Solange
A seat at the table

THE REVIEW

The third album by Solange Knowles is an extremely important record in her career, which began as a choreographer and child author for her dominant older sister (Beyoncé and her Destiny's Child) and has since evolved with choices in visual, musical, and ethical directions that are always very raw and distant from those of her far more famous relative.

"A seat at the table" flows smoothly along the barricading path of the black lives matter movement, in the collective protest sit-ins that have seen the singer-songwriter make significant statements on black independence and awareness, at times recalling the same political commitment that Nina Simone once embodied.

Nina Simone, in fact, but also the 2.0 evolution of an Erika Badu, who has been somewhat sidelined lately, with the reminiscences of the more understated yet impactful soul ladies of the '70s (Minnie Riperton and Syreeta foremost).

A seat at the table is a complex concept that offers little space for easy melody. It slowly insinuates and penetrates, conquering its space through carefully studied musical and textual geometries (the piano touches of "Weary", the synthetic cascades of "don't you wait", the powerful bass of "Don't touch my hair").

Between songs, parental interludes fit well: the KKK, reverse racism, rehearsals, and improvised choirs. Everything has a meaning: political, feminine, assertive.

Solange wrote everything herself but was guided at the soundboard by the musical genius of Raphael Sadiq. Excellent guests (Kelela, Sampha), and happy returns (The genius of Blood Orange, who produced the excellent EP “true” for her a few years ago).

An album that cannot be explained "in parts". The singles, which under these premises cannot exist, stand out when supported by surprising storylines and also studied with great rigor.

It is, however, a rigor that does not freeze. There is a lot, a lot of anger in this thirty-something. Yet it seems like honey.

To me, it's the album of the year.