Solange Steels Music's Broken Wings

The opening to Solange Knowles “Cranes in The Sky” beckons with an addictive head-nodding beat that subdues all your attention. See, I can blame the beautifully arranged music on the track for making me conjure dark, euphoric moments all the while listening to the drums, strings and bass. But the magical soundwaves sprinkling hip hop and false fairytales simply act as a red carpet for Solange’s vocals.

In a sweet falsetto reminiscent to the late soul megastar Minnie Riperton, Knowles fiercely harmonizes all the uninhibited ways she fails to escape pain gnawing from within—to which we all can relate. And the stark, poetically nostalgic lyrics presented tells the tale of one reaching a bright epiphany.

From her newly released fourth album, A Seat at the Table, I feel a certain privilege to be invited into the intimate setting Knowles created. A Houston, Texas native, she shares values learned from home, expresses universal vulnerabilities, and bravely tackles the social injustices the black community faces today. In a recent publication by Saint Heron, Knowles reveals that over the years she struggled with inequalities in her private and public life, and the current state of America solidified her ambition to write.