Solange A Seat At The Table
Released: September 30th, 2016
Must Listen: Mad (feat. Lil Wayne)
No one saw this coming, but Solange Knowles not only dropped one of the best projects of the month with A Seat At The Table, but of the year as well. A Seat At The Table is her third full length album, and shows how she’s came into her own not only as a artist, but a woman as well. The album is one that’s bigger than herself because she’s able to create a big moment within music with her subject matter, specifically on being a black woman in America in the year 2016.
She uses the album to speak on the violence brought on black males and females at the hands of the police, the hardships blacks were once put through, and she even dives into her own families history using her mother and father as active interludes throughout the album. She presents all these different topics and narratives with a such an emotional voice that one can only respect the music and what’s being said.
On the production side Solange keeps the sound palette very black, with all it’s structures resonating in the south with all types of funk and live instruments. She stated that she recorded most of A Seat At The Table in Louisiana to stick to her roots, and she succeeded in that aspect easy. Horns, pianos, and of course her voice keep it funky throughout, making each song a must listen for what’s coming next. The features which include Lil Wayne, The Dream, Kelela, Q-Tip and even Sampha all fit perfectly and prove she knows who to work with as well. It’s so many different gems on the album from the features, to the subject matters, to the production this is easily something we’ll be listening to for years to come way past October.