Futuristic soul artist Janelle Monae's secret rap crush

The Essence Music Festival begins tomorrow in New Orleans. For three days the birthplace of jazz essentially becomes the home of R&B when headliners like Beyonce, Anita Baker and Maxwell grab the microphone. Still, there's another artist slated to appear over the weekend who'll be turning heads too. Her name is Janelle Monae and she's a fascinating performer from Kansas City who'll remind you of a mix between Michael Jackson, Elvis and Solange.

Since making the move from KC to Atlanta, Monae's worked with a number of acts, including Big Boi and Cee-lo. Not fully grasping the connection between Janelle's futuristic pop/soul and hip hop, we reached out to the eccentric voice for some clarity.

"I'm just a lover of timeless and exceptional music," Monae begins. "I'll say it's about the character. I don't just gravitate towards anyone. I think that My Maker put these individuals in my life, I think, to help take me to the next point. I also have a relationship with Prince. I have a relationship with a few other artists who I admire and respect in the music industry, whether it be in hip hop to rock ‘n roll to whatever you wanna classify it as. I just feel they were led into my life to help me get to the next level. But I'm a huge supporter of Outkast. I felt like I understood them most and they understood me most. I took advice from Big Boi or Andre. I strongly value their opinion."

Keeping with Janelle's theme for gravitating towards rappers, her Wondaland Arts Society label partnered with Diddy's Bad Boy in '08. The sequels to her 22nd century-sounding funk collection, Metropolis Suite II and III, is scheduled to drop sometime in late '09.

"Sean Combs has been in the business for a while now," adds Monae, whose song "Open Happiness" was featured on the American Idol season finale back in May. "I don't care if you're in hip hop or not, if you don't respect me as a young woman or respect my art [we don't have anything to discuss]. From the get-go, he's been a supporter of me as a young businesswoman and as an artist. He's helped guide me through. But at the same time, he's left us alone as a production company and an artist to just continue to soar and soar with our art."

Janelle Monae takes off on the Essence Music Fest stage on July 3 and rocks the 5th Annual Afro-Punk Festival in Brooklyn on July 4.