Why everyone is going crazy for Beyonce’s little sister
Critics have been full of praise for Solange's new album. Photo: YouTube
Feel for Solange Knowles – the singer who grew up in the shadows of one of history’s most successful performers, Beyoncé.
But the younger Knowles has come out of her sister’s shadow and is dominating headlines this week, with her new album, A Seat at the Table, dubbed “a sonnet for the soul”, and her film clip for Cranes in the Sky hailed as a work of art.
The video features the 30-year-old singer and songwriter in variously breathtaking outfits on a series of beautiful landscapes, and has already received rave reviews from the likes of Calvin Harris, Missy Elliott and, happily, a certain older sister.
Solange co-directed the video with Alan Ferguson. Photo: YouTube
Yet it would be unfair to say Solange has been relegated to the background until now.
An accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right, Solange has written music for her sister and topped the mainstream charts with the minimal, heart-wrenching ballad Losing You in 2012.
She also made headlines in 2014 when entertainment website TMZ released footage of a furious Solange physically attacking Beyoncé’s husband, rapper Jay Z, in an elevator.
Watch the video for Cranes in the Sky below:
Growing up Knowles
A songwriter from the age of nine, music was not an afterthought for Solange Knowles, who even made brief appearances with Destiny’s Child – the hugely successful band fronted by Beyoncé from 1990 to 2006.
At the age of 16, Solange released her first solo album, Solo Star, but failed to make a proper dent in the music industry until Losing You became the break-up song of 2012.
In an interview with The Fader, Solange recounted flying a huge group of friends to Cape Town, South Africa, to film the video – and having to use her mum’s credit card to pull it all off.
“I literally asked everybody and their auntie for [frequent flyer] miles,” she said.
Another beautiful still image from Cranes in the Sky. Photo: YouTube
“It was my mom’s birthday gift to me.”
After marrying her childhood sweetheart and father of her child at the age of 17, Solange was divorced three years later in 2007.
She married music video director Alan Ferguson – who co-directed the video for Cranes in the Sky – in 2014.
Solange and Ferguson on their wedding day in 2014, with Beyonce and Jay Z. Photo: Getty
‘There’s no rivalry’
In the face of inevitable comparisons, Solange has been steadfast in arguing that she and Beyoncé are different artists with separate objectives.
In a 2008 interview with The Daily Mail, Solange argued that any perceptions of competition should be dispelled by the sisters’ different career paths.
“People think there should be this great rivalry between us, but there’s never been any competition,” she said.
Solange has said comparisons between the pair are unfair. Photo: Getty
“There’s a big age gap and we are two very different characters.”
Solange’s 2008 song God Given Name, the opening track to her album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, expressed that sentiment outright, with the lyrics: “I’m not her and never will be”.
But the sisters’ relationship was plunged into the public eye after dramatic footage of Solange attacking Beyoncé’s husband Jay Z emerged in 2014.
The incident, which occurred as Solange, Beyoncé and the rapper left the Metropolitan Museum’s annual fashion gala, made international headlines and sparked countless theories regarding the source of the beef.
It has since been suggested that Solange may have been reacting to Jay Z’s alleged affair, reportedly the inspiration for Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed album, Lemonade.
Beyoncé spruiks Solange’s new album on Instagram:
‘A seat at the table’
While she may emphasise their creative differences, Solange and Beyoncé share a joint focus on the plight of black people – and especially black women – in their respective music catalogues.
The title of Solange’s new album, A Seat at the Table, is said to refer to the underrepresentation of African-Americans in decision-making roles in America.
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