'A Seat at the Table' - Celebrating Black Identity

Solange Knowles' album 'A Seat at the Table', released 30th September 2016, has become a chart success as well as a momentous piece of art.

The "Cranes in the Sky" singer has now scored her first number one album on the Billboard 200 chart.

Solange Knowles is an artist who produces music that can only be defined as peripheral. Although generically defined as R&B/Pop, the celebration of black identity and the soul poured into 'A Seat at the Table' truly makes this album legendary.

What made this even more impressive is that she has been so successful with an album that celebrates black identity.

In my opinion, Western culture often enjoys black culture when it is used as a means of popularity.  There are extensive examples of elements of black culture being used to further celebrity image; take Amandla Stenberg versus Kylie Jenner for example, when Amandla called out Kylie for "black appropriation".  Amandla critiqued Kylie for embracing a part of black culture - by furthering her "image" using cornrows, which is often associated with the black community world-wide - but, in Amandla's opinion, failing to speak up for issues that were affecting black people. 

The album cover/image accreditation: https://www.flickr.com/photos/144431412@N04/30252686030

 Through her music, Solange captures the opinion that black people being proud of their identity publicly is generally seen as unacceptable.

Track number 8 which is an interlude: "Tina Taught me" targets the issue of the rejection of black pride, featuring a short speech by her mother Tina Lawson, formally known as Tina Knowles.

She said: "There is so much beauty in being black. I've always been proud to be black. 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. Just because you celebrate black culture does not mean that you don't like white culture or that you're putting it down."

This is an example of why Solange's 'A Seat at the Table" is so significant to both the black community and the music world.

The order of the tracks portray the message that Solange so convincingly puts across - a story of being weary of how black people are viewed and treated, which are beautifully crafted in the form of songs such as "Weary" and "Mad". The story then progresses to a theme of self-empowerment, and a brilliant example of this is "F.U.B.U" (For us by us), featuring artists The Chicago Kid and The Dream.

Some of the lyrics are shown below:

(chorus one)
All my n****s in the whole wide world,
All my n****s in the whole wide world,
Made this song to make it all y'all's turn,
For us, this sh*t is for us

(part of verse two)
When you feeling all alone
and you can't even be you up in your home...
when a n***a tryna board a plane
And they ask you, "What's your name again?"
Cause they thinking, "Yeah, you're all the same."
Oh, it's for us

(part of verse four)
Don't clip my wings before I learn to fly,
I didn't come back down to Earth to die.

(part of verse six)
Get so much from us
Then forget us

In one masterpiece Solange describes the hidden forms of racism  and discrimination that the black community still experience. For instance the lyric 'don't clip my wings before I've learnt to fly' can be interpreted as illustrating how the odds are sometimes stacked against the black community, as a result of how black people are sometimes perceived.

Other iconic tracks include: "Weary", "Mad" featuring Lil Wayne which seemingly reveals his personal experience of trying to commit suicide, "Don't touch my hair" which is significant because Solange often wears her natural hair in an Afro, and "Cranes in the Sky", amongst the others.

However, celebrating black identity doesn't mean exclusion for every other race. I believe that this album is a form of enjoyment for all. The album is simply a piece of art, not only because of its powerful story, but because of the variation of tones in Solange's voice, the different instruments used and the skillful transitions from track to track.

"A Seat at the Table" is an awe-inspiring experience.

* 3 tracks from "A Seat at the Table" contain explicit language.


- By Courtney Carr