Solange Covers ‘Billboard,’ Talks New Music, Pop & Her Favorite Artists
Solange graces the cover of Billboard, posing for an arty, black-and-white shoot. The 31-year-old also opened up about the follow-up to her critically-worshipped 2016 LP, A Seat At The Table. “I’ve been working in Laurel Canyon, Topanga Canyon and Jamaica,” she reveals. “I actually have been following Joni Mitchell. It has been really wild. The house that I was just recording in [in] Jamaica, I stayed there for four days. And then the last day, the owner was like, ‘You know that mural that’s downstairs in the spare bedroom that the engineer booth is in? Joni Mitchell painted that.'”
Just don’t expect to hear it in the near future. Solange believes in taking her time. “This cycle of you put out an album, now you go and perform it, and then you go back and you work on another one for however long, and then as soon as that’s done, you put one out again… it’s the cycle that the music industry has set in place for us,” the “Don’t Touch My Hair” diva laments.
One of the most fascinating parts of the interview comes when the thinking man’s Knowles explains her relationship to pop. “I always [associated] pop music with popularity, and, you know, D’Angelo sold mad records. Lauryn Hill sold millions and millions of records. Beyoncé sold records,” she begins. “Those were my pop stars growing up, and I didn’t internalize pop, and still don’t internalize pop, as this dismissive and reductive term.” So who is she listening to? “Tierra Whack… I love Cardi B. I can’t wait to hear what her album sounds like. Moses [Sumney] and Kelela put out incredible projects last year. Azealia Banks is putting out new music. I think she’s phenomenal.”
Read the full interview here. It’s well worth your time.
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