Woman Crush Wednesday: Solange Knowles
Woman Crush Wednesday
#WCW
Solange Knowles X Seiji Fujimori
Last Wednesday we're crushing on Beyonce's Out Magazine cover and spread. This
Wednesday the Knowles sisters steal our hearts again. Solange Knowles shots an Eastern
inspired editorial spread with photographer Seiji Fujimori for The Ground Magazine April
2014 issue.
Our desert flower appears fresh faced for her photo shot after her Coachella performance
this past weekend, which included a surprise dance duet with her older sister Beyoncé.
"Her new niche music, her inimitable personal style and her unapologetic public persona all add up to someone who is comfortable in her own skin. Knowles inspires other young women to find and follow their own unique paths. Solange Knowles is often in the spotlight for her worldly music as much as for her daring red carpet appearances. Recently, Knowles made the headlines for very different reasons. Outraged by George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder case, she led a peaceful protest in downtown Brooklyn, New York and held up a banner with a quote from Malcolm X: I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.
"Going further on Twitter, she urged her 1.6 million followers to sign a NAACP petition for a federal civil rights case against Zimmerman, who shot and killed the teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Florida last year. “Justice for Trayvon Martin,” Solange wrote. “Is this not what our ancestors, grandfathers and fathers fought for? Now, I will be fighting for my son.” This kind of powerful stand is what we have come to expect from this fearless female. Unafraid to speak her mind, and always faithful to her music, fans and her famous family, the 27-year-old performer is a whole lot more than a pretty face."
"Solange grew up singing and dancing just like her elder sister Beyoncé Knowles, whose career in the girl band, Girl’s Tyme and then Destiny’s Child was managed by their parents Matthew and Tina. “My parents encouraged me to be a free-thinking, free spirit[ed] person,” Solange says, in her steady Texas drawl. “Sure, I caused some trouble once in a while, but when I think back on my childhood, I have great memories. I was lucky.” She started writing songs in her pre-teens and decided to go into the family business at the age of 13."
"Solange went on tour with Destiny’s Child as a backup dancer, collaborated with the likes of Lil’ Romeo and Lil Bow Wow, and in 2003, at age 16, she released her debut album, Solo Star. The upbeat R&B offering with reggae undertones features her work with The Neptunes and Timberland. “I still feel proud of that record, more so [than] the statement behind it. That was during the height of manufactured artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, but I was head strong about my ideas and [I am] as involved in the process as I am today.”
Solange, Destiny Child and Lil Bow Wow
The following year, she married her boyfriend Daniel Smith, a college football player, and gave birth to Daniel Julez Smith Jr. The young family moved to Idaho where she stayed out of the limelight to concentrate on motherhood. However within four years, she divorced, relocated to Los Angeles and released her second album, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. It was a soulful offering influenced by 1960s Motown and producers, Cee Lo Green and Mark Ronson.
Solange, her son Julez and her buea Alan Ferguson
After two outings with two major labels, she admits that she felt “burned out” and disillusioned by mainstream music as her 2010 single, “Fuck The Industry (Signed Sincerely),” made abundantly clear to the public. As she grew into her 20s, her musical tastes took a more genre-frying direction away from the cookie cutter urban, pop star mold someone in her privileged position could have easily slotted into – and made a fortune from. Instead, she put out a cover of “Stillness Is The Move” by her pals, Dirty Projectors, and made the track, “Flying Overseas” with Theophilus London and her present co-writer/producer, Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, Lightspeed Champion and Test Icicles).
Finish reading the full article here --> The Ground Magazine .
