In an interview with Billboard, Monáe opens up how about how Miguel and the elusive Prince came to feature on her forthcoming album.

“We are great friends, and he is a mentor to us, to me,” she says of Prince. “It’s a beautiful thing to have a friend — someone who cares about your career, and wants to see you go far and to push boundaries and shake up the world — give whatever they possibly can to the cause.”

“I had a chance to produce an icon,” she says. “It’s not every day that he collaborates. I’m honored and humbled that he trusted me. He is forever my friend, and I am forever indebted. I can’t say too much else about it.”

Kaleidoscope Dream crooner Miguel appears on ‘Primetime’, and the duet interpolates The Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind?’. Of the album, which is due in September, Monáe says she aims to “tell universal stories in unforgettable ways.”

The first single off The Electric Lady, ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’, features neo-soul icon Erykah Badu and was reviewed favorably by the FACT Singles Club.