Finally, an album we, as a people, can vibe to.
Earlier this year the world was shaken up with the release of Beyonce’s Lemonade, now the younger Knowles sister has shaken up the music world again. Solange Knowles’ release of A Seat at the Table, her fourth studio album, has shown that talent truly runs in the family. With super soulful beats and some of the best lyrics pertaining to being black, this album gives an extremely soothing vibe. She utilizes interludes with powerful messages to create a mood for the next song and bringing light to things like hate within the black community.
F.U.B.U. is the ultimate 2016 black anthem, where Solange perfectly executes a song made specifically for the black community, and is not afraid to say it.
Solange has used her platform as an artist to influence young girls to love themselves just the way they are. Her single, Don’t Touch My Hair, has become a sort of anthem for just black girls, where she says “Don’t touch my hair . . . don’t touch my soul . . . don’t touch my crown . . . don’t touch what’s there,” telling whoever “they” are that our hair is so much more than an exhibit, and that it should be cherished.
Solange’s most popular hit on the album Cranes in the Sky describes her attempts avoiding painful feelings and mental issues which can relate to the oppression of black women in this country. Her lyrics, “I tried to drink it away, I tried to put one in the air, I tried to dance it away, I tried to change it with my hair,” describe her running away from her problems and not facing them head on. This song is a reminder that even celebrities go through tough times and how so many people can relate.
Where Do We Go is a soulful song filled with feelings of being lost as a black people and not feeling safe in a place we’re supposed to call home. The lyrics, “Speakers off tonight, Turn off your headlights tonight, Don’t drive the road too slow, Don’t look too close tonight, This used to be ours, This used to be you and I’s, What used to be mine, Say your goodbyes,” describes feelings of a black person and the anxiety they have while driving in fear of being pulled over by the police.