Musician Lucy Dacus' Reaction To Janelle Monáe Claiming They Time-Traveled To See David Bowie Is All Of Us

In June 1972, music icon David Bowie released his fifth studio album—and apparently, a time-traveling Janelle Monáe was there to witness it.

At least, that’s how they described it in a new Rolling Stone “Musicians on Musicians” interview with Boygenius guitarist Lucy Dacus. During their conversation, Monáe casually claimed to have “traveled back into the 1970s” to see Bowie perform The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, calling it “incredible.”

Anyone familiar with Monáe’s blend of sci-fi storytelling and Afrofuturist flair knows this checks out—they’ve never been one to play it safe or small.

In the now-viral TikTok clip, Monáe, who identifies as non-binary and uses all pronouns, began their story by saying:

“I think when I saw David Bowie…”

Cue record scratch, because that album dropped in 1972—thirteen years before Kansas City native Janelle Monáe was even born. Bowie, meanwhile, passed away in 2016 from liver cancer at age 69.

Understandably confused, the 30-year-old Dacus asked, “You saw him?”

Monáe didn’t hesitate:

“I did. I traveled back into the 1970s, and I saw him do Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and it was incredible.”

Dacus, smiling but still trying to make sense of it, pressed, “You… travelled… back?”

To which Monáe doubled down:

“Yeah, and I was backstage…”

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is widely considered David Bowie’s masterpiece, the defining concept album that blended glam rock, science fiction, and theatrical storytelling into a cultural phenomenon.

The album not only introduced the world to Bowie’s alter ego as a pop culture icon but also changed the sound and spectacle of rock music for future generations. Songs like “Starman,” “Suffragette City,” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide” remain timeless symbols of his artistic vision.

Monáe discussed how Bowie taught them to embrace fearless reinvention and creative freedom in music:

“I was like, this is what I wanna do. And so I jetted back to, you know, the 2000s, and I was like, I can have the musical, make the music, create the lyrics, and create community around transformation and being queer — and not even just in sexuality, but in how we see the world.”

Before anyone could accuse them of inventing a Doctor Who subplot, Monáe made it clear this was metaphorical—a creative way to express how Bowie’s artistry transcended time and shaped their vision.

They wrapped up what felt like a full-on TED Talk with:

“Let’s go outside the mundane and what people know us as every day. Leave room to allow yourself to transform.”

In an era where identity and expression are constantly scrutinized during a second Trump era, Monáe’s statement—time travel or not—landed as both whimsical and deeply affirming.

You can watch the viral clip below:

The surreal exchange has now racked up over 250,000 TikTok views, with fans cheering the singer’s imaginative “trip” through music history. Many called it “the most Monáe thing ever.”

Of course, this isn’t Monáe’s first Bowie shout-out.

In a 2018 Complex interview, Monáe cited him as a direct influence on their “Pynk” music video:

“It let me know that I didn’t just have to be a singer. I didn’t just have to be an actor. I could mesh both mediums and tell stories… He’s inspired not just me, but so many artists with his work and his vision.”

Elsewhere in the Rolling Stone chat, Monáe and Dacus opened up about their gender identities.

Monáe revealed:

“For just going between—I say water and rock. Soft and hard. Being non-binary, I think of it in energy.”

In 2022, Monáe publicly came out as non-binary on Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, after initially tweeting the hashtag “#IAmNonbinary” in 2020 to show solidarity with the community.

Dacus, meanwhile, related to Monáe’s fluid sense of identity, adding:

“I feel this deeply. If I was told, ‘You have to be one way forever,’ I would be like, maybe life’s not for me. It’s very important every day to wake up and be like, ‘Is it boy day or girl day?’ Or on tour, especially if we do two nights in the same city. I’ll have boy night, girl night.”

The Virginia-born singer-songwriter, known for her albums No Burden, Historian, and Home Video, also confirmed that she’s the “Lucy” name-dropped by Taylor Swift on The Tortured Poets Department.

And as expected, the clip sparked a wave of reactions across social media, where fans couldn’t get enough of Monáe’s time-bending tale.

Meanwhile, Monáe continues to expand their creative universe beyond music through acting, activism, and their non-profit “Fem The Future,” which supports women, girls of color, and genderqueer creators in film and media.

So, did Janelle Monáe really time-travel to see David Bowie? Probably not. But in their defense—and in true Bowie fashion—Monáe made us all believe, if only for a moment, that art really can bend time.

You can watch Monáe and Dacus’ full interview below:

- YouTubeRolling Stone

Other Musicians on Musicians pairings this year include Cyndi Lauper and Gracie Abrams, Black Thought and Redman, and Amaarae and Tinashe.