get too high on praises and you can’t get too low on any one situation. I wanted that song to be an empowerment song. I wanted people to find their inner confidence and to feel more self-empowered in understanding that they have to stay more balanced in life. That was my goal. James Brown influenced it, of course. I wanted it to be that 2010 beyond anthem—that classic song that you can go to in any moment when you feel like things are out of control in life. That’ll be your little medicine.