The glorious return of Solange Knowles
Some people think that Solange, the talented Knowles sibling, has gotten the raw end of the deal having to live in the shadow of her pampered sister, but that’s really not true. Thanks to her famous family ties, Solange has never had any problem landing a record deal (she’s had about three so far) and can work with whoever she wants, from big name hitmakers and music video directors to the crème de la crème of the indie world. She can take years between album releases, earn big bucks as a ‘model’ and a ‘DJ’, and get interviewed on Oprah just for cutting her hair. She doesn’t even need to bother making commercial music because nobody is gonna buy her stuff anyway, yet she still gets the kind of support and promotional opportunities usually afforded to a more mainstream star.
Basically, Solange has many of the perks of being Beyonce, without any of the crazy pressure, scrutiny or responsibility. And that kind of freedom can result in some pretty amazing music. Take her latest single, “Losing You”, for example. The new track, produced by Dev Hynes, sees the songstress swapping the delicious Motown of 2008′s stellar Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams for melancholy ’80s synth-pop.
“Tel me the truth boy, am I losing you for good?” Solange repeatedly laments, her voice sounding both sweet and ghostly as it swirls over spacey synths and a looped yelp.
Like any good Azealia Banks record, “Losing You” is hip and cool, while also containing a healthy amount of pop and urban crossover appeal. It’s the best single Solange has ever released, and most certainly one of the best of the year so far.
No seriously, it’s that fucking good.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the official music video is also one of the greatest visuals to come out in God only knows how long. Director Melina Matsoukas is on a roll right now, first snatching our wigs with Christina Aguilera’s “Your Body”, and then having Solange trump every one of Beyonce’s 4 era videos combined.
Is there seriously anybody out there who still doubts that Solange has more creativity in her pinky toenail than Beyonce has in her entire padded ass and prosthetic belly? Bey’s idea of doing something different was screaming about independent women (again) over an old Major Lazer club hit that she claimed to produce. Meanwhile it only took Solange one single to slay a huge chunk of her big sister’s entire career and a slew of recent comeback singles from the likes of Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, and more.
All hail the new King B.
