On a recent Monday night, as the sun sets over the Intrepid, Pier 44 looks like something out of a science-fiction film noir. Dozens of Janelle Monáe clones — women clad in the singer’s “uniform” of a crisp, white button-up, black trousers, suspenders and a tie, complete with her signature pompadour — weave their way through the crowd, dispensing . . . red lipsticks? The cosmetics are courtesy of CoverGirl, which signed Monáe to a contract last year, putting her in the ranks of Taylor Swift and Rihanna. And the event, a launch party/ concert for Monáe’s new album, “The Electric Lady,” was sponsored by Target. Suddenly, Sean “Diddy” Combs jumps onto the stage.
“We’re here to talk about the Electric Lady!” he yells into the microphone. “This is one of my proudest signings.”
The crowd roars as Monáe runs onto the stage, her extra-high poof waving in the wind. Later, hip-hop superstar Big Boi joins her for a duet, wrapping the petite performer in a big hug.
It’s official: Janelle Monáe is having a moment.
Prince, Solange Knowles, Erykah Badu and Miguel all guest on “The Electric Lady.” A couple of days before the launch party, Monáe performs with Rebecca Minkoff at the designer’s New York Fashion Week show. And Nate Ruess, lead singer of the band fun., tells The Post: “She has an infectious energy that makes myself and anyone around her want to move.”
Even the president and the first lady are fans. The Obamas have invited Monáe to perform four times — at the 2013 inauguration, the White House Easter Egg Roll, a Christmas party and a state dinner.
“My daddy was a trash man and my mama was a janitor,” she tells the crowd at her launch party. “I never thought I would be here.”
The Kansas City native, who blends psychedelic funk with hip-hop and pop, burst into the mainstream last year, thanks to a guest turn on the fun. smash hit “We Are Young.” But, at just 27, she’s already been a music-industry darling for years.
Monáe grew up singing in a Baptist church, then moved to Manhattan after high school to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and pursue musical theater.
“When I was in school, I was very focused. I commuted from 140th and Amsterdam to 72nd and Broadway every day,” she tells The Post. “So, I didn’t get a chance to experience New York.”
After a year of being the only African-American student in her class, Monáe packed up for Atlanta. “I wanted to absorb that energy, where fresh black people were moving forward, becoming doctors and lawyers,” she says.
Though she didn’t re-enroll in classes, the teenager performed in dorm rooms and on library steps at local colleges while working a day job at Office Depot. It wasn’t long before people started to notice Monáe’s unique musical chops.
At an open-mike night, she stepped up to the stage to perform Outkast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad,” not realizing one of the song’s creators was in the bar.
“Big Boi came up to me afterwards, and was like, ‘Man . . ..’ That’s all he said,” Monáe remembers with a smile. “Then he told me that he was putting out a compilation CD and wanted me to be a part of it.” Atlanta-based Big Boi, who flew up to New York this week just to make a cameo at Monáe’s launch party, remembers that night well.
“I had seen her before that. She was actually singing with this artist I signed, called Scar. So, I’d seen her around the studio,” he tells The Post. “Janelle always had a little look and everything, but I never really heard her sing. That night, she was just amazing on stage. She’s definitely like nobody else. It’s not about selling sex or gimmicks. It’s a strong voice, a pretty face and a God-given talent.”
He signed her to his own small label, Purple Ribbon, but he couldn’t keep her to himself for long, as Combs soon approached Big Boi about a collaboration. The hip-hop heavyweights worked together on Monáe’s two full-length albums, 2010’s Grammy-nominated “The ArchAndroid” and, now, “The Electric Lady.”
“He helped push it broader than what we were doing over at the label we were on,” Big Boi explains about Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment label, which is a branch of Atlantic Records.
Monáe says she’s learned a lot from the two stars, and she’s gained other new teachers along the way, too.
Not only does she call Prince a mentor, but the notorious control freak ceded the reins to Monáe for their “The Electric Lady” collaboration, “Givin’ ’Em What They Love.”
“I’m still pinching myself in disbelief. [Prince] doesn’t do a lot of collaborations, let alone let people produce him,” Monáe says as she shakes her head. “But he wanted me to be in control of the mixing and mastering and editing. The trust he’s given me means a lot.”
Monáe explains she was initially wary of working with a major record label — she didn’t want to compromise on her vision. So the young artist passed out copies of the book “The Big Moo: Stop Trying To Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable,” along with a list of her core values, to everyone she would work with at Atlantic.
It was a bold move for a new artist, but Monáe is nothing if not bold. Though it’s easy to enjoy her songs as radio-friendly ear candy, a closer listen reveals a theme that runs throughout her work: the story of an android, Cindi Mayweather, who comes to Earth and falls in love with a human. (Monáe says “The Electric Lady” is a prequel to the story, which she introduced with her 2007 EP, “Metropolis.”)
While this may seem slightly wacky and esoteric, Monáe created the alter ego to tackle down-to-earth issues.
“I have a hard time writing about myself,” she says. “But whenever I’m speaking about the android, I’m always speaking about the ‘other.’ Cindi Mayweather is like the new black or the new gay — the one who is discriminated against and marginalized.”
Monáe has never commented publicly about her love life or her sexual orientation.
“I’m in a relationship with the world,” she adds, wearing quite the serious expression. “I’m constantly thinking about our future and my future children, what type of world they’ll live in, and trying to shape it in a way that I think will be more nurturing. That’s the relationship that I’m in, and I’m obsessed with it.”
Her obsessions extend to fashion, too: While her monochromatic look is fun, those high necklines and low hemlines are no accident. “My wardrobe is walking art with a message; I’m a visual artist, as well,” she says. “My thought process when I came into the music industry was to make sure people know there’s no one way to be sexy.”
Monáe has nearly all of her clothes custom-made by collaborating with designers, and she styles her band’s onstage outfits. Unsurprisingly, her personal fashion icons are all about an individual “look,” rather than flash.
“I love consistency, so I like Karl Lagerfeld. I think Tilda Swinton has consistency. Albert Einstein is iconic,” she says. “Those are the people who could walk into a room and demand attention.”
“[Monáe] is definitely a part of a larger conversation happening right now about androgyny,” says Courtney Weinblatt, Marie Claire’s fashion market director. “As we’ve recently seen on the men’s Saint Laurent runway and also Givenchy and Prada, many collections featured clothes that could be worn by both genders.
“[Monáe] has a very distinct point of view, very chic and very consistent. She’s laying the groundwork for potential icon status.”
These are big words, but Monáe is ready to give it her all.
“This is the beginning of my career. I don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived.’ I’m constantly working,” she says with a calm confidence.
“I’m really working on the history books, I want to be in those books.”