I'm kind of sick of reading comments about Janelle Monae's songs regarding race and only race. Her songs regard anything and anyone that are not mainstream; racial minorities, religious minorities, LGBT, and even underground or unknown musicians! Her songs are about xenophobia and the fear of standing up against the majority / the powers that be, and "Dance or Die" displays that better than any other song on "The ArchAndroid." She's blatantly stating that we're "zombies;" we are mindless and kill just to kill. & Even then, the "kill" references are just metaphorical. "Kill" can mean anything, such as following trends, adapting beliefs that are mainstream at the time, and so on. She calls us zombies with damn good justification; because that's exactly what we are in this world... mindless bags of bones who eat and kill and travel in packs for no evident reason.
As far as "Dance or Die," again, it's not literal! By "dance," she means "conform." By "die," she is meaning something of becoming an outcast in society. By calling out "Yes, the freaks must dance or die!", she's calling out to people who label themselves individualistic, who the crowd may consider "freaky" or "weird." She's telling us: "Okay, conform if you want to... but if you REALLY want to make a difference and make your voice heard, you can't be afraid to stand up and speak!"
Her music is more universal than you think. It's not about blatant love-gone-wrong stories or racial issues; Metropolis is a metaphor for the WORLD, and more directly, AMERICA!
I'm kind of sick of reading comments about Janelle Monae's songs regarding race and only race. Her songs regard anything and anyone that are not mainstream; racial minorities, religious minorities, LGBT, and even underground or unknown musicians! Her songs are about xenophobia and the fear of standing up against the majority / the powers that be, and "Dance or Die" displays that better than any other song on "The ArchAndroid." She's blatantly stating that we're "zombies;" we are mindless and kill just to kill. & Even then, the "kill" references are just metaphorical. "Kill" can mean anything, such as following trends, adapting beliefs that are mainstream at the time, and so on. She calls us zombies with damn good justification; because that's exactly what we are in this world... mindless bags of bones who eat and kill and travel in packs for no evident reason.
As far as "Dance or Die," again, it's not literal! By "dance," she means "conform." By "die," she is meaning something of becoming an outcast in society. By calling out "Yes, the freaks must dance or die!", she's calling out to people who label themselves individualistic, who the crowd may consider "freaky" or "weird." She's telling us: "Okay, conform if you want to... but if you REALLY want to make a difference and make your voice heard, you can't be afraid to stand up and speak!"
Her music is more universal than you think. It's not about blatant love-gone-wrong stories or racial issues; Metropolis is a metaphor for the WORLD, and more directly, AMERICA!