10 Best Songs Under 2 Mins

Length: 1:59

Janelle Monae has been one of the most inspiring conceptual artists of the past 20 years. Though she has been focused on her acting career as of late in movies like Hidden Figures and Antebellum, the work she made on Metropolis and the Electric Lady are some of most brilliant stories you will ever hear while wearing headphones. Dirty Computer may have seemed like a more streamlined release at first, but you knew everything was going to be fine from the first track.

Kicking off with lush vocal harmonies from Brian Wilson, Monae provides a beautiful serenade on this cut, laced with subtle hints of sensuality and social commentary. Though most of Monae's previous works had touched on dystopian topics, this song sounds like the dystopia giving way to a paradise right before your ears. It may sound stellar, but the lyrics are also biting, as Monae talks about being broken inside and having people manipulate her like a piece of machinery.

Rather than ease you into the more pointed topics, this song feels like the sounds of a computer booting up, only to give way to the pure R&B beauty that is to follow. Everything on this track is already perfect, but it's a real artistic flex when you realize we are just getting started.