After commiserating about the power of the protests at JFK airport that occurred following Trump’s Muslim ban, and our shared aversion to the cold weather’s effect on our Southern-bred sinuses, we dive into the deeper conversation. Illuminated by the sun streaming in from the patio, Solange sips decaf as if she hadn’t just spent the past 48 hours keynoting at Yale, modeling for BUST, and attending Open Ceremony’s protest-inspired ballet performance and fashion show.Īdmiring her air of tranquility despite her demanding schedule, I note that she truly “woke up like this,” as her older sister Beyoncé-whom she affectionately refers to as “B”-famously sang on her self-titled album. The next day, a few hours before Solange is due to “get back to babies”-she lives in New Orleans with her husband, music video director Alan Ferguson, and her 12-year-old son Julez from a previous marrriage-we meet for breakfast at Hotel Americano in Chelsea’s gallery district. Kenzo jacket Stella McCartney pants LRS boots
She is a beautiful reminder that you cannot put us in a box.” Her words, while directed toward Badu, could easily be used to describe Solange’s own persona-one that centers the beautifully messy complexities of black women’s lives. Of Badu, Solange remarked, “she is mother, she is sister, she is friend, she is auntie, she is chief, she is warrior of many tribes. Solange’s recent tribute to the 20th anniversary of Erykah Badu’s iconic debut album, at Essence Magazine’s Black Women in Music event, is just one example of her reverence for the artistic lineage that inspired her own evolution. As I continue to listen, I recognize how whispers of this eclectic blend of intergenerational influences made it in to her emergent sound. When I notice the music is playing on Tidal-her brother-in-law Jay-Z’s streaming service-Solange’s team confirms that she made the mix. Lithe and graceful, Solange glides around the set with an air of purposeful lightheartedness, despite being tired from recent travel.ĭuring a break, I stroll over to check out the pulsing playlist we’ve been enjoying, featuring Sun Ra, Sade, Outkast, Prince, Cassie, Michael Jackson, Animal Collective, and Marvin Gaye. For the next few hours, Solange dazzles in a number of bold futuristic styles, including stunning designs by Issey Miyake, whom she’s credited on Instagram for inspiring the avant-garde aesthetic she and her mom, Tina Knowles Lawson, developed for A Seat at the Table’s visual elements. Taking shelter from frigid winds, I confirm that I’m in the right place when I notice the shadow of her long silhouette and curly fro swaying on the bright studio wall. I first meet Solange during her BUST cover shoot in Long Island City, Queens. A breathing piece of oral history, the album empowers listeners to share and celebrate their stories of triumph and tribulation, practice self-care, and reach back for ancestral wisdom while marching forward in the face of injustice. Beyond serving as a love letter to blackness past and present, A Seat at the Table is a call to action. “All my niggas let the whole world know,” she declares on her song “F.U.B.U.” “Play this song and sing it on your terms/For us, this shit is for us/Don’t try to come for us.”Ĭlearly, Solange was unambiguous about her goals and intentions while making her third studio album.
In it, Solange takes unapologetic ownership of her cultural pride, voice, and style. At just 30 years old, she already represents a bold new synthesis of R&B, funk, soul, and hip-hop, expertly carrying the mantle of her creative forbearers while imagining whole new artistic worlds into existence.ĭespite pressure to confine herself to fit narrow industry standards for female R&B vocalists, her latest album, A Seat at the Table, is her most overtly political, critically acclaimed, and commercially successful release to date. Solange Piaget Knowles is a time traveler.