A Seat at The Table was right on time as a call of action for pride in blackness, a narrative of humble becomings, varying interpretations, and experiences of love. In a discussion with Solange and her mother, Tina Knowles, Judnick Maynard wrote:

"In Black culture, the table is the unifier where family comes to talk and share over the bounty of what has been earned that day. Solange extends this seat as an invitation to outsiders to understand the truth of what it is to exist in Black skin and the labors that we take on for survival. The themes that permeate throughout the album – grief, anger, sorrow, power – can relate to anyone, but, here, she uses them to speak directly to Black womanhood and the attacks we face daily. Her story is rooted very much in her own family. With spoken interludes featuring both her mother and father, she displays how hers has always been a Black story; not just by accident but by the love, will, and the teachings of her parents." 

While this album is clearly written for black women, I think and feel that black men can benefit from this album too. The landscape of the album seems to follow the course of the day; you wake up and "Rise", and by the end of the day "you're a superstaaarrrrr"("Scales"), but in between you're working the pain away ("Cranes in The Sky"), you're reveling in what irritates you ("Mad"), you take pride in your blackness (F.U.B.U), and you're not attaching your freedom to anyone else ("Don't You Wait"). A Seat at The Table not only moved me to appreciate black women on a different level, but also solidified all of my feelings towards black pride and setting an example for those after me to conquer their dreams regardless of any oppositions. Solange has made a name for herself recently for her museum-quality Instagram grid, defying rules of fashion, and even inaugurating the big chop prior to her social glow up. This album is the proper critique on the current state of American society, black womanhood and the importance of the black family to establish pride and awareness in their homes.  

I've curated a palette of 1 deep hue and 3 medium hues that represent a joyous nature with latent, more reflective and strengthening values. There are so many emotions expressed in this album that it's heavily palatable because of the many ways this album can be interpreted.  On the other side of the spectrum, white allies can use this album to direct their support and internalize their course of action to help oppressed groups of differing challenges. They can "fall in [their] ways", crumble and realize that the black experience and culture is specifically "for us", but the efforts toward equality is one for all of us; and most of all to never, ever touch our hair again. Aside from its versatile meanings, the palette represents both the feminine and masculine frequencies at the core of this album; gentle but firm, sweet but sensible, imaginative but practical, sensual but spiritual. Red Dahlia and Marmalade represent the more masculine and strengthening tracks on the album while Peacock Green and Orchid represent the feminine, airy, sultry and reflective tracks on the album.

During the Victorian period, the dahlia flower expressed feelings of dignity, elegance, commitment and a bond that lasts forever. F.U.B.U captures all four of those aspects because it's dignified and easy to listen to with a committed sense of pride in the bond and community of blackness. "Get so much from us/Then forget us" is probably the most powerful lyric, but the following line "don't feel bad if you can't sing along/Just be glad you got the whole wide world/This us" is the literal and figurative runner up. On an even deeper tone, this record reminds us to, again, take pride in our experiences (old and new), our history and is a call to prepare for our future. The lyrics support the newly contemporary idea of the black experience as a character builder while acknowledging the work that must be done to gain equality. Mad is sort of how we all feel as minorities, but I think this narrative is specific to the black woman. Given strong black women are commonly labeled "bitches" or "bourgeois", this song details that black women are rightfully so in their feelings. Dahlia plays a role in the song with the content that suggests dignified and committed pride in black womanhood. The aspect of dignity is evident in Scales as Solo declares for the black man "Ain't no apologizing for all of the things you want/So if dreams only go so far/They'll come to where you are", emboldening his freedom and his strength. Kelela takes this track to its most elegant heights in her closing runs of "your love is kind, but your love ain't blind" which is honestly one of the best album closing lines, ever. 
 

Peacock green is a hue that represents balance, confidence and the peaceful stillness that comes out of meditation. These tracks are reflective of the feminine frequency spread throughout the project. However, these album cuts specifically shine light on credence, self pride and self respect as a means to resist negativity. Don't You Wait is a mantra of independence and self awareness regardless of outside opinions. The story goes, as she told the New York Times, she was invited to a podcast that attempted to dismember her black pride. She went on to say, "The statement being made was “does Solange know that her audience with ‘True’ is predominantly white and you’re making enemies of us by speaking out on this, and don’t bite the hand that feeds you.“…Essentially, when I was writing “Don’t You Wait,” I feel like the overall essence of that song, outside of that singular incident, was also to friends of all colors that I had that I may have had to exit from my life in order to evolve and heal." Meaning, the challenge of being expressive in different forms may confuse the privileged end of society that is so one-way, but she created balance in her political and creative voice amidst that with this track and entire album. Borderline is my personal favorite track on the album and it's parenthesized title "An Ode To Self Care" is perfectly descriptive of its effect on me. Q-Tip and Raphael Saadiq's assistance on this track add the perfect qualities to create an all encompassing blissful 3 minutes and 3 seconds. Funny story, I asked a Lyft driver to play this song (which he hadn't heard at the time), and right after it ended, he pettily played Beyoncé for the rest of the ride; I plugged my headphones in, and played it again. Don't Wish Me Well embodies green in one of its most forgotten forms which is completion; to basically wipe your hands with someone/thing and move on knowing you're making the right move. "You got to know/I, don't let it go/away, away, away" describes that feeling of letting "it" go away but not forgetting "its" effect on you.

Marmalade is most populously made from bitter oranges and the end result is a sweet and sultry sauce of body enriching nutrients nonetheless. Similarly, these tracks take that same approach. Weary is a beautiful song about the tiredness and exhaustion of waking up in ones own skin. She not only tells us that's she's weary, but she also tells us to "be weary of the ways of the world", and the reasoning behind it (from my interpretation after a recorded 47 listens), is that being weary is inspiring. It's in the weariness that we find our passion, purpose and meaning for our lives. Where Do We Go is partially inspired by her parents being "run out of town" in New Iberia, Louisiana by which Tina Knowles remembers descriptively in her interview on Saint Heron. The story is one of familial divide, and capitalism attempting to destroy yet another black family. Although this song has a very personal meaning to Solange, it can be applied to our own experiences in being stripped of our history and forced to create our own culture to then be taken from us, "What used to be mine/Say your goodbyes". In this sense, she again made a beautiful song out of a horrible situation. Junie is simply a groove that almost everyone who listens, gets lost in. Inspired by Junie Morrison of the Ohio Players, it was only right to get André 3000 on the track to simply say "jump on it", because you have to. The ultimate value in this song is in the question at the end; "But what you gonna do/ When they saw all your moves and practiced them daily/ Protect your neck?/Or give invitations?" This question is something that I personally have been battling with in my own career, but its also a question for all true "creatives". Depend on your ideas, but plan, plot and move in silence because if you don't protect your intellectual property, you're sending invitation for it to be taken from you.

The undoubtedly alluring Orchid is a flower that is famous for its beauty because it can grow damn near anywhere it pleases. These tracks plant themselves boldly in essence and as you listen to them more, the mental fruit they produce continues to strengthen. Rise is one of the best album openers of the year because it eases you into the vibe of the album, it sets the mood and lets you know "this ain't no bullshit R&B." The lyrics are ones that can be interpreted to mean accepting yourself, as I mentioned above it can be words for white allies to "fall in their ways", meaning, to humble their microagressions and realize and then help to equalize their privilege. Then, the crowd favorite, Cranes In the Sky leads us into our personal woes and for a moment they don't feel as bad because this song dispels sadness in a way that the process of healing is almost appealing. A friend of mine actually assisted with the visual and she mentioned how beautiful it sounded on set, and I can only imagine; amongst chaos and clothes and hair and makeup this song added a nurturing and calm narrative. I see Solange as my Cancerian equivalent and I also have a knack for dealing with sadness in a way that voids the actual feeling and repurposes that emotion into something else. Solange does just that in trying to "_____ it away", but it doesn't work; she has to face it. On the other hand, Don't Touch My Hair is a song that reflects on the beauty of our crowns and declares healing because it's something black women can relate to worldwide, and something black men with interesting styles can reflect on as well. This track is personally healing and strengthens the community of blackness as this entire album does. Just as the orchid, black hair is internationally recognized as an inquisitive form of beauty. Even further, hair serves as a metaphor for the black experience here. 

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