The Chosen Ones: Religious Themes in Solange’s “A Seat at the Table”
When Solange released her third album on September 30, 2016, America was at a crossroads in determining what its new national identity would be after shedding the “post-racial” skin of the Obama era. All people seemed to talk about was race, gender, and class––”A Seat at the Table” could not have come at a more relevant time to explore these intersecting themes.
However, six years later, the album largely considered to be Solange’s magnum opus, is still as pertinent as ever due to the timelessness of the ways she communicates her themes––namely, religion. As the daughter of the Black Baptist church and sister of Beyonce, Solange is no stranger to the sound of the church. In her album, she expertly and subversively combines neo-soul and funk with the classical sounds of the blues and gospel.
As a whole, Solange’s album is a meditation on a reclamation of self––the beauty, the autonomy, and societal––and the references to her Christian roots reflects a sense of sacredness to the rituals of self-love and empowerment. On her first track, “Rise,” Solange repeatedly sings “Fall in your ways, so you can wake up and rise” over a gospel inspired beat. The ephemeral sound coupled with the repetitive mantras, sets a spiritual tone for the rest of the album.
In an album full of seamless transitions in and out of songs, the transition between “Rise” and the second song, “Weary” deviates from the norm with a more abrupt shift. This emphasizes the two sides of the African American experience that Solange seeks to reconcile––the empowerment one feels in a given moment does not nullify the generational weight of exhaustion. She sings, “I’m weary of the ways of the world / I’m gonna look for my body, yeah / I’ll be back like real soon.” The disembodied way in which she sings is very corporeal and is reminiscent of Biblical ideas of resurrection and the concept of the body and spirit being separate beings. This serves to emphasize the very thing Solange seeks to nurture, more so than her body, which is her spirit. This sets the stage for the rest of the soul-searching that occurs throughout the album, making “Rise” and “Weary” the perfect intro.
In a performance of “Rise” and “Weary” on Jimmy Fallon, Solange explores another theme of “A Seat at the Table”––community, connection, and unity. In it, Solange and her two background singers stand in a line, connected by a shared garment between the red dresses they wear. Solange’s movements are their movements and vice versa. This imagery is present in her video for “Cranes in the Sky” as well, which suggests a deeper significance.
These themes connect back to ideas presented in academic works by Angela Davis, particularly in her book “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism.” On page 3, Davis writes, “The blues women’s performances were not simply musical performances, but social events in which black communities created and affirmed themselves through cultural practices.” This sense of “creat[ing]” and “affirm[ing] oneself is present throughout not just these images, but the album as a whole. A visual artist like her sister, Solange imbued many examples of Black people in community, whether it was through dance, or through clothing as exhibited here.
Her video for “Don’t Touch My Hair” is a great example of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU
Solange balances the line well between her independence and interdependence throughout the album. In an interview, she talks at length about her creative process and her involvement with every production aspect of the album, saying, “As far back as I can remember, our mother always taught us to be in control of our voice and our bodies and our work, and she showed us that through her example… Society labels that a control freak, an obsessive woman, or someone who has an inability to trust her team or to empower other people to do the work, which is completely untrue. There’s no way to succeed without having a team and all of the moving parts that help bring it into life. But I do have—and I’m unafraid to say it—a very distinctive, clear vision of how I want to present myself and my body and my voice and my perspective.”
The beautiful and lasting aspect of “A Seat at the Table” is Solange’s ability to project her voice and vision for the world, not as gospel, but as an example of the abilities other Black women have in expressing their own visions and ideals. Her album is there as inspiration and as a jumping off point––hence the name, which references the abstract idea of breaking a glass ceiling and opening the doors of opportunity to others for their own success.
This leads to one of the breakout songs of this album, F.U.B.U, an anthem for Black Americans about reclaiming their cultural contributions to the zeitgeist, and honoring what they still have to offer. What made “A Seat at the Table
the instant classic that it is today, is it’s empowering themes throughout the difficult discussions of oppression and appropriation. Solange approached the subject matter with care and a sense of reverence to the inherent spirituality of the healing this album provided.
Works Referenced
Davis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. Vintage Books, 1999.
Solange, “A Seat at the Table.” Columbia Records, 2016.
“Solange.” Interview Magazine, 4 Oct. 2016, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/solange.
Solange. “Solange: Rise / Weary Medley.” YouTube, uploaded by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2 Dec. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1sqjKf8xZ0.
Solange – Don’t Touch My Hair ft. Sampha (Official Music Video). YouTube, uploaded by SolangeKnowlesVEVO, 2 Oct. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU.
Solange – Cranes in the Sky (Official Video). YouTube, uploaded by SolangeKnowlesVEVO, 2 Oct. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qrinhNnOM.
Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.