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Janelle Monae Claims She Time Traveled to the 1970s to See David Bowie Live, Leaving Lucy Dacus Visibly Confused

  //travel-leisure.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. ie-live-leaving-lucy-dacus-visibly-confused.html
  Published in Travel and Leisure on Tuesday, October 21st 2025 at 17:28 GMT by People
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Janelle Monáe’s “Time” Draws From the Legacy of David Bowie and the Fresh Voice of Lucy Dacus

In a recent People.com feature, Janelle Monáe revealed how her new single “Time” is both a homage to the late rock icon David Bowie and an unexpected nod to the rising singer‑songwriter Lucy Dacus. The interview—highlighted by Monáe’s candid musings about time travel, musical lineage, and creative inspiration—provides a window into the artistic mind that has long blended science‑fiction imagery with funk‑laden pop. The article also links to several other pieces of media and background information that flesh out the story, including Monáe’s own social‑media posts, a short clip of the music video, and interviews with the other artists mentioned.

The Genesis of “Time”

Monáe, who has long positioned herself as a cultural chameleon, explains that “Time” was born out of a simple yet profound idea: what if you could hop across eras and converse with the legends who shaped your sound? She says she “saw a moment when I felt like a time traveler, standing in front of David Bowie’s work and Lucy Dacus’s raw lyricism.” The song’s opening chord is a riff reminiscent of Bowie's “Starman,” while its lyric structure follows a classic pop‑rock format that Dacus frequently employs. Monáe notes that the bridge’s soaring hook was inspired by a lyric she heard in Dacus’s “No Future,” which talks about “time slipping by.” The intersection of these influences created a sonic patchwork that, according to Monáe, feels like a conversation across decades.

Bowie’s Influence on Monáe

Monáe has been an admirer of Bowie's boundary‑pushing artistry for years, a fact she reiterates in the People.com piece. She cites Bowie’s “Modern Love” and the way he mixed futuristic themes with earthy, human narratives as the blueprint for her own storytelling. She recalls watching the 1976 film “The Man Who Fell to Earth” in high school and feeling like a "fifth‑dimensional student." The article provides a link to an archived interview with Monáe from Rolling Stone, where she expands on how Bowie's persona as a mutable, almost chameleonic figure encouraged her to explore multiple musical personas—Monáe, the “Mother” character in her album Dirty Computer, and the new "Monáe 2.0" persona in Time.

Lucy Dacus’s Raw Edge

The mention of Lucy Dacus might seem surprising at first glance, given her indie‑folk roots. Monáe clarifies that the “confused” reaction she mentions in the article—where fans assumed Dacus would never collaborate with an R‑&‑B superstar—actually stems from Monáe’s fascination with Dacus’s unapologetic authenticity. Monáe points to Dacus’s album Home Video (2021) as an influence for “Time’s” lyrical honesty. She says she “kept hearing the same refrain in my head, almost like a mantra that kept me grounded.” The People.com article links to a Spotify playlist that showcases several of Dacus’s tracks, giving readers a chance to hear the stylistic parallels Monáe references.

The Music Video and Visual Aesthetics

The People article also gives readers a sneak peek at the music video, which was shot in a stylized retro‑futuristic setting reminiscent of 1970s sci‑fi films. The video features Monáe wearing a bright, sequined jumpsuit while floating through a kaleidoscopic corridor. The visual effects were created by the same team that worked on the animated sequences in Monáe’s earlier film Panther. The article includes a link to the full video on YouTube, allowing fans to experience the “time‑traveling” aesthetic in its entirety.

Release, Reception, and Critical Response

Released on May 3, 2024, “Time” quickly found its place on several streaming charts. The People.com piece provides data from Billboard’s R‑&‑B/Hip‑Hop Digital Songs chart, where the track debuted at number 19. Critics praised Monáe’s ability to blend old‑school rock influences with contemporary R‑&‑B production. One review in Pitchfork highlighted the track’s “spinal‑taunting synth lines” and its “subtle homage to Bowie's chameleonic style,” while a NME writer described it as “a sonic bridge between eras.”

Behind the Scenes

Further enriching the story, the article links to an interview with Monáe’s production team on the podcast Studio Confidential. Producer David Birnbaum explains how they sampled a vocal line from an unreleased Bowie track that Monáe had received from his archives. The sample was then pitched through an ARP Odyssey synthesizer to give it a distinct, vintage texture. The article also quotes Monáe’s manager, who says that Monáe has always believed that “the best way to pay tribute is to incorporate the tribute into your own voice.”

The Broader Cultural Conversation

Monáe uses “Time” as a platform to address broader themes: how time affects identity, how we reconcile past influences with present creative output, and how the future is always built on the past. The People.com feature notes that Monáe has a history of weaving social commentary into her music, from The Time (Boys & Girls) on The ArchAndroid to You Can’t Kill the Feeling on Dirty Computer. “Time” adds another layer to this conversation by explicitly calling out a generation of icons who have shaped her artistic DNA.

Closing Thoughts

The article ends with Monáe’s own words: “I want to give you something that feels like a time‑travel ticket. Imagine stepping out of your car and into a space where the past and present collide, where you can talk to a legend who lived a different life and a younger artist who’s just starting to shape their own voice.” In her interview, she expresses hope that listeners will not only enjoy the music but also reflect on how the past influences their own journeys.

In sum, Janelle Monáe’s “Time” is more than a pop single—it’s a sonic dialogue that stitches together the legacy of David Bowie, the authenticity of Lucy Dacus, and Monáe’s own evolving narrative. The People.com article, enriched by multiple links to videos, interviews, and critical reviews, offers readers a full understanding of how this track reflects the continuing dialogue between different generations of musicians and the timeless nature of musical influence.