Solange is from the recommended list, but I can't
give credit to one person for that. So many people have praised her and
exclaimed over her - especially since the release of A Seat at the Table
- that I had to listen more.
And I am more out of my depth than usual, so I may
ramble. I care about getting it right, and am more concerned about my ability
to do so. I did do more research.
One thing that I believe helped was reading a little
bit about Arthur Jafa's contribution as the director of photography on the
videos. As I watched them I paid more attention to the color schemes and the
structures and movements, and the pink foam coat in "Cranes in the
Sky". The tableux are helped by the striking settings. Together they call
to mind sculptures and carvings and bas relief - there is such a sense of the
space and how the figures occupy it. That visual awareness has also been an
element of Solange's choreography even in earlier albums.
That conscious emphasis on structure is also present
on the album. There are so many interludes, and I think of that as more of a
hip hop thing, but it works here.
It initially surprised me to hear so many male
voices, coupled with the mildness in tone of so many of the songs. Even when
the tracks are not specifically about anger, they are about things where anger
is reasonable. And even though one of the tracks is literally called
"Mad", the strongest impressions are gentleness and love. There is
sorrow and endurance and deep strength.
In that way I feel the album takes the anger and
transcends it by giving all of those voices their chance to express and
testify. It becomes beautiful - not the racists throwing things at children or people
touching your hair; that remains ugly. The beauty is the embrace that results
as Solange reaches out and enfolds their experiences and elevates them. That is
beautiful.
Musically I respond more to the True EP, and
there's nothing wrong with that. While it is not as ambitious as A Seat at
the Table, there are some lovely complexities in the music, and the same
deliberate consideration of all sounds and images in the videos. That is a
constant of Knowles from everything I have seen and heard. Still, A Seat at
the Table is something more.
I know I am missing layers. I can envision a college
course structured after the album, using different tracks as launching points
for exploring the Black experience. There is substance here, and who wouldn't
like taking a class from Professor Knowles?
It is completely reasonable that the genesis for
this particular project comes from white music critics getting offended at
something Solange said and trying to put her back in her place.
I need to respond to that. There is a lot of weighted
history there with advising Black women to be grateful and silent and assuming
they are missing information (like who their listeners are); I hope that is
recognized for what it is. I have feelings about music writing, though, and
that's what I need to address.
Advising that critics who write about R&B should
know about Brandi has nothing to do with the racial makeup of an audience. Fans
can enjoy music instinctively or blindly or with a deep appreciation, and
everywhere in between. Some artists try hard to please a larger demographic,
some stick to a unique vision and will question popularity as a sign that
something went wrong, and again, everything in between. That's a completely
separate issue from what critics should know.
Saying that a good understanding of R&B should
require familiarity with Brandi is a helpful hint. It's a reasonable thing; you
are paid for your writing on music, so it is reasonable to expect you to know
something. That should help you write more informed pieces. Listening to some
artists helps you understand some things better. Maybe they were crucial to the
evolution, or they interpret it in a unique way, but you get insight and that
can infuse your articles.
Getting offended by that is a petty and ridiculous
thing. That it happened to someone who clearly thinks so deeply over everything...
I guess that makes sense in an unfortunate way.
The logical and satisfying result of that is that
she turned it into inspiration, raised up voices who were saying something
worth listening to, and then sells some records and gets a Grammy nomination.
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