Black Girl Magic is in full effect with this latest cover of Interview magazine. The ever-so-ethereal Solange Knowles covers the publication’s newest issue, and, even better, is interviewed by big sister Beyonce.
The Lemonade singer did a better-than-expected job in the sit-down chat with her little sister, touching on topics ranging from growing up in the culturally rich neighborhood of Parkwood to being influenced by Missy Elliott to finding similarities between her father and Master P. On the latter, Solange says she added Master P to A Seat At The Table because of how much the No Limit captain exhibited the same entrepreneurial spirit her father instilled in her. “You and I were raised being told not to take the first thing that came our way, to build our own platforms, our own spaces, if they weren’t available to us.,” told Beyonce about the similarities between Master P and her father, Mathew Knowles. “And I think that he is such a powerful example of that.”
The conversation also shifted to Table standout track, “Cranes In The Sky,” with Beyonce asking Solange to explain the song’s meaning. As it turns out, “Cranes” was written eight years ago when Solange was fresh out of her relationship with her child’s father and battling feelings most women in their 20s face: self-doubt, self-pity, and a sense of emptiness. The singer says she was working on music in Miami and felt the city was something of a “refuge” for “peace” for her. However, at the same time, condos were being built left and right because of a real estate boom.
“I remember looking up and seeing all of these cranes in the sky. They were so heavy and such an eyesore, and not what I identified with peace and refuge,” Solange explains in the interview. Turning lemon into lemonade, Solo says she found inspiration in the cranes, adding, “I remember thinking of it as an analogy for my transition—this idea of building up, up, up that was going on in our country at the time, all of this excessive building, and not really dealing with what was in front of us. ”
The Miami real estate crash made things even clearer for Solange, who adds, “It felt so indicative of what was going on in my life as well. And, eight years later, it’s really interesting that now, here we are again, not seeing what’s happening in our country, not wanting to put into perspective all of these ugly things that are staring us in the face.”
Beyonce interviewing Solange is all kinds of cool in that both are successful artists without having to compete. Particularly during a time where it seems like every black female singer with a name for herself is pit against Beyonce. Instead, Solo has her lane that she dominates. Her album, A Seat At The Table, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts last year, making her and Beyonce the first sisters to both have a No. 1 album.
Catch the full interview here.
