NEW YORK (AP) — Janelle Monae doesn’t remember the first album she owned as a child, but the first one she spent her hard-earned money on? “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”

Monae says she “connected with Lauryn on many levels.” She says Hill’s album was inspiring because the singer-rapper “was all of her(self) on her project … and I felt like I could be all of me and I didn’t have to pick one part of me.”

Monae might be music’s closest heir to Hill: She’s an artistic performer known for thought-provoking lyrical content and is also known for her roles in “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures.”

Monae reached even greater heights this year with the release of “Dirty Computer,” another critical effort in her catalog, as she sings about liberation, oppression, love and more.

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