Janelle Monáe Trends For NSFW Video Following Album Announcement

Janelle Monáe announced her first album in five years Thursday (May 11) titled The Age of Pleasure. While fans were excited to hear more music from the Grammy-nominated artist following her release of "Float," many flocked to the comment section to gush over the singer's sexy album cover where she was topless.  Fans filled the comment section with heart-eye emojis and fire emojis, while some questioned her "new vibe."

"What happened to the tuxedo?," one fan asked.

Day one fans know that Monáe has been very open and honest about her sexuality. Despite choosing to cover up on red carpets, she chose to show a different side of herself with this new album cover.

Erykah Badu even hopped into the comment section and approved writing, "Fantastic [fire emoji]."

She shortly trended once again to celebrate her album announcement, which looks to be at a private event where she pulled up her crop top exposing her breasts.

While many were surprised by the singer's seemingly new "sexual liberation" some fans said that she has been doing it for years up until recently.

"As a legit Janelle Monae fan for over a decade now, this isn’t surprising lol. Very exciting, but not surprising. She’s been in her sexual liberation bag for like 5 years now lol," one fan wrote.

Others found no reason there needed to be heated debates online over her video.

"People on Twitter are having intense debates about seeing Janelle Monaé’s beautiful breasts. And I just don’t know why you guys find it difficult to just enjoy things," one fan wrote." Just enjoy seeing something beautiful and continue living your life. Y’all are having presentations and s---."

The Age of Pleasure is set to release on June 9. Take a look at the NSFW video here and the tracklist below:

1. Float [ft. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80]
2. Champagne Shit
3. Black Sugar Beach
4. Phenomenal
5. Haute
6. Oh La La
7. Lipstick Lover
8. The Rush
9. The French 75
10. Water Slide
11. Know Better
12. Paid in Pleasure
13. Only Have Eyes 42
14. A Dry Red

The Age Of Pleasure follows 2018’s Dirty Computer. The album was nominated for Album of the Year, and the music video for "Pynk" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards.

The artists in hip-hop and R&B showed out in April with rappers such as Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat hopping on remixes as well as some R&B artists reemerging for the first time in a long time. Drake made his first solo record of the year this month as some artists are gearing up for their future albums slated for 2023.

Take a look at some of the best R&B and hip-hop songs of April 2023 ranked:

Ciara enlisted Lola Brooke and Lady London for the remix of "Da Girls." This was the first time all three artists linked up on a record. "Lola and Lady London are special," Ciara said about the two rising emcees per RatedRNB. "They each bring a unique star quality to everything they do. From the tone of their voices to the fire verses, they spoke life into this record for all da girls around the world."

Miguel is back with a new single titled "Give It To Me." The R&B artist has not released a full-length project since 2017's War & Leisure. His last project was his 2021 EP Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4. However, his 2010 single "Sure Thing," went viral on TikTok this year and currently sits at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Post Malone dropped his first song of 2023 with "Chemical." The New York native just finished touring last year in support of his 2022 LP Twelve Carat Toothache. "Chemical" is different from the artist's usual sound as it has upbeat pop-rock elements introduced. The new record will act as the lead single to the rapper's upcoming fifth studio album.

Nicki Minaj joined Kim Petras for "Alone" marking their first collaboration together. For Nicki, this follows her feature on Ice Spice's "Princess Diana." "Alone" is Petras' second single of 2023 following her record "brrr" which was released in January.

For The Weeknd's upcoming HBO drama The Idol, he and Future linked up to create "Double Fantasy." The Weeknd performed it for the first time during Metro Boomin's Coachella set. "Double Fantasy" marks The Weeknd and Future’s fifth collaboration after the two first came together as featured artists on producer Mike WiLL Made-It‘s 2015 single "Drinks on Us," which also featured Swae Lee.

Doja Cat hopped on SZA's SOS hit "Kill Bill" making it her first 2023 appearance. The two previously collaborated on the Grammy-winning "Kiss Me More." SZA earned her first No. 1 Billboard hit with the original "Kill Bill" this month.

Jay-Z remixed his 2009 hit "Empire State of Mind." The hip-hop icon performed the remixed version in Paris at the Louis Vuitton Foundation to mark the opening of the "Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands" exhibition. The new version has been officially released which features Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic I’m New Here song "New York Is Killing Me." The original "Empire State Of Mind" features Alicia Keys. The song was nominated for three awards but won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song at the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony. The song was originally on Jay's The Blueprint 3.

Latto dropped "Put It On Da Floor" in April which fueled a beef between her and Coi Leray. The two later made amends but it ended working in the Atlanta native's favor as she scored her first No. 1 on the Hot Trending Songs chart.

Drake dropped his first solo song of 2023 titled "Search & Rescue." He infamously sampled Kim Kardashian on the record from her Hulu reality show The Kardashians. "Search & Rescue" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The People's Princess and the Queen linked up for a remix of the Bronx native's "Princess Diana." The "Princess Diana" remix debuted at No.1 on this week's Digital Song Sales chart making it Ice Spice's first and Nicki's 14th No.1 hit. The song debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.