Solange Knowles: She's "Decided"!
May 14, 2008 - Lynn Barker
Solange's single "I Decided"
Credit: Music World Productions


21-year-old Solange Knowles hit the stage at a young age as part of big sis Beyonce's performance crew. Her upcoming album "Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams" is very different from 2003's more "poppy" "Solo Star" sound. The new album, releasing this summer, reflects Solange's departure into the jazzy, mellow, retro-sounds of the '60's and '70's and is a declaration of her musical choices. As a hot young mom and veteran of a teen marriage, Solange has been spending a few years getting to know herself and she has emerged stronger and more self-aware than ever.

After appearing in teen or family-aimed films like Johnson Family Vacation and Bring It On: All or Nothing, Solange was becoming more high-profile in Hollywood but has put film appearances on a back burner for a while to work on "Hadley Street Dreams". She held open auditions via the net for new band members and wants her original fans and new alike to know that she's grateful for their support and hopes they'll enjoy her new vibe. Chatting with the artist was a delight. We found Solange to be friendly and very outspoken and forthcoming as she talked about personal life changes, her son, her new sound, what she's looking for in a guy and her advice to teens on young marriage.

TeenMusic: "I Decided" has kind of a retro-vibe. It actually reminded me a bit of an early Michael Jackson ballad or one of The Supremes songs. What was the vibe you wanted to create?

Solange: Through the process of this record I really started to listen to a lot of '60's and '70's music like you said, The Supremes, The Marvelettes, Dusty Springfield, that music just really impacted me. What I loved about it is the writing is so amazing and the lyrics were very neat and symmetrical. The music felt so good and so happy; the chords and the piano-driven sound was such upbeat music.

TeenMusic: What did Pharrell especially bring to "I Decided".

Solange: When I first started working with Pharrell, he'd worked with everyone from Madonna to Britney Spears. He knows how to make hit records but we were having a problem because I told him the type of sound I was doing and I guess he didn't believe me. Usually, when people come to Pharrell, they're looking for that radio single; the hit which is what you spend the money on. So, he kept coming up with these great songs but they weren't the '60's and '70's that I liked.

TeenMusic: So, what did you say to straighten that out with him?

Solange: So I said 'Pharrell, I'm really serious' so I would tell him artist references before he'd say 'okay, she really knows her stuff' and started coming up with the track and playing melodies and we just started vibin' together on it.

TeenMusic: I understand that you actually ended up going with the very first attempt at recording "I Decided". Isn't that unusual?

Solange: Well, in the '60's and '70's they definitely didn't have the technology to go back and record this line or that line, to capture the emotion of the song so I pretty much sang it one time through and, when I got done, Pharrell was like 'okay, you're done'. So, I said, 'well Pharrell, I hit some really bad notes. I think we should go back and do them over'. He was like 'no, I love the emotion, the rawness. Forget about the bad notes. It feels good'. I went back to recording it for another month and kept recording and recording and trying to capture that emotion and I could never capture it again so I went with the first time I sang it. I love it because I feel like it was very brave for me as an artist.

TeenMusic: Are you now calling yourself Sol-Angel as a professional name or just a fun description of your sound? Like "angelic soul music".

Solange: Sol-Angel is just my concept for this record.

TeenMusic: What does "Hadley Street Dreams" refer to?

Solange: Hadley Street is a street in Houston. It was a whole block there and my father told us years ago that he was gonna build a studio and a label there and all we could see was the land. He had a vision and left a legacy to us [Matthew Knowles Music World Organization]. It's where I started recording and writing.

TeenMusic: When is your music video out?

Solange: We are in the editing process. I think it's coming out the end of May.

TeenMusic: What is the theme or "story" the video tells?

Solange: I actually came up with the concept for the video after we finished recording the record. The song tells a story about this guy that's been there for a long time and he has been runnin' [this girl] down and basically, not taking no for an answer. The song has the '60's incorporated and I thought it was great to travel through time and the different eras to get to him.

TeenMusic: So you stuck to that '60's and '70's vibe throughout the album?

Solange: Yes. I had a lot of great songs but they didn't fit as a piece. They didn't fit the era. I didn't want to just put together a bunch of singles and songs that don't capture the concept.

TeenMusic: Do you have any plans to do more films?

Solange: I'm trying to put film on the side for right now and it's not because I'm not interested in it. It's just really important that the next thing I do artistically, it's in line with where I am as an artist and I haven't gotten the opportunity yet. The first two films that I did were fun, easy breezy and so I think it's hard for people to look past that so, until I can get a role that I'm passionate about and reflects where I am artistically, then I will express that in my music.

TeenMusic: What, besides singing, do you think you do quite well and what do you do pretty badly?

Solange: [she laughs] I think I shop very well. I shop like a pro and I'll say what I do really badly is probably drive. I'm not the greatest driver.

TeenMusic: What were you like at age 16?

Solange: At 16 I was very, very confident in who I was, a little too confident sometimes, a little stubborn. I was very eclectic and very eccentric. I was a little Hippie-Rasta girl!

TeenMusic: What kind of advice are you giving Beyonce on being a mom some day? Does she babysit for Daniel?

Solange: She does babysit. She's a great babysitter. We have never had that conversation but someday we'll have it.

TeenMusic: What do you most hope to teach your son in these early years?

Solange: I think that every day I make sure that my son knows that it is so okay to be comfortable with who you are and that no two lives will be the same. I think that confidence is one of the most important things you can have instilled in you as a child. Once you start instilling that at a young age, there's nothing more beautiful than someone who is confident and in tune with their skin and how they look and how they speak and how they walk and talk. Even at this age, if he makes little mistakes, I teach him to embrace them and to challenge his mistakes instead of shying away from them.

TeenMusic: Good lessons to learn. What are you looking for in a relationship now? What are your relationship goals or rules?

Solange: I think relationships are a lot of work. I base relationships on if you don't feel it's an additive to your life, that it's adding or making your life easier or happier or you're smarter and growing and learning from it, then it's not worth it. I lot of times I think people get locked into relationships for comfort or [because of] loneliness and I think that, in choosing a relationship with someone, it should be somebody that you feel is an additive to your life, it makes you better.

TeenMusic: What would you ideally like to do on a first date with a new guy?

Solange: I like very creative dates. So, a museum where you can kind of talk. A museum is great way to see how intelligent a guy is. It's not that they have to have the same taste as you if they are open-minded. I take a lot of dates to the museum. It's a little test. If they go in there and they're talking all loud, embarrassing me and not respecting things, that will be a no-go.

TeenMusic: Who would you most like to collaborate with that you haven't yet?

Solange: I would love to do something with Kanye. I think that could be great because I look up so much to him as an artist; his freedom and individuality; his bravery as an artist. I think we could come up with something crazy.

TeenMusic: You are also a painter. Talk about what that offers as a creative release for you? Do you paint when you are sad or happy?

Solange: I wouldn't call myself the next Basquiat or anything. I just play around with canvases. I think that painting, for me, is such an affirmative expression in that sometimes you don't know what the outcome is gonna be and each stroke and each brush for me is an emotion and, in the end, it comes out as a piece which is the most amazing thing. But, I never have in mind what I'm going to create until I come to the canvas. It definitely provides a different outlet.

TeenMusic: Do you still dance now for exercise or fun?

Solange: The only dancing I do is if I go out with friends.

TeenMusic: You got married really young. Do you have any advice for young teens who are sure they are in love and immediately want to get married?

Solange: I'm not in any place to judge or be a role model in that sense but, what I can say is, I think that every decision you make in life, make it responsibly, number one and number two, you have to decide what you're gonna be able to live with. Marriage is definitely a hard commitment. It's one of the hardest commitments that you'll ever make. I think that, when you're younger, you let a lot of music and movies influence what you think a marriage is gonna be like and it's definitely not a TV show or a movie. It's something you have to work really hard at. Especially, at a young age, you don't know. But, there are people who do it every day and they're married for forty years or for a lifetime so I can't say yea or nay.

Source: Teen Music