Janelle Monae Is ‘Much Happier’ When She Doesn’t Wear a Bra: ‘I Can Run Around Free’

If there’s anything fans have learned about Janelle Monae after releasing her sensual video “Lipstick Lover,” she enjoys flaunting her body and the beauty that comes with it. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, she explained why she appreciates not wearing a bra. 

“I’m much happier when my titties are out, and I can run around free,” she told the publication. In a viral performance clip on Twitter earlier this month, Monae lifted her top and joyfully exposed her breasts.

In a previous interview with Zane Lowe, Monae spoke about the creative prowess for her upcoming album Age of Pleasure and writing from a candid space. 

“Listen, I’ve had my age of depression. I’ve had my age of anxiety. I’ve had my age of struggle,” Monae said. “And again, it’s not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out … How do I create a space for myself? How do I redirect my mind on how I’m thinking about things? How do I realize that right now in this present moment, moments that we’ll never get back, this is where you need to find your pleasure? This is your moment.”

Elsewhere in her Rolling Stone interview, Monae also spoke about how her friends influenced the sound of Age of Pleasure, and how Blackness helped cultivate the album. “It was inspired by all of my friends, my community of folks who are from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, the Caribbean, Atlanta, L.A., Chicago,” the singer said. “Seeing all of us together in our Blackness, in the love that we had in our eyes for each other. People from the continent f–k around with trap from Atlanta. You know what I’m saying? I love how the diaspora — we talk to each other.”

Monae’s fourth album, Age of Pleasure, drops June 9 via Atlantic Records.