“Fall in your ways, so you can crumble / Fall in your ways, so you can sleep at night,” sings Solange Knowles on the first track of her newest album, “A Seat at the Table,” introducing herself with a piece of lyrical advice. Her advice isn’t for everyone, though. One look at the track list, and it’s clear Knowles’ long-playing record is an unapologetic nod to African American solidarity.
Track titles like “Don’t Touch My Hair” and “Interlude: For Us By Us” make this obvious. Powerful, politically driven speeches given by her family members and musician-peers alike serve as interludes for her collection of melodic poetry sung sweetly over jazzy rhythm and blues instrumentals. The interlude commentary is clearly important to Knowles, yet her focus on a neo-soul and jazz sound sticks out above all else.
“A Seat at the Table” is exactly what the title suggests. Knowles, ready to discuss her personal experience as a black woman in the United States, does so unashamed, and with maturity and prudence.
Of the 21 tracks, only 12 are actually songs, while the rest are instrumental-blending interludes. Each track begins with the sound of the one that precedes it, eventually building up a beat of its own. This creates a continuity similar to a small live performance — personal yet energetic.
The strong tones of solidarity are further demonstrated through Knowles’ decision to only feature black artists on this LP. This theme is evident within the track “Interlude: For Us By Us,” in which rapper Master P speaks about the success of his black-owned record label and creating autonomy despite the industry trying to devalue his worth.
On “Mad,” Knowles deconstructs stereotypes about black women over a psychedelic piano sound. Lil Wayne offers his own verse, “I used to rock hand-me-downs / And now I rock standing crowds / But it’s hard when you only/ Got fans around and no fam around.”
“Don’t Touch My Hair” offers confident, and more explanatory lyrics to her listeners. Through the opening lines “Don’t touch my hair / When it’s the feelings I wear / Don’t touch my soul / When it’s the rhythm I know,” she invites listeners to learn that she views her hair, just like her soul, as a meaningful part of her identity.
Knowles revealed via Instagram that her song “Cranes In The Sky” was written eight years ago. The statement she makes on black solidarity is politically relevant now more than ever, but doesn’t seem to be a reflection of the media’s interpretation of the movement.
Instead, Knowles perpetuates an idea of self-acceptance, which was promoted even before movements like “Black Lives Matter” were created. In “Interlude: Tina Taught Me” she amplifies her mother Tina Lawson’s voice, who says, “It’s such beauty in black people, and it really saddens me when we’re not allowed to express that pride in being black, and that if you do, then it’s considered anti-white. No! You just pro-black.” Emotionally charged statements like these are the backbone to “A Seat at the Table.”
While Knowles excels at social commentary, the delivery of her words seem blended in the instrumental and used as melodies rather than to emphasize the meaning. Her voice is sweet and airy, yet the powerhouse vocals that her sister Beyoncé flaunts on her tracks seem purposely hidden on Solange’s.
Upon finishing “A Seat at the Table,” though, listeners are left with a newfound sense of leadership in Knowles. Her rhetoric is clever, her delivery is unique and the complexities of living in the intersectional reality of black womanhood in the United States are clear.