While the pop starlets duke it out for the top slot on the charts, Solange Knowles is doing her own thing. Back in May, Solange launched Saint Records, her own record label distributed through Sony. It has since become the home for her and other under-the-radar influencers' sonic narratives. Just last week, Saint Heron, the label's first full-length LP dropped, and the reviews have been nothing short of fabulous.
Saint Heron features 11 tracks from various R&B up-and-comers, including Cassie, Iman Omari, Kelela, and, of course, Solange herself. Rhythm and blues is alive and vibrating at frequencies not seen in years, and triumphs as an anomaly to the formulaic sounds we've been bombarded with lately. Solange, in a way, is an unorthodox pop star: Her contribution to Saint Heron (below) is a menagerie of pop lightness and chilled vibes set to a glimmering organ. Where else can one find a composition like that today? Certainly not on the Top 40. "Cash In" challenges the genre and seeks to elevate R&B into experimental territory. Whether it succeeds or not will be revealed in time, but for now, tune in to tune out. When you need a break from all the pop jubilee that's been shattering eardrums left and right, you know where to turn.
Photo: via @solangeknowles.