Under the glowing Art Deco lights of South Beach, a new era of American excellence roared to life. Cadillac, the luxury car brand long tied to innovation and cultural prestige, unveiled its official Formula 1 team—TWG Motorsports x Cadillac F1—at a one-night-only celebration that brought high fashion, future-facing design, and unapologetic expression together. At the heart of it all, standing like a lightning rod between legacy and future-forward energy, was artist and 10-time Grammy nominee, Janelle Monáe.
Inside the reimagined 1940s-style Queen Theater—transformed for the night into the Cadillac Club—the Monáe delivered a show-stopping performance for a crowd as electric as the brand’s vision. This was an intentional collision of speed, style, and storytelling. Guests like Victoria Monét, Mickalene Thomas, and Jurnee Smollett were all in attendance.
“The brand has just had a place in my heart,” Monáe said, when asked why she said yes to performing. “Cadillac has been a part of my life since I was little. My dad had two sedans and a Fleetwood. I just remember being in the car with him, him picking me up from school in a Cadillac. It’s such an iconic American company that represents innovation, that’s why they’ve been able to have longevity.”
That kind of full-circle moment hits deeper when you realize what this launch really represents. Cadillac is now the only American luxury brand stepping into the exclusive, Euro-dominated world of Formula 1 racing—a space that, historically, hasn’t carved out room for Black presence. Until now.
And then there’s Monáe—genre-defying, futuristic, deeply rooted. The perfect figure to anchor the evening.
There’s a reason Monáe moves so freely across mediums—music, film, literature, fashion—yet always feels like she’s just getting started. She doesn’t see borders. Doesn’t believe in staying in one lane.
“I’m always discovering new things about my art and who I am, allowing myself to redefine how I look at life and music and creativity. I’m constantly world building,” the ‘Electric Lady’ songstress tells ESSENCE. “I’m in the middle of world building now—building more music, more visuals, more community, more big ideas that will hopefully open up a future for more artists to come in and be as innovative as they want to.”
And you can feel that in the way she approaches collaboration. For her, it’s about energy. It’s about resonance. It’s about building something that didn’t exist before.
“I’m very non-binary in the way that I think about where I can go, who I can be, and who I can collaborate with. It’s always sexy to me when I can collaborate with an artist or with a company or with another community that I may not necessarily be in every day, and we create something that’s one-of-one,” she adds.
That spirit was thick in the room. The mix of creatives—musicians, tech entrepreneurs, designers, athletes, and influencers—felt like culture’s connective tissue in real time.
It’s easy to get lost in the gloss of Formula 1 and the sleek silhouettes. But Monáe doesn’t move through the world performing wealth. When the topic of luxury came up, she was measured. Intentional. A little tender, even.
“I grew up with working class parents. My mom was a janitor, my father was a trash man, my grandmother served food for 25 years for the community. I watched them put on their uniforms and live paycheck to paycheck. My daddy bought a used Cadillac at an auction.”
For her, luxury wasn’t about labels—it was about security. It was Sundays in the kitchen. It was a bill not hanging over your head. It was safety, not splurging.
“I try to use all my opportunities to bring my family with me and to allow them to experience what I experience. I hope that one day that we can just erase that division around [the idea that] luxury is only for the upper echelon or people who make over a certain amount of money,” she paused, briefly. “I want people like my parents, who are working for the community, to have more access to the things that the one percent has.”
There’s always something quietly radical about watching a Black woman take up space in high-powered rooms—and do it without compromise. That’s what made Monáe’s presence in Miami feel so significant. She didn’t just show up. She shifted the atmosphere. Her performance was electric.
It was the kind of performance that didn’t just entertain but completely recalibrated the room. This moment, this night—it was about honoring the roots while dreaming forward. It was about occupying spaces that weren’t originally built for us and reshaping them in our image.
That was the real current powering the evening. A reminder that Black creativity, Black excellence, and Black luxury are foundational.
As Cadillac prepares to take its place on the F1 grid, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of voices like Monáe’s. Her presence and vision is rooted in equity, expression, and expansion, and if Cadillac’s future is anything like the world she’s building, then this is a leap forward.