Solange - A Seat at the Table Review

***** I’ve been listening to this album pretty consistently since it was released, and I’ve gone back and forth with the idea of writing a review for it. Not because I’m unsure of how to feel about the album, because I absolutely love it, but because it has been a few weeks, and there’s already plenty of reviews out there for it. However, I’ve finally decided that I’m going to write this, specifically to share what this album means for me.

Quick backstory before I get into the album. I honestly had no idea that this album was coming out, not going to lie to you all about that. I was searching Google Play Music for new releases as I do every Friday, and stumbled across it. Solange and I are roughly the same age, and back in the day, I had a little thing for her specifically for that reason (Like, hey, we’re the same age, maybe I have a chance with her!). Don’t judge me, I was a silly teenager. Anyway, I didn’t pay much attention to the album until I went to Twitter later that day and noticed a bunch of people raving over it. So after reading the praises from Rapsody and Joe Budden and others, I decided to give it a shot. Thank goodness I did, because the album is absolutely amazing, and may in fact be the best R&B album I’ve heard in 2016, excluding nobody, not even Solange’s big sister, Beyonce.

I could go song by song and break down why everything on this album just feels good to me, but i won’t do that. I want to talk about the impact this album has had on me, and for black culture. This album speaks to a lot of women I know directly, which is why I haven’t seen anyone speak negatively about it. It represents what a lot of these beautiful black women feel, think, or go through on a regular basis. It’s like, a soundtrack to their lives. My favorite song on the album is, “Don’t Touch My Hair,” and I’ve witnessed first hand how many black women can relate to this song, especially those who are natural and wear their hair in afros, dreads, or even braids. Hell, back in the early 2000’s when I had a big afro as well, I would feel the same way. Stop touching my damn hair!

And that is the start of where my fascination with the album begins. While it is an album made by a woman, and typically R&B albums made by women are targeted towards women and how they feel about the men in their lives (see Lemonade, by Beyonce for example), I feel like A Seat At the Table is also for men to relate to as well. It’s for the upliftment of everyone, specifically women AND men of color. This is For Us, By Us, like track 13 on the album. I know men who like me, have kept this album on repeat since its release, and absolutely can’t get enough of it. I listened to the Joe Budden Podcast where Joe and other men were discussing how great this album is, and where it ranks among other albums released this year, even going as far as saying it should be considered among the contenders for album of the year. That in itself should show the greatness of this project. Men, are going crazy about this album because of how great it is, how great the content is. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had discussions with men about a woman’s  R&B album that wasn’t Rihanna or Beyonce, or maybe Nikki Minaj in extreme cases. But not just talking about it, but discussing it passionately, and enjoying it. It’s amazing. This album was made with passion and is enjoyable by any and everyone who listens to it.

The next and most important way this album impacts me, is as a father of three biracial daughters. A lot of the time, I struggle to find something to play in the car with my daughters and usually just play some form of hip hop. When they’re in the car with their mother, she usually plays a lot of Adele and Beyonce for them so I try to switch it up. This album’s messages are things that I’ve been trying to preach to them their entire short lives. Though they are mixed with black and white, I try to preach to them to love and be proud of their blackness. Be proud of your thicker hair, be proud of your skin color, be proud of your black life. Solange has created the album that is saying pretty much everything that I’ve been trying to teach them. And you know the best part about it? When I play it in the car now, the girls sing along with her. I’ve caught them singing along to Where Do We Go, Cranes in the Sky, Weary, and others while we’re cruising down the road. It’s a great feeling to hear them enjoying that music. Some stuff I play in the car, I don’t want them to repeat, specifically a lot of the hardcore hip hop. I don’t censor music around my kids, it’s art and my parents never censored my ears either. But they know not to repeat those bad words. But this album, I like to hear them singing along with it, and I hope that they understand the messages being spoken by Solange.

A Seat at the Table, in my opinion, absolutely should be considered at the end of the year by the Grammy committee for album of the year. Before this album was released, I thought the album of the year award was a guaranteed win for Beyonce with her Lemonade album. That album is amazing in itself, but I just think it’s awesome that her biggest competition, again in my opinion, comes from her baby sister. And maybe, as a younger sibling myself, and showing slight bias in that regard, I hope if it comes down to those two, Solange takes home the top prize. I give this album five stars, and I highly recommend you all to go and check it out.