There’s so much about the dark parts of the world on Janelle Monáe’s new album, Dirty Computer, but Tampa muralist Cam Parker had his sights set elsewhere when he met the Grammy-nominated 32-year-old songwriter and actress as part of her Thursday-night show at St. Petersburg’s Jannus Live.
Parker — who famously had an art exchange with Lady Gaga during a December show in Tampa — bought a meet-and-greet ticket and created a painting for Monáe. He said he was blown away by how excited she was to receive it.
“You already have expectations of her being really cool, but Janelle just blew those out of the water,” Parker said. “She was so humble, sweet, soft-spoken and just gracious. She even took our business cards and was like, ‘Oh, I love black-owned businesses.’”
MONSTERGRAM
Lady Gaga to Tampa artist: “Cam Parker, you are the shit!”
Parker’s appreciation for Monáe goes all the way back to the singer’s Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) EP. He fell in love after hearing her sing “I’m an alien from outer space” on that EP’s “Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!.”
“I was like, ‘I don’t know who this girl is, but we need to be friends.’ I felt she was that weird girl that would get me, and I got her,” Parker said. “That’s never changed. That’s why I feel connected and drawn to her her ideas, what she stands for.”
Parker said he’s humbled that any artist would even want something he made, but he knew that he had to bring Monáe something if we was going to wait in the meet-and-greet line.
“I get stressed about it, making the part, trying to make everything perfect, but it’s a humongous blessing,” he added. “There’s so much shit happening right now — I have no choice but to focus on the good.”
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2018.
