The funky, sensual rhythms of Janelle Monáe’s “Make Me Feel” single, off the upcoming Dirty Computer, are so reminiscent of Prince that fans have been bopping along like it’s 1999. As it turns out, the song (and ridiculously sexy video) is more than just an homage to the Purple One—according to Monáe, she was collaborating with Prince on the album before he died in April 2016.
As the Electric Lady artist tells BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac, she’d been working with the iconic pop star “before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with sounds. And I really miss him, you know, it’s hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me.” Pitchfork notes that Prince’s DJ Lenka Paris elaborated on the late artist’s contributions to “Make Me Feel” in a now-deleted Facebook post.
Before taking it down, the DJ said that Prince had provided the bouncy synth line on “Make Me Feel.”
Dirty Computer drops April 28.