Solange and Beyoncé aren’t just sisters, but each other’s biggest fans and supporters. So, it makes sense that the “Cranes in the Sky” singer would hop on a call with her big sis for a fun and intimate interview.
The sisters are two of the most successful women in music, often, unfortunately, pitted against each other, when it’s quite clear there’s nothing but love and adoration between them. Driving from Philly to New York, Solange spoke to Beyoncé for Interview magazine about everything from being a Black woman in control, to Mama Tina’s hilarious texts and her love of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Recalling her sister’s tenacity at a young age, Beyoncé remembered believing, “My little sister is going to be something super special.” It’s an attitude Solange attributes to their mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson.
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Recounting their mother’s advice to always be in control of your voice, Solange said, “Society labels that a control freak, an obsessive woman, or someone who has an inability to trust her team or to empower other people to do the work, which is completely untrue. There’s no way to succeed without having a team and all of the moving parts that help bring it into life.”
Battling the stigma they face as women in control of their voices is something both sisters have faced throughout their career. Still, as Black women, their voices are often misinterpreted or open, honest conversations viewed as overreacting. It’s something Solange kept in mind while recording her album, A Seat At The Table.
“It was very intentional that I sang as a woman who was very in control, a woman who could have this conversation without yelling and screaming, because I still often feel that when black women try to have these conversations, we are not portrayed as in control, emotionally intact women, capable of having the hard conversations without losing that control,” she said.
Solange also talked to Beyoncé about a number of other things, including her love for The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The “Rise” singer loves the show’s brilliance and humor, but really tunes in weekly because the castmates remind her of the women back home: “I was just having a conversation with someone about The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and I was saying how I love that show and think it’s so brilliant because it’s the woman that was represented in my childhood in Houston. It makes me feel so at home.”
While Beyoncé was surprised to find the show was the one thing that made her sister cry with laughter, both ladies agreed that texts from their mother can often be just as funny.
“What is the funniest text you got from our mom this week?” Beyoncé asks, before adding, “That’s too personal, never mind. You’ve got to love Mama Tina.”