Janelle Monáe
As told by Maurice Bernstein:
“I was first introduced to Janelle Monae by Eric Wong (now President of Island Records). He was working at Atlantic Records at the time, overseeing Puffy’s Bad Boy imprint, which they were distributing. Puffy had signed Janelle to his label, and was very excited about her. He set up a number of intimate showcases to introduce her to industry folks and influencers. Eric invited me to a small breakfast showcase at Atlantic Records office in New York on a cold winter morning in early 2008. Janelle performed a short set with her guitarist Kellindo and blew me away. After the performance, I told Eric I’d do anything I could to help get the word out about her.
At the time, Giant Step was putting on a lot of events for Morgan Hotel Group properties, like Delano in Miami. In Spring 2008, we brought them down to Miami for a performance at Delano’s Florida Room. In the summer of that same year, we added Janelle to our Central Park Summerstage line up, along with Jamie Lidell, Little Jackie, Gilles Peterson and Jose James. Our Central Park show was her first big public performance in New York, and helped introduce her to a wider audience.
Over the next few years, leading up to the release of The ArchAndroid, we worked with Janelle at every possible opportunity, including Delano’s New Years Eve with The Roots, her Grammy nomination party in 2009 at Mondrian in Los Angeles, an event we produced for Sony Playstation in San Francisco in 2009, album release show for The ArchAndroid at Highline in New York, a Charity Water event at Hudson Hotel in New York.
We brought everything back full circle recently, at the end of 2019, when we asked her to perform at the opening of Ian Schrager’s EDITION West Hollywood. Janelle is an artist we’re very proud to have had the opportunity to work with. When I first met her, I could clearly see her drive and determination to shatter glass ceilings and become a leading light in music, film and activism.”
Giant Step & Charity Water Present Janelle Monáe at Private Park at Hudson in New York City, May 12, 2009.
The ArchAndroid campaign featuring an album release show at Highline Ballroom on May 18, 2010 and a Svedka Vodka listening party at Delano in Miami that same year.
Janelle Monáe at the West Hollywood Edition launch in October 2019.
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