Solange

Solange first appeared on the scene in the opening years of the 2000s through contemporary R&B that carried strong pop inflections, later developing into a notably daring creator who routinely upends expectations. Emerging gradually from her supporting role within Destiny's Child—the act led by her sister Beyoncé—this singer, songwriter, and producer attained both commercial and critical recognition on her own terms via the bright retro-soul textures of Sol-Angel & the Hadley St. Dreams (2008). In the years that followed she delivered A Seat at the Table (2016) and When I Get Home (2019), works that combine force with tenderness as they examine the consequences of systemic racism, the reassurance of romantic fulfillment, and further themes. The first of those albums proved especially prominent, ascending to the top of the Billboard 200 while earning a Grammy award for Best R&B Performance for “Cranes in the Sky.” Along with echoing Minnie Riperton and Janet Jackson through her fluid vocals, Solange has welcomed partnerships with markedly different voices such as Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane, while she and her collaborators have drawn upon an array of approaches that encompass classic soul, ambient electronica, new wave, and chopped-and-screwed hip-hop.

A native of Houston, Solange Knowles trained in dance and theater during childhood. She gave her first vocal performance at age five inside an amusement park and soon afterward began composing material. With her father overseeing her sister Beyoncé’s rising Destiny’s Child, she stepped in at the last moment to replace a background dancer for the R&B group and remained with them in that capacity for the following two years. Toward the close of 2002 she also took her initial strides as a recording artist. Among those early efforts are the theme for the animated series The Proud Family and a contribution to the soundtrack of The Master of Disguise. She appeared as a featured vocalist on her sister’s “Hey Goldmember,” included on the Austin Powers in Goldmember soundtrack, and on Kelly Rowland’s “Simply Deep,” a track she co-wrote. Signed to her father’s Music World imprint, distributed through Columbia, Solange issued her debut solo single “Feelin’ You,” which registered on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart and came close to leading the club chart.

Her first album, the pop-R&B collection Solo Star, surfaced in January 2003 and entered the Billboard 200 inside the Top 50. Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and Pharrell Williams figured among the high-profile contributors, joined by Beyoncé, who co-produced several selections. Over the ensuing years Solange accepted acting parts in films including Johnson Family Vacation and Bring It On: All or Nothing, while also writing and producing songs for Destiny’s Child and assorted solo endeavors by its members. Chief among those credits are her co-writing contributions to her sister’s “Get Me Bodied” (number 46 pop, number 10 R&B/hip-hop) and “Upgrade U” (number 59 pop, number 11 R&B/hip-hop).

A marked artistic advance arrived with Solange’s second album, Sol-Angel & the Hadley St. Dreams, which surfaced in August 2008—more than five years after Solo Star. At once more distinctive and more commercially viable than its predecessor, Sol-Angel drew from mid- to late-’60s soul yet applied an individual inflection, reaching the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. Five of its singles landed inside the Top Ten of Billboard’s club chart, two of them—“Sandcastle Disco” and “T.O.N.Y.”—claiming the number-one spot. Even though sales doubled those of the debut, Solange then moved to independent status, a step foreshadowed by the album’s inclusion of the track “Fuck the Industry.” After aligning with Terrible Records, co-founded by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, she put out the funk-oriented yet new-wave-tinged single “Losing You” and its accompanying EP True in the final months of 2012. Crafted with Dev Hynes, those recordings distanced her further from prevailing commercial R&B conventions.

The next year Solange launched the Saint label with Saint Heron, a compilation featuring emerging artists such as Kelela, Sampha, and Starchild alongside more established names including Cassie and Jhené Aiko. Many of those same figures later contributed to her own projects. The set also introduced a new Solange recording, yet she proceeded deliberately toward completing her third full-length. A Seat at the Table appeared through Columbia in September 2016. Raphael Saadiq, Dave Longstreth, and Adam Bainbridge joined the songwriting and production team, while Lil Wayne and Kelela supplied notable guest vocals. Serene yet cathartic and sharply removed from mainstream R&B, the forward-looking project advanced healing and empowerment amid racial oppression. It opened at number one on the Billboard 200. The standout single “Cranes in the Sky” (number 74 pop, number 28 R&B/hip-hop) captured that year’s Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Work with a broad roster that included Pharrell Williams, the-Dream, John Key, and Gucci Mane produced the comparatively breezy and unhurried When I Get Home. Issued in March 2019, Solange’s fourth studio album reached number seven.