Whether a quest for complete dominance of your parents' attention or an attempt to prove which child is the better of the offspring, sibling rivalry isn't new. And for years, this has been the battle of choice for Solange Knowles. Constantly known as Beyonce's little sister, Solange is stepping out of the entertainment chokehold that her powerhouse of a sister has created. Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams is her declaration of this individuality.
On her opening track, "God Given Name," Solange sings "Let my starlight shine on its own/No I'm no sister/I'm just my God given name." Not only do her lyrics seek to fend off any comparison between herself and her superstar sister, but the content of her lyrics adds further distance between the sisters' images, as Solange readily curses and sings about getting high on her sexily playful song "ChampagneChroniKnightcap," thus forging an image of herself as anything but the girl next door.
Not only does Solange venture to reject being Beyoncé's clone, she also rejects mainstream R&B, exemplified by her singles "I Decided" and "Sandcastle Disco," which are throwbacks to the Motown sound. Although her voice could use some refining (at times she strains to produce the notes), this album illustrates that she is deserving of a spotlight of her own.
But before she can expect respect for her craft, she has to find the delicate balance between establishing who is she as an artist and emphasizing how she is different from Beyoncé. If she continues in this fashion, Solange's career will remain in the prism of her sister's, defeating her attempts to be just her "God given name"
