Album Review: Solange Knowles’ “A Seat at the Table”

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Story by Maria Rodriguez, Staff Writer

It looks like it runs in the family. Solange Knowles, known to many as “Beyoncé’s little sister” has scored her first No.1 Billboard ranking with her latest album “A Seat at the Table.” With her third studio album she gears away from her previous heavy alternative influence and enters the R&B/Soul genre with a heavy emphasis on dusty soul bases to complement her soft falsetto.

Knowles has remained a faint presence in the music industry with sporadic releases since her 2003 debut “Solo Star.”  Since then she’s simply remained Beyoncé’s less famous little sister. Unfortunately, her previous career peak was due to her throwing hands on Jay-Z in an elevator.

Now, she has claimed her place in the music industry with her reinvented sound. Soul greats such as Questlove and Raphael Saadiq are vividly identified as influences through the introduction of nimble percussion lines  with rich piano and string choruses.

Knowles’s album has received vivid attention for it’s political dismantling. The elegance of her voice distracts nobody from the heavy underlying angst within the album as she focuses on the prominent social injustices that continue exist today.

With features from Lil Wayne in “Mad” to BJ the Chicago Kid and Kelly Rowland, Knowles manages to seamlessly create diversity among twenty one tracks. Some of which are interludes and interviews of Knowles’s family and friends deconstructing the social construct of race.

Final rating: a solid 8/10

This is definitely an album that one has to sit down and listen to. It’s definitely not one to “hype up” to. As cliche as it is, it’s more of an experience. Play it in the car on one of those pensive drives down A1A, or as background music whilst working on the government homework that was due yesterday; it’s worth a close listen.

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