Solange Knowles really came into her own in a big way this year through A Seat at the Table, a masterful, beautiful, soulful album that brought into full bloom all of her artful potential. Her big sister, Beyoncé, also had an amazing year with the ultra personal, visual Lemonade album, supported with a widely praise world tour. To cap it all off, both are nominees for the Grammy 2017 awards.
Given the level of their achievements, it’s fitting that Solange would land on the cover of Interview magazine and her older sister would interview her. What’s very sweet about the exchange is how clearly Beyoncé appreciates and supports her sister.
The other big theme is how much Solange advocates for not just believing in one’s instincts, but also maintaining control over projects when realizing one’s creative visions (which all creatives reading this should make note of because it’s true!).
Check out some of our favorite quotes below:
“Another part is that I remember being really young and having this voice inside that told me to trust my gut. And my gut has been really, really strong in my life. It’s pretty vocal and it leads me. Sometimes I haven’t listened, and those times didn’t end up very well for me. I think all of our family—you and mom—we’re all very intuitive people.” Solange
“As far back as I can remember, our mother always taught us to be in control of our voice and our bodies and our work, and she showed us that through her example. If she conjured up an idea, there was not one element of that idea that she was not going to have her hand in. She was not going to hand that over to someone.”
“There’s no way to succeed without having a team and all of the moving parts that help bring it into life. But I do have, and I’m unafraid to say it, a very distinctive, clear vision of how I want to present myself and my body and my voice and my perspective. And who better to really tell that story than yourself?”
“I remember reading or hearing things about Master P that reminded me so much of Dad growing up. And they also have an incredible amount of love and respect for one another. And I wanted a voice throughout the record that represented empowerment and independence, the voice of someone who never gave in.”
“I think we experienced Miami as a place of refuge and peace. We weren’t out there wilin’ out and partying. I remember looking up and seeing all of these cranes in the sky. They were so heavy and such an eyesore, and not what I identified with peace and refuge. I remember thinking of it as an analogy for my transition—this idea of building up, up, up that was going on in our country at the time, all of this excessive building, and not really dealing with what was in front of us.”
“It was very intentional that I sang as a woman who was very in control, a woman who could have this conversation without yelling and screaming, because I still often feel that when black women try to have these conversations, we are not portrayed as in control, emotionally intact women, capable of having the hard conversations without losing that control.”
“One thing that I constantly have to fight against is not feeling arrogant when I say I wrote every lyric on this album. I still have not been able to say that. That’s the first time I’ve actually ever said it, because of the challenges that we go through when we celebrate our work and our achievements.”
Check out more at interview.com.
