MUSIC WOMEN
Solange, A Seat at the Table (Saint/Columbia, 2016)
Solange Knowles released A Seat at the Table in 2016, during a time of national unrest and mourning. The album combined masterpiece music with a call to action. She melded delicate lyrics with jazz, funk, soul, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop music. The collaborators were a who’s who, too: Questlove, Raphael Saadiq, Dev Hynes, and Dave Longstreth on the production side; Tweet, Kelela, Saba, Moses Sumney, Sampha, Lil Wayne, Q-Tip, The-Dream, Kelly Rowland, and BJ the Chicago Kid in the tracks. Solange also included contributions from her parents, Tina Knowles and Mathew Knowles, and from Percy Robert Miller / Master P. There is comfort in the music; there is hope.
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The album has been embraced by fans and by critics. It charted Number #1 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, “Cranes in the Sky” won the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance. In 2017, Solange Knowles was honored with the “Impact Award” at the Billboard Women in Music presentations.
National Public Radio and the Lincoln Center have included A Seat at the Table in the series, Turning the Tables, which honors top albums by women artists. Details for the award publication were provided by Stasia Irons, from KEXP-FM, Seattle.
