Listen to Janelle Monae's Rio 2 track What is Love.
Not only is R&B singer Janelle Monae busy promoting and performing music from her latest album The Electric Lady, she's also gearing up for the release next week of the animated sequel Rio 2, which features her track What Is Love. We recently caught up with the Grammy Award-nominated artist to discuss the track as well as other upcoming projects.
"Carlos Saldanha, who was the (Rio 2) writer/director, really topped himself. This soundtrack is incredible. It has my good friends B.o.B, Bruno Mars … there are lots of people on this soundtrack," Janelle said before a recent exclusive performance forthe iHeartRadio Live Series at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles.
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"Sergio Mendes, who is like the godfather of Brazilian music, was the executive producer. He made sure that there was a Brazilian element to it, but is not just Brazilian music. It's very diverse, and when you listen to it, it's cohesive. It doesn't feel like a soundtrack, it feels like an album -- an experience."
Watch the video for more from Janelle, whose album The Electric Lady is out now, and also to hear her perform What Is Love, from Atlantic Records' Rio 2 soundtrack!