Solange Knowles Is “Honey” Smooth & Funny!

Church Hat Chat! ROFL! That hat game is PROPER though.

I will admit to going hard on Solange Knowles‘ vocals, but you know, I still have her first album. She has some redeeming traits about her, and her latest album actually grew on me. While she’s not the brightest star in the vocal constellation, she writes a hell of a song and writes appropriately for her voice most of the time. No one is perfect.

Solo’s been on Oprah talking about the brouhaha that was her haircut and dealing with Black Women and the emotional connections to hair in conjunction with Chris Rock’s appearance talking about his new documentary Good Hair.

Me being me, I’m not making this post about that LOL. This post is about Solange looking “So-different” in her Honey Magazine interview and I’m pulling the quote that tickled me to no end!

Five words to describe yourself?
Water, blood, melanin, bones, and … vajajay.

And that right there is why I love Solange. Home girl keeps it REALLY real. I don’t think the short SHORT hair is my personal favorite, but Solange has grown into a beautiful woman and I’m lightweight excited to hear this new music she is working on, despite that bootleg cover of her frolicking in a Goodwill donation center parking lot LOL. Love her!

More pics and the more interview after the jump — and also head over to Honey for the full story!

Your album is critically acclaimed and I’m wondering how much you care about what the critics think. What kind of sales expectations, if any, did you have? Are you happy with the album?
I mostly feel proud that I literally, everyday, come in contact with somebody who was affected by my music because it was so personal and honest. I can’t even explain to you how many people are like, ‘I have a “T.O.N.Y.”’ I’ve had people tell me they used “I Decided” in their wedding. Those are the moments where I feel really proud that I followed my heart and made something that I was really proud of instead of conforming to expectations. There were definitely fights along the way about not getting the radio or video support, but I would much rather be in a marketplace full of really smart, intellectual, and cultured young people who I can grow with. I feel like I can have a longer lasting and less gimmicky and for-the-moment response. It makes me feel very secure in my career, because I know I make music that may not matter to an astounding number of people, but the people that it does matter to are more like me. They have the same interest as me. They are people who want to be exposed to different things. I feel really good being in that space. It was never my intention to have this huge commercial success because otherwise, I would have made other kinds of records. I know how to write pop [and radio] records. I’ve written them for other people. But that isn’t the music that inspires me. It isn’t the music that I feel good about performing or that makes me want to get up and push every morning and be in 10,000 cities in one month promoting. I think people are the ones to put expectations on you. I never really put expectations on myself. I know that it’s a business and the record label has to make a profit from it. I understand that side of things, but at the end of the day it was always my goal to do exactly what I was able to do. That makes me feel really good.

I think that’s why people are so dedicated to your music. The people that are fans are hardcore.
They are. That’s what I’m saying. I would rather have that than make a record that I know will be cool for a short period of time but those fans will move on from the trendy, pop sound when it changes.

Now, you have your new album.
Yes, I’m working on it now.

I’m assuming you’re going in a new direction or at least evolving with your sound.
I am definitely evolving. The interesting thing about my record is that I did it so long ago. I started writing and experimenting with that sound when I moved to Idaho. It took a few years before it actually came out. By that time I still loved it. It was definitely a concept record. I was really inspired by the ’60s and ’70s sound, mixed with electronic sounds and how to mash those together. With this record I am experimenting more with a really interesting mix of music. My describing it probably sounds crazy but I’m kind of working with tribal, Native American drums and mashing them with weird ’80s and blues. I have been exposed to so many different great forms of music. It’s definitely going to be an experimental album. I’m working with so many great people on this record, so many different bands and musicians.

Can you name a few of them?
I’ve been working with Kevin Barnes from of Montreal, an incredible band. I’m about six songs in and maybe four of them will make it. I’m still establishing the sound, but what I’m really focusing on is doing everything independently. I’ve been A&R-ing the project and staying on top of the budgets. I’ve been producing myself, and learning the backside of making the record financially because I didn’t do as much of that the last record. I really want to be in a place where I feel no pressure with my record sales. I really just want to have the experimental space to make a record that if 30,000 people like it, I’ll feel really proud — even more than the last one. There are so many adventurous artists — a good friend of mine, Janelle Monae, who’s incredible, and Santigold and some of the more popular indie artists who are opening up the doors to people’s ears. I feel good about it. I hope that people are able to take this journey with me because it is a lot different than the last record.

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