Solange Knowles is Beyoncé’s younger sister. She is the same woman featured along with Jay Z in the now infamous elevator video from 2014.

But “A Seat at the Table,” her third studio album, shows she’s much more than just Beyoncé’s sister or  the woman that attacked Jay Z in an elevator.

The sound “A Seat at the Table” provides is a flashback to an older, but just as aware, time in R&B music. It’s also an album that celebrates being black and raises awareness to cultural appropriation.

Several tracks and interludes from the album have a central theme of searching for black culture; they give a glimpse into what it’s like to be black in America.

Most notably is the song “Don’t Touch My Hair,” which highlights the struggle many women of color must face as it pertains to their hair. In the song, Solange compares her hair to her pride which is violated every time someone asks to touch it.

There’s also “Interlude: Tina Taught Me,” which features a spoken word message from Solange’s mother Tina. The message from her mother is, “…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.”

Not only does the message from her mother bring forth the notion of searching for an identity, but so does the song “Where Do We Go” which is about her mother’s family leaving New Orleans when she was a child due to racial tensions.

The music on this album is more than just easy listening R&B and features artist ranging from Master P to Kelly Rowland. Many of the songs create a deeper emotional pool for the listener to plunge into.

For example, the sense of wanting to avoid pain which is pertinent to many people no matter the color of their skin can be seen in the form of “Cranes in the Sky.”

The album builds from the beginning with “Rise” all the way until the end with “Closing: The Chosen Ones” making this a complete album, but one that isn’t for everyone. This isn’t music that’s going to be played in a club on a Saturday night. Knowles has done well to distance herself from her sister’s sound by creating one that feels older and more sophisticated.

(5 / 5)