Solange graced the cover of Billboard's March issue in a billowing black gown with stark blonde hair and gorgeous drop earrings. The cover line says, "The Metamorphosis," which of course reminds us of the blossoming of Solange as a creative, both behind the microphone and behind the scenes. It's impossible not to notice her confidence and creativity shining in recent years, and with that comes clarity.
In the interview, which can be found on Billboard.com, Solange says, "I'm clear within myself that I'm not interested in entertainment at this moment." The statement rings powerful in its honesty. She also talks about how writing such personal music for A Seat at The Table made performances hard at times. "Cranes In the Sky" in particular was extremely popular with her audience but caused her pain to have to relive.
"It was very different recording it in a room in a safe space," she said. "And I remember my voice would quiver and shake for probably the first three months of singing that song: 'I tried to drink it away… I sexed it away…' All of this, every night, in a festival environment.”
Solange is open about her love for New Orleans, and she let us into a bit of the reasoning on why it became her second home. Although she was raised in Houston and spent time in Brooklyn, she wanted to return to the slow rhythm of the South. She also wanted to connect with her family lineage, and with her mother's family in New Iberia and her father's in Alabama, New Orleans was a natural move. But not only because it's in the south.
"I was really curious about what having my ancestors in that type of proximity would do for me spiritually and artistically and, also, as a mother," she said. "I also wanted to live in a black city. Houston and Brooklyn and Los Angeles are very diverse cities, but they are not where the majority of the population is black. I think it has been phenomenal just seeing black women occupy every realm of space here in New Orleans.”
Solange has always been an inspiration when it comes to individuality and embracing our own creativity, passions and destiny. She just reminded us why in this candid interview.