Regaled by fans and critics alike, Solange Knowles‘ newly released third studio album, A Seat at the Table, is a prominent piece of artistry that’s contributed to the modern discourse of black lives in America. Aptly deemed a “sonnet for the soul,” the album comes at a time where the narrative of racialized police brutality has become hegemonic and race relations in the United States have evidently reached a tipping point. A Seat At The Table embodies themes of identity and glimpses into the African-American experience. Late last night Solange dropped two videos off the record to help flesh out the musical themes.
The videos are for “Crane in the Sky” and “Don’t Touch My Hair,” and each functions as a beautiful reflection of the lyrics the younger Knowles sister crafted herself. These two featured songs cast 30-year-old Knowles as the videos’ lead and as Saint Heron put it, act as “a musical representation of the spirit within an unapologetically black woman who is not interested in remaining silent in a critical time of identity, empowerment, grief, healing and self-expression — let alone, artistic expression.”
Knowles is no stranger to eloquently depicting the deeply embedded racism society continues to suffer from. The freshly dropped videos mirror the sentiments she outlined in an essay entitled, “And Do You Belong? I Do” writing that many people “simply are a product of their white supremacy and are exercising it on you without caution, care, or thought.”
Both videos were co-directed by Solange and her husband, Alan Ferguson, and prominently feature Solange in various scenes where she is joined by an assembly of dancers in dynamic locations.
The physical copy of A Seat at the Table will be available on November 18.
