The Maschinenmensch was created in 1927 by Walter Schultze-Mittendorff for Frit Lang’s Metropolis, a film which examines the social crisis between workers and owners in capitalism obsessed futuristic urban dystopia.  The Afropunkfunkmensch was created circa 1985 by The GODS for Janelle Monae’s upcoming Metropolis, alternately a debut album which desires, “…to free people through underground music, to free themselves creatively and inspirationally”.

Weather it be a chance encounter at a show with Chuck Lightning and Nate “Rocket” Wonder which would lead to them becoming Wondaland co-conspirators. –OR- Being signed via Myspace run-in in 2007 witSean “Diddy/Puff/PDiddy/P” Combs’ label, Bad Boy Records. This lil pocket of pint sized talent has had fate and luck to thank for being on her side as well.

In hind sight, I must have prematurely gobbled a bucket o’ Xanax before my brief photo session backstage at her SXSW Stubb’s show. I say this because it can’t be feasible that the supercharged robot which took the stage could’ve been the same hushed and coy little lady I’d photographed prior. In some secret “green room” lab this talent alchemist has managed to create the new compound for a dynamite show.  My guess is it’s a secret formula of smelting something along the lines:

A.Franklin‘68+ Santigold’08+ J.Brown’64+ the energy of the Sun itself=Monae’09

by Dustin Downing