Solange Knowles releases her fourth album after three years of silence

Getting lost in music is fairly easily when the topic and feelings portrayed are relatable. When I Get Home, Solange Knowles’ fourth and newest album released on March 1, 2019, uses unique sounds and an instrumental focus to portray a dreamlike quality. The recorded album develops slowly over less than 40 minutes and features artists including Playboi Carti, Tyler the Creator, Chassol and more.

Solange, born in Houston, TX,  reflects her hometown regarding the traditions of Southern African-American culture. The true Houston experience of receiving advice from experienced aunts,”Nothing Without Intention” and candy-paint-finished cars “Way to the Show” is amongst the continuous repetitive pattern. Songs such as “Almeda” eulogize the goodness of black talented youth.

After listening to all 19 songs on the album, 4 of them being interludes, I was unimpressed. I like to consider myself knowledgeable of all genres and open to new tunes, but I found myself feeling  forced to accept the sound instead of wanting more. The first five to ten seconds of every song was intriguing and started with a bang, which eventually fell to nothing but instrumentals. The focus sound that was expressed was, to say the least, different.

“Editing is just such a huge part of my process,” Knowles said. “I would say that it’s 80% editing, and for some reason, I just have the discipline for it.”

The jazz shields the underlying hip-hop and electronic beats that transformed the experimental R&B album into a mood derived exposé.