Janelle Monae Tightrope (Ft. Big Boi)

The crowd at San Francisco's Outside Lands is in for a treat. Listening to Janelle Monae is like squirting hot sauce over your taco -- her fresh sound packs a punch. Monae is only 26, and yet she's already accomplished more than some artists might ever hope to. She's touring at major indie music festivals this year, has been nominated for a Grammy, and teamed up with OutKast's Big Boi to found the Wondaland Arts Society. So it's no surprise why her first studio album, The ArchAndroid, is receiving a lot of fanfare.

Starting off with a classical overture, the album quickly transitions into lyrical hip-hop mixed with just about any genre you can think of "“ R&B, soul, gospel, funk, folk, rock, and classical instrumental"¦ just to name a few. Her songs are fast-paced, sassy and weave the story of an android stuck in a futuristic world. If that doesn't peak your interest, I don't know what will.

Monae definitely likes to shake things up, and the whopping 18 tracks are a tribute to her creative ambition and vision. If you find yourself wandering Golden Gate Park this Sunday, August 15 at 3pm, head for the Sutro stage at Polo Fields for what will undoubtedly be a stellar live performance.

What others say:

[The album is] about as bold as mainstream music gets, marrying the world-building possibilities of the concept album to the big tent genre-mutating pop of Michael Jackson and Prince in their prime "¦ The most impressive thing about The ArchAndroid isn't that it bounces between genres, but that it does so without compromising quality or cohesion. - Pitchfork