Solange

One Liner: Beautiful, soulful R&B from Beyonce's sister
Wikipedia Genre: R&B, funk, soul, pop, indie pop 
Spotify Says Similar To: Jazmine Sullivan and Amerie
Home: New Orleans (via Houston)

Poster Position: 2
Slot: Friday, ?

Thoughts:  I'm just going to caveat this that, to the extent Solange also has an army of angry fans who seek and destroy anyone who isn't 100% on board with her (like a certain famous sister), I am not a well-versed connoisseur of R&B and soul music.  That being said, I can fully appreciate that the most recent album, 2016's A Seat at the Table, is undeniably gorgeous.  Solange's voice is both powerful and light and can go from a dusky growl through a full register (or two) of notes up to a crystalline whisper that would crack a diamond.  The accompaniment is unremarkable, relatively plain grooves that allow the voice to be the focus of each song.  The weirdest part of the album is that Master P, of all people, is repeatedly featured, not yelling UUUUUUHHHHHHHH!, but instead talking about random issues in the world during interludes.  NO LIMIT SOLDIERS!!!  UHHHHHHHH!

The top song, which won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance, is "Cranes in the Sky," which has 38.4 million streams.

Super spare tune tempered by strings, with sad lyrics that gives way to a confusing chorus. She is saying that she tried to drink, dance, spend, sex, work, etc. something away (later it sounds like the issue is an ex-lover), but then she compares it to "cranes in the sky," saying "But it's like cranes in the sky, Sometimes I don't wanna feel those metal clouds."  Huh.  I had thought she was talking about the birds, which would make sense to be in the sky, but she is apparently talking about the construction tools.  Genius has this to say about it, from Solange herself: 

"I remember looking up and seeing all of these cranes in the sky. They were so heavy and such an eyesore, and not what I identified with peace and refuge. I remember thinking of it as an analogy for my transition—this idea of building up, up, up that was going on in our country at the time, all of this excessive building, and not really dealing with what was in front of us. And we all know how that ended. That crashed and burned. It was a catastrophe. And that line came to me because it felt so indicative of what was going on in my life as well. And, eight years later, it’s really interesting that now, here we are again, not seeing what’s happening in our country, not wanting to put into perspective all of these ugly things that are staring us in the face."

Uh, I still don't get it, man.  Do the cranes dislike clouds that are made of metal?  Are there clouds of metal somewhere that I don't know about?  Can't the cranes just pick them up and move them somewhere else where they don't have to feel them?  Do cranes feel?  Pretty song, but I don't understand.

You may also remember Solange from the time she beat Jay-Z's ass in an elevator, apparently over the fact that Jay's stupid ass was cheating on Queen B.  I like a sister who will stand up for her sister.

Her second most popular track is called "Don't Touch My Hair," which I like just because of the title.  The song is fine, nothing remarkable, so I'll give you her second most listened-to track instead, called "Losing You," which comes from her 2012 EP called True.

A little more exciting on the music for the track than the tunes on the new album.  This is the first track of that 2012 album, so it just comes on when you are done listening to A Seat at the Table, and you can quickly tell the difference in the styles.  This one almost sounds like old school Madonna.  Her new album sounds more like her sister's singing style.  This track is definitely more fun, but the new album is prettier and probably better.

That being said, I likely wouldn't go see her show.  I've been surprised at how much I enjoyed the new album, which got a bunch of critical love but isn't my kind of music so I had ignored it.  But it is very lovely to listen to.