--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a…" description: "\"First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.\" — Janelle Monae" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png" --- # First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a… ![“First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.” quote by Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png) > “First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.” [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes that personal identity and humanity precede professional titles or fame. **In simple terms:** Being human comes before any role. Key Takeaway Remember your humanity first. Themes identity humility celebrity Mood reflective inspirational Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career pressure - public scrutiny - social media - personal relationships Key Concepts self-awareness humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay grounded when recognized? - What practices keep you connected to your humanity? A Different Perspective Fame can obscure self‑recognition and lead to identity loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Celebrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrity/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [There's a line between being an artist and being a celebrity. Whether you're a famous photographer or artist, or you're an actor or director,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/there-s-a-line-between-being-an-artist-and-being-a-celebrity-whether/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [I feel the word 'privacy' is under threat, majorly. We are forgetting that a celebrity is also a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riya-sen/i-feel-the-word-privacy-is-under-threat-majorly-we-are-forgetting/) [Riya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riya-sen/) > [I am not just a celebrity, I'm a human-rights advocate for the last 20 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-jagger/i-am-not-just-a-celebrity-i-m-a-human-rights-advocate-for-the-last-20/) [Bianca Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-jagger/) > [When I go into rehearsal rooms and meet with bands, they're genuinely excited to be with me because of what I've done as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/when-i-go-into-rehearsal-rooms-and-meet-with-bands-they-re-genuinely/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [It's humbling because a lot of times people think because they are the artist or the celebrity or whatever they want to call themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhene-aiko/it-s-humbling-because-a-lot-of-times-people-think-because-they-are/) [Jhene Aiko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhene-aiko/) > [I am going to take art more seriously. I most definitely want to leave behind art, and that does not just mean music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-am-going-to-take-art-more-seriously-i-most-definitely-want-to-leave/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) ## More by Janelle Monae > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I am going to take art more seriously. I most definitely want to leave behind art, and that does not just mean music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-am-going-to-take-art-more-seriously-i-most-definitely-want-to-leave/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [ It's hard for me to be serious. I can't really rub oil on me and go all the way with it \[laughs\]. I hear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-hard-for-me-to-be-serious-i-can-t-really-rub-oil-on-me-and-go/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [People don't ask Jay-Z to take his shirt off when he rhymes,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/people-don-t-ask-jay-z-to-take-his-shirt-off-when-he-rhymes/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I hope women feel confident with themselves and realize that we don't all have to look alike or be the same size to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-hope-women-feel-confident-with-themselves-and-realize-that-we-don-t/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I feel myself becoming the fearless person I have dreamt of being. Have I arrived? No. But I'm constantly evolving and challenging myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-feel-myself-becoming-the-fearless-person-i-have-dreamt-of-being/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I was made to believe there's something wrong with me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-was-made-to-believe-there-s-something-wrong-with-me/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I spend a lot of time in the future, But to help the future, sometimes you got to go back to the past, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-in-the-future-but-to-help-the-future-sometimes/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I have worn a tuxedo, but I have never covered up for respectability politics or to shame other women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-have-worn-a-tuxedo-but-i-have-never-covered-up-for-respectability/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [You are only as beautiful as the many beautiful things you do for others without expectation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/you-are-only-as-beautiful-as-the-many-beautiful-things-you-do-for/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Beauty is about enhancing what you have. Let yourself shine through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/beauty-is-about-enhancing-what-you-have-let-yourself-shine-through/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I'm always thinking about that young girl or young boy who doesn't quite know if their music, their messaging, their imaging, their voice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-m-always-thinking-about-that-young-girl-or-young-boy-who-doesn-t/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I've cried over string arrangements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-ve-cried-over-string-arrangements/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) [Explore all 119 Janelle Monae quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janelle Monae" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a-celebrity-i-m-a-human-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a-celebrity-i-m-a-human-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/janelle-monae-3903_art_first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a_314848.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First, before I'm an artist, before I'm a celebrity, I'm a human being.” — Janelle Monae", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Janelle Monae", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "First, before I'm an artist, before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a-celebrity-i-m-a-human-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/first-before-i-m-an-artist-before-i-m-a-celebrity-i-m-a-human-being/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```