“I didn’t do this alone, there are a world of people that supported me along the way.”
Janet Jackson was officially inducted into the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Friday (March 29), with Janelle Monae performing the honors. According to Pitchfork, Monae praised the “legendary queen of black girl magic” for breaking barriers and drafting the blueprint for writing socially conscious music, along with spotlighting Jackson’s unmatched dancing talent and her timeless music catalog.
“Our fearless leader is one of the biggest selling artists in music history,” Monae reportedly said listing Jackson’s accolades including her five Grammys, nine No. 1 albums, and Oscar nomination. “Quite simply, y’all, there is only one Janet.”
The “Pynk” singer shared her first memory of seeing a clip of a young Jackson performing. “ It was just so refreshing to see someone who looked like me and million of other little black girls around the world,” said Monae. “And even then, at the earliest stages of her career, you could see she was a different kind of star.”
The speech also highlighted how Jackson owned her “sexual freedom” through music and used her platform to honor friends lost to HIV and AIDS. Monae added that Jackson gave her the “confidence” to “embrace all of me” while writing her Dirty Computer album.
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