When Solange’s fourth studio album A Seat At The Table dropped on Friday, it took the music world (and Black Twitter) by a #blkgirlmagic storm. Solange’s voice has always been undeniably and staunchly unapologetic about the celebration of black womanhood and she has no filter when it comes to the condemnation of racism, misogyny and the intersection of the two. A Seat At The Table is as brutally honest and colorful as Solange herself which comes as no surprise considering she wrote, co-produced and arranged every track on the album.
Yesterday, Solange blessed us with two music videos to accompany “Don’t Touch My Hair” and “Cranes In The Sky” (she and husband Alan Ferguson directed the videos). “Don’t Touch My Hair” follows Solange as she dons a myriad of hairstyles (some inspired by black female icons like Josephine Baker & Patrice Rushen), dressed and surrounded by a dreamy and soft color palette of pastels and nudes. Surrounded by beautiful black people of all shades (including Sampha who is featured on the track), Solange addresses the complicated history behind black hair while simultaneously answering the age old question always posed to black people- “Can I touch your hair?”. The answer is “Don’t touch my hair/ When it’s the feelings I wear…Don’t touch my crown”. Non-black POC and white people, take note.
The visuals for “Cranes In The Sky” prescribe to a similar color scheme, boasting lots of pastel pinks, oranges and white. The camera catches Solange, dipped in gold, posting up in different natural landscapes as she sings about all the ways in which we try to alleviate pain- “I tried to drink it away…I tried to change it with my hair…”. This video is an all female cast. Everything, from the outfits to the abundance of different hair textures, celebrates the nuances of black femininity and juxtaposes this femininity with the natural world. Watch below.
If you haven’t checked out A Seat At The Table yet, listen to it here. It may be wishful thinking but we’re hoping Solange will give us some more dope visuals in the near future.