Known to most as Beyonce’s underrated little sister, but regarded by me as a powerhouse mother figure deserving of all of my respect and time; Solange Knowles has released her third album and my goodness she did that.

This 21-track album is a perfect sonic story, comparable to a page out of Solange’s personal diary. It’s a sprinkling of the black female experience, peppered with anecdotes courtesy of her loved ones. It’s vulnerable; it’s honest and has put me in my immediate feelings. A one-way ticket to subtweets, leaving my read receipts on and contemplating reaching out to fellow females who’ve also experienced the beauty that is A Seat At The Table. I feel renewed!

Following her negative experience at a Kraftwerk concert where Solange mentioned she felt uncomfortable in predominately white spaces, and the immediate backlash that followed, this album could not have been timelier. When even an eloquent, well-written essay can’t convey you’re experiences in a way that’s palatable, she sings and those who’ve wronged her feel that rhythmic bump as they sway and digest her truth.

She’s relayed her experiences, displayed them on a platter, invited both those her believe and disagree to dine with her and weigh in on her indisputable perception of her life. Through this album, Solange and friends challenge the ‘White Lives Matter’ rhetoric, your quota for real talk and the resiliency of your tear ducts. Sit back, gather your reading materials, open your heart, still your mind and ready yourself for some knowledge.

Lesson 1: Don’t touch my hair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU

Not mine, not hers, not his, not theirs. One man’s compliment is another man’s micro aggression. Let’s not make this sombre, harsh and malevolent, just do your peers a solid and don’t deny them their right to personal space, because you’d like to sate your fleeting urges.

Lesson 2: Fine dining is the hype side of bougie

When’s the last time you shared a meal among friends, on a table in your home with chairs, cutlery and preservative-free meal options. If you can’t remember, something tells me your due for a lifestyle re-up and a reawakening. If my (the internet’s) reaction to this album is symbolic for the actual feelings of the aforementioned dinner among friends, then maybe that’s all we’ve been missing. I’ll have a bowl of understanding. A la carte, please. Give me spiritual learnings on tap, no ice – it’s all the fuel I need for today.

Lesson 3: The ‘content creating’ bar has risen tenfold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qrinhNnOM

Did you know that in the process of creating A Seat At This Table, Miss Solange travelled 70 states purely to clear her palate and get her mind right? She then proceeds to employ her videographer and husband Alan Ferguson to document this process. Fast-forward, months, years, enlightenment and a premium video editing tool later and voila: we have ‘Cranes In The Sky’.

Somehow scouring your Instagram geotags for the prettiest Acai bowl in the closest proximity to your house doesn’t seem to cut it anymore. Let this be a lesson to us all on how to level up immediately. If you’re not travelling cross continent to get the shot, then you fell off.

Lesson 4: Pitch and tone is everything

How is it that Solange has managed to record and sing over an hour of music that highlights multi-generational racial injustice, grief and anger yet I’m left feeling affirmed, light and well tempered. It’s that sweet and saccharine falsetto, I tell you! Contrary to the belief of her challengers, the tone and delivery of her experience doesn’t perpetuate the stereotypes of actions associated with hurt and fear. It’s the hot tip for maximum impact and minimum backlash. There’s a beauty in an angry response that’s considered and not volatile.

Lesson 5: PSA for those who don’t get it

As said in Solange’s F.U.B.U, “Don’t feel bad if you can’t sing a long, just be glad that you’ve got the whole wild world. This shit is for us.”

The delicious, nutritious and confronting 21-track album of heaters is the sonic body of work that takes Solange from side of stage to head of the table and I’m forever grateful that I was granted a seat.