How did you get signed to Big Bois Purple Ribbion label?
Janelle Monae: Well my management team Maytone Management thought it was a good idea for me to go to Justin’s (Diddy’s restaurant) for Kim Porter’s (Diddy’s baby mother) “Lip Service”; she hosted a Sunday night open mic night with her company “Three Brown Girls.” My management team thought it would be good for me to go down there and sing. So I went and to my surprise I got an ovation when I got finished. As soon as I jumped down off stage Big Boi immediately grabbed my arm and was like, “I want to sign you, you are “amazing and phenomenal” those were his words. But of course, in my mind, I felt like I could have done better. It wasn’t just a fairy tale like that either. I told myself if I ever got signed or whenever I thought of being signed as a professional recording artist, I said that I would never sign with a label that doesn’t believe in me or support what I’m doing. I told myself I would never sign with a label that tries to change me or make me into an artist I’m not. I told B
