MUSIC

Solange’s stunning confessional new studio album provides an earnest glimpse into her life as a black woman in America

Beyonce’s sister demands a seat at the table with her third album, plus the latest from Lady Gaga and the Rolling Stones.

‘Fall in your ways, so you can crumble/Fall in your ways, so you can sleep at night/ Fall in your ways, so you can wake up and rise,” 30-year-old singer-songwriter Solange begins on Rise, a contemplative, piano-driven opener of her third fulllength album, A Seat at the Table. Clocking in at less than two minutes, the song succinctly sums up the spirit of the Raphael Saadiq-coproduced album, which deals exclusively with not only the trials and tribulations of black womanhood but also its moments of dignity and triumph. Like one unified narrative, Rise slips into Weary, a quiet musing on the search for her place in the world. “I’m weary of the ways of the world/Be weary of the ways of the world,” she confesses in the opening verse, her voice quivering just so. “I’m gonna look for my glory, yeah/I’ll be back like real soon.”

Prefaced by Interlude: The Glory Is in You, outstanding track Cranes in the Sky swells with mid-tempo drum grooves and airy strings. “I tried to drink it away/I tried to put one in the air/I tried to dance it away/I tried to change it with my hair,” she lays bare a litany of activities carried out in a bid to cope with all of her pains before confessing in a soaring coo, “Well it’s like cranes in the sky/Sometimes I don’t wanna feel those metal clouds.”

This is followed by Dad Was Mad and Mad, another interlude-seguing-into-song configuration, which addresses racism experienced by her father Matthew Knowles and black rage.

On Interlude: Tina Taught Me, Solange’s mother breaks it down for those who think taking pride in being black automatically equals anti-white: “Because you celebrate black culture does not mean that you don’t like white culture or that you putting it down … Well, all we’ve ever been taught is white history. So, why are you mad at that? Why does that make you angry? That is to suppress me and to make me not be proud.”

Elsewhere, the singer-songwriter demands respect ( Don’t Touch My Hair) and touches on issues like gentrification ( Where Do We Go) and black empowerment ( F.U.B.U.).

Referred to by Solange herself as a “project on identity, empowerment, independence, grief and healing”, A Seat At The Table has succeeded in delivering a calm and cohesive narrative on what it means to be black, and by extension a black woman in America today.

Much like Blood Orange’s latest release Freetown Sound, every interlude between tracks helps weave black life experiences into a bold and honest body of work. This is easily one of this year’s most captivating albums. One that cherishes and celebrates blackness in all its failings and glory — one that can and should be appreciated by all.