Forget everything you think know about Solange Knowles. Forget that her DNA is attached to one of the most iconic entertainers to ever bless the music scene. Forget about her heated skirmish with Jay Z on that fateful night in that elevator. Forget about her reputation of a surly “clapback” social media coercer, and try to focus on the superb artistry presented to us through her fourth album, A Seat at the Table.
In an era where African Americans are being viewed as merely target practice for the men in blue, this intrepid soul is standing in the eye of the storm with her muzzle off. On A Seat at the Table, Solange, 30, is courageously hosing down the opposition with her candid words of fury. In a country where violence begets violence, Solange uses the studio as her refuge to craft a project to combat the bigotry and ignorance occurring today in America. Rather than stir a loud and boisterous Lemonade caliber of record like her older sister, she calmly swats away her racist detractors with silky and unruffled vocals.
Her Sampha-assisted track “Don’t Touch My Hair” is a sparkling example of how to tell an oblivious white lady walking down the street, “Hey, you can look, but don’t touch.” “Don’t touch my hair/When it’s the feelings I wear/Don’t touch my soul / When it’s the rhythm I know/Don’t touch my crown/They say the vision I’ve found / Don’t touch what’s there / When it’s the feelings I wear,” she sings on the opening verse. “F.U.B.U.” is probably her most brazen attempt to kick white America away from the proverbial lunch table of brotherhood. “All my niggas got the whole wide world/tell them niggas that it’s our turn / This us, some shit is a must / Some shit is for us.” Solange also injects optimism to her brothers who have been battered by the heavy hands of racism by singing, “When you driving in your tainted car/And you’re criminal, just who you are/But you know you’re gonna make it far.” To make sure her point is crystal clear, she addresses the issue of cultural appropriation by singing, “Get so much from us / Then forget us”, as she continues to sip her tea in utter amusement.
Besides seamlessly illustrating the racial issues plaguing America, what stands out the most is her level of production with its sonically riveting orchestration provided by the likes of Questlove, Raphael Saddiq and Dave Longstreth, among others. For most of the album, Solange is able to effortlessly glide over funky beats including her funk-laden record “Junie.” Even when she aligns herself with marquee artists like Lil Wayne (“Mad”) and Q-Tip (“Borderline”), she isn’t grappling for the spotlight. A level of togetherness and unison is sonically apparent, especially on “Mad.” Instead of portraying his signature whimsical side, Wayne showed up to the party decked out in his best attire, ready to unleash his darkest skeletons. “Are you mad ‘cuz the judge ain’t give me more time?/And when I attempted suicide, I didn’t die/I remember how mad I was on that day. Man, you gotta let it go before it get up in the way,” he raps with a preternatural sense of clarity.
If Chance The Rapper is singlehandedly carrying the torch for Black Boy Joy, it’s only right we place Solange alongside him because she is Black Girl Magic personified, especially through her newest endeavor. The harmonic roadmap of the album could be considered sparse and loose but the message is indubitably inclusive for those who choose to openly adopt the sentiments. Erase the tagline of her simply being ‘Yonce’s sibling, and embrace her for being a formidable artist, because A Seat at the Table is her strongest work to date.
Over privileged black girl that has more in common with those Laguna Beach white girls but pretends to be a poor struggling black person
But if she didn’t say anything she would be a privileged black girl that is out of touch with reality right???? You sound stupid AF
In other words, we’re all supposed to stay in a lane we didn’t choose and be confined to the circumstances we were raised in/under. I’d simply call you a fool but your ignorance exceeds that moniker
its because this is what people lap up these days everyone into irrational and moronic group think. Oh you have facts?!?!?! we dont like to hear facts it gets us angry and gets us down on ourselves lets create our own narrative and not worry about how deep the lies go and lets report this narrative as fact and make it national news. OH did you say the heck with whites?!?! 10/10 the whites who praise this type of stuff are terrible and need to have more self worth. why should you be told by some moron activist who cant hold a job what you are actions define character martin luther king is most likely spinning in his grave at the level of ingnorance and dis respect thats going on in america
To paraphrase Vince Staples, we don’t get to choose what cards we were dealt at birth.
“Ignore everything you know about her, but here’s some politics straight from the minds of HHDX…”
Definitely one of the top R&B albums of the year, you cant really compare her to Beyonce cuz they both make very different music. Cranes in the Sky, Borderline, and Junie on repeat
“Prince inspired Junie”, really?! Do your fuckin` homework please, the song title tells you flat out who inspired the song,,,Junie Morrison (the maker of the song Kanye sampled for “No More Parties In L.A.) of the Ohio Player (Funky Worm) & Parliament/Funkadelic. LOL!
Solange is nothing but a racist who makes terrible music. She is full of hatred and it shows.
Dont you black racists realize how racists you are? Any sane person reading is is like WTF are you talking about? You praise Solange for telling a white women to Fuck Off? The most disturbing part is this “PROBABLY her most brazen attempt to kick white America away from the proverbial lunch table of BROTHERHOOD”…. what does that even mean? White people want to become black people, what? Imagine the roles were turned around and we were talking about a black women and black people here. You racists mfs would have a fit. BTW honey, we live in an era where black people are 15% of the population but commit over 45% of violent crimes. This whole “review” is full of Bullshit and propaganda.
Were we go again with people like you, since you want to talk about “black people are 15% of the population but commit over 45% of violent crimes” ask me this: Out of the 15% of the black population, what is the % of black people who is committing violent crimes? I would like to know your answer because I know it.
Oh you know it? How about a lot? I guarantee you have somebody in your family right now thats a violent criminal offender. Using figures for the 2013 racial mix of the population–62.2 percent white, 17.1 percent Hispanic, 13.2 percent black–we can calculate the average likelihood of a person of each race attacking the other. A black is 27 times more likely to attack a white and 8 times more likely to attack a Hispanic than the other way around. A Hispanic is eight times more likely to attack a white than vice versa.
Delete my comments then you racist bitch.
This is the woman who beat up Jay-Z in an elevator. Probably you heard of him. The so called gangster who sold drugs and bust his guns.
You really are a idiot .Gangster isnt beating up women you pathetic waste of space .lmao
Where did he say beating up women is gangster? Did you even comprehend what he wrote? All you saw was somebody writing about Jay-z and you went 0 to 100 defending him when he didnt even attack him. “LMAO?”
White people hate this album. We Love it!!! Oh and only people with POWER TO OPPRESS. Can be racist you idiots.
And biracial people are very confused about this album. Hate one song then love the next.
You are a fucking idiot to think that the only people who are racist are those with the power to oppress. That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. Anyone with a brain and the ability to rational and reason can be racist.
You bout sharp as a cooked noodle. Good luck stupid.
you are soo stupid whos oppressing you is it the rich white wal mart family no its you oppressing yourself and black culture not progressing past the blame everyone for our transgressions and personal shortcomings you are mentality such a little weak victim thats why you watch the left wing news and think that some shadow white organization is sitting around plotting on putting your insignificant life further in the toilet….no no one cares about you because you never made yourself matter
Solange only dates white men though. What’s up with that?
Now I see why she’s all pale on her album cover
She is married to a black man and has a child with another. Where u getting yo info?
This album was awesome. Times are hard and I know a lot of our people being laid off. I bought the album when it first came out. If anyone wants to have it, is yours to have. For Us By Us
It’s f-d up ya’ll not giving Solange her props for #ASATT, but we get it….we know who owns you.
If you think there is a “table that has a seat” then you have already disservice yourself. Her album might highlight some of america’s problems but saying that black and white people are that much different is ignorant. We look different yes, but that’s only because of genetic variances in order to survive. If we stop finding ways to show how we are different, and try to find more ways we are the same we might be able to find a common ground and find solutions.
5/5…great production, great melodies
what a great album
Better than her sisters album and it seems she did most of her own work unlike her sister, but subtract marks for not being a Hip Hop album