Being the oft overlooked member of a famous family has to be frustrating, especially if such person is brimming with their own talent. Venus Williams, Seth Curry, any of the other Jackson 5 brothers and of course Beyoncé’s little sister Solange Knowles are often in the shadow of their siblings.
Perhaps the shadow cast enables for their talents to mold more diligently, as honestly none of the aforementioned names are as talented as their superstar siblings. That is the singular reason why “A Seat at the Table” is all the more impressive.
The third studio album by Knowles, “A Seat at the Table” comes four years after her last commercial release in 2012’s, the EP “True”. The four years in between releases are similar to recent releases by Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book”, Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” and Bon Iver’s “22 A Million”.
The recent trend of a gap between releases is in direct contrast with the microwave ready music of other urban artists of 2016. Streaming music has had a direct effect in that and as a result, many music pundits have declared the album cycle to be dying.
Well if album cycles are dying, ironically the albums are only getting better. Among some of the best bodies of work this year include the aforementioned albums, Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” and Rihanna’s “Anti”, and Knowles third LP stacks up right there with them.
A deep, cohesive 21-track album, “A Seat at the Table” was released at the end of September in the wake of escalating tensions between law enforcement and the African-American community. According to Knowles, she wanted to create a body of work that serves as empowerment for the community and a testament to the fortitude they possess.
If empowerment was the main act, then resilience was the side course. Knowles has hip-hop icon Master P narrate the album through eight skits as he tells his story of strife, self-belief, hustle and wealth as one of the most successful label owners in the late 1990s.
A multi-millionaire’s rags-to-riches story may not be the narration that evokes empowerment, but when wrapped around eloquent songs of freedom and angst, the all-encompassing narrative of the black plight forms and an album with guest features from the likes of Lil Wayne and Q-Tip shows it's rooted in black art.
Knowles presents the album as a defiant stance. There aren’t that many stand-alone tracks in the narrative, rather seamless stream-of-consciousness tales of the black experience. Songs such as “F.U.B.U.” represent an album with an obviously targeted demographic, but more surprisingly a decisive push against anything in opposition of that target.
With that said, the album is as much resistance (“Mad” ft. Lil Wayne) as it is an epic. “Cranes in the sky”, perhaps the best song on the album, is the climax of the sparse yet lush production meeting empowerment head on.
“A Seat at the Table” has to be listened to from front to back. Although the album is incredibly good, no single will pop out and nothing may catch immediately. Rather the result is an hour long session of Knowles singing her heart out, beautiful vocal arrangements and Master P teaching the game so others can have a seat at the elusive table.