Solange and the Honesty Behind the True EP
This beautiful stride is captured on the singer's True EP, released when she was ready and on her terms.
Numerous theories and views on how a child's birth order affects their personality and outlook may be found in psychology literature. When the middle kid has done something undesirable, people throughout the globe will inevitably repeat those thoughts, usually with a rolled eye in frustration. Most of the research tends to concur that the second kid might be more autonomous and prone to acts of rebelliousness. Every household has challenges and priorities; some may actively strive against these conventional pearls of wisdom. Still, these broad psychological notions may help us comprehend the dynamics of human decisions in specific cases.
Solange Knowles' rise to prominence exemplifies a strong sense of self-determination and a hearty dose of rebellion against the current quo. Of course, that status quo is the continual sexualization and limiting of opportunity for Black women inside the racist, sexist framework of American society and the record business. The initial part of Solange’s career saw her embrace a framework for success that was well-worn for Black women, drawing in well-known collaborators to create a sort of girl group magic that had given others success in the 1960s and subsequent decades. However, her following phase saw her explore a less trodden route as she discovered a romance that helped fuel her True EP from 2012.
That romance was begun by Theophilus London introducing Solange to Dev Hynes, the young Londoner best known (at that moment) as Lightspeed Champion. After getting to know each other better via a shared appreciation for Chaka Khan, Jimmy Jay, and Jam & Lewis, Solange thought he would be the perfect collaborator for her upcoming album. That record would also come through an indie label as she attempted to find a place that reflected her best. She and producer Dev Hynes had a love for music from the early 1980s, and that period inspired True to create a reaction to The Weeknd's Trilogy and the beginning of a new era in soul music. Together, they provided a welcoming beauty when others offered bleak nihilism.
This warmth and beauty were demonstrated perfectly by the lead single, Losing You, and its accompanying video, which was filmed in Langa township in Cape Town and featured a carefree Solange living her best life for a day—freewheeling on bicycles, swimming in the pool, and hanging out with La Sape in their impeccably tailored, unceasingly stylish outfits of resistance to colonialism. Whereas some women may have carefully rehearsed routines to attract the attention of men, Solange dances for no one but herself, flinging shapes with elegance, humor, and wild abandon. The bubbling synth lines, edited shriek, ecstatic handclaps, and lyrics that explain the end of a romance build tension that is both revelatory and perpetually hip-shaking and shoulder-shrugging.
The EP progresses, and the subject of broken relationships returns often. Hynes' recent personal grief inspired this collection of electro-pop songs, which Solange uses to great advantage. Like its title suggests, the reverb-heavy handclaps and delicate piano melody of Some Things Never Seem to Fucking Work are rife with apathy and frustration. As a bonus, this helps Solange fine-tune the layering of her gorgeous zephyr-light background voices. The quality of Solange's voice is the EP's other significant achievement with the minimalist synth drum rhythms and appealing piano lines. Solange's vocal lines on the Verdine White-assisted Bad Girls (Verdine Version) are a perfect example of the subtle, delicate force she has, which brightens the proceedings throughout the song even though others may be endowed with more overtly vocal solid traits.
Even while her sound had been developing on her earlier albums, it wasn't until 2016's A Seat at the Table and 2019’s When I Get Home that she completely embraced her finest talents as a singer and started the approach that would define her future albums. In contrast to her last album, 2008's Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams, which was very accomplished and mature for someone so young, True represents a shift in both musical style and approach to her voice. It's one of my favorite works from that decade, and it's fascinating to see the artist's career go from then to her current position as a ballet composer.
I would be irresponsible not to note the fallout of Knowles and Hynes' relationship following True's release on Twitter when both felt they weren't given credit for their work on the album. But the beginnings of that misunderstanding may be traced back to how other people dealt with the project. Solange was a young Black lady with a renowned last name who could not shake the stigma attached to her race and gender when she released her groundbreaking music. As a young Black guy living in the UK, Hynes may have wondered what he, a relative outside the pop superstar spotlight, could have brought to a collaboration with a member of the famous Jonas Brothers.
Whatever the repercussions, the relationship was eventually patched up. It set Solange firmly on her path and solidified her ambition to be something other than what people may anticipate, as seen by the beautiful A Seat At the Table, which followed four years later. Cupid Deluxe, Hynes's first album as Blood Orange, was released the following year and was well-praised for its echoes of earlier work.