Dirty Computer
by Janelle Monáe
  • Record Label: Bad Boy
  • Release Date: Apr 27, 2018
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 679 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 608 out of 679
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 679
  3. Negative: 42 out of 679
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  1. christodoulakis
    Apr 28, 2018
    6
    A good album, but not something so superb or excellent in my opinion.
    Janelle Monáe has a very good voice and here you can listen different music styles, but...that's all.
  2. ReadyFreddie101
    Apr 30, 2018
    6
    I feel I need to be the happy medium on this because to give it a 10 would imply it is up to the Arch android which it simply isnt. The lyrics on this are not as top notch and it lacks the sense of urgency that the others had. I respect and love Janelle so dont get me wrong still a huge fan and she said herself she needed to get this album done because it was in her mind longer than allI feel I need to be the happy medium on this because to give it a 10 would imply it is up to the Arch android which it simply isnt. The lyrics on this are not as top notch and it lacks the sense of urgency that the others had. I respect and love Janelle so dont get me wrong still a huge fan and she said herself she needed to get this album done because it was in her mind longer than all the others. Im very glad she is happy with herself fully now. That being said this album is slightly conformist and has lots of generic pop moments like the obvious grimes influence( nothing against grims but Janelle doesnt have the right voice for it I dont think even though she is an amazing singer) and also this kind of Cardi B like django jane song. I think there are some masterful songs on here that still pay tribute to her older stuff and the concept of the album is masterful as always. I do think the songs kind of go off track but if you watch the motion picture she did then it makes sense but still I feel its like 2 albums in one which isnt to say any of the songs are bad its kind of just all over the place but not like archandroid was where it meshed perfectly. Its got an obvious prince influence too which comes off as gimmicky to me even if prince worked on it with her. I dont see the point in living in glory days past when its a step back from her debut. I think the best songs are "take a byte" and "crazy, classic, life". The others vary and there is some more experimental stuff near the end which will probably grow on me. Overall its def worth a listen, but if you want her best listen to arch android which starts the story this album ends.… Expand
  3. imaginetruly
    Apr 28, 2018
    6
    is a good album, a very important message, a different sound, but I did not like it so much, it's not an album that I'm going to listen to but the work done on this album is incredible and certainly worthy of all acclaim
  4. kayhamed
    Apr 30, 2018
    5
    I appreciate this album for it's production, monae's performance and being full-concentrated on it's issue but totally, incomparable with her previous masterpiece album ''the archandroid". I'm afraid she is turning to an one-division person. I expect her more various subjects.also I hate that she's a woman worshiper. she is not looking for equality, she's trying to see women top of men.
  5. SKSK
    Jul 23, 2018
    5
    The songwriting isn't good for the majority of the album. I think everyone is aware of that, but they try to forget once they support some of the messages.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Album of 2018
17
#17 Most Discussed Album of 2018
6
#6 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 5, 2018
    67
    Hints of Michael Jackson's melodic moonwalking lace in the type of hip-hop ennui that will appeal to fans of Solange's A Seat at the Table, plus a sexy swagger of feminist liberation that screams 2018.
    Read full review
  2. The Wire
    Jul 13, 2018
    80
    She mostly succeeds at marrying that [transcendent black pop] to a sound that’s broader and more accessible than anything she’s put out to date. [Jul 2018, p.53]
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 27, 2018
    70
    After navigating complex matrices of identity under an indulgent, accessible veneer, Dirty Computer is ultimately--even “simply”--a cathartic assertion of self in a hostile system.
    Read full review
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