Solange just won her first Grammy last night, and she dedicated it to black women and Nina Simone.
“I’m most excited about the fact that I wrote ‘Cranes in the Sky’ in a period of kind of desperation and weariness, and the fact that it’s resonated in the way that it has, now eight years later… this is such a beautiful honor,” she said of her award.
She then went on, “I honestly felt like I won far before this because of the connectivity that the record has had, especially with black women and the stories that I hear on the street.”
In addressing her fashion icon status, she said, “I think that visual art, in all aspects, are super important to me… creating strong visual representation of not only myself but, again, black women, and getting to see us as avante garde beings in a world that sometimes puts us in a box is really important to me.”
Solange also spoke to her inspirational sources in her life, saying, “I look to Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye and the artists of our times that have really pushed political messagesthrough through their music and their artistry. I think that all we can do as artists and especially as songwriters is write about what’s true to us.”
“It’s not easy, it’s scary putting yourself out on the line when you’re making political and social statements with your work,” she added.
