Solange has ventured to Jamaica for her latest project, and she paid homage to the island in a Dazed essay. In the heartfelt seven-part piece, she sheds light on her creative process and the sanctity of it. 

Readers follow her throughout seven regions of Jamaica including Runaway Bay, Port Antonio, St. Elizabeth and more. 

"I’ve been looking at photos of this house in Runaway Bay for five years. Wanting to know if it could tell my secrets. If it could hold me. If I could write music, and drink wine, and draw sketches, and sleep well naked and invent new ways to say how I feel. If I could burn my sage, and wash my hands with Florida water right there on the porch until I feel renewed," Solange wrote of her time in Runaway Bay. "It did. It does. I am hugging this house. Kissing her feet. She is a vessel." 

"When I am creating new work, I always feel a bit unbalanced. The circles get darker, my jaw a bit tighter, my hair less combed, my spirits more unaligned. I don’t sleep very well. I’m always buzzing," she continued. "I am easily distracted."
Solange also honored Grace Jones in her writing. 

"Mom. Dad. Icon. Artist. Mother. Cosmic Wonder. Waver of the Freak Flag. The First. The Only. Metallic Marvel. Earth Pioneer & Space Dweller. Thunder and lightening. Founding Father. Our Lady Mother of Avant Garde. A Priestess. Queen of lewks. Dazzling Muse of Many. Our Opulent Opis," she wrote. "None of us will even come close."

 

While most of the work is focused on her fondness of Jamaica, she also added that she sometimes contemplates what her idols would think of her artistry. 
“My demo names are always a trip and have little to do with the songs,” she wrote. “This album, I might keep a few of them as real titles. We listen to a jam none of us even remember we made in the wee hours and wonder if its too esoteric. Then I wonder if Stevie Wonder would like it. If he happens to like it, I won’t worry so much about its life.”
Solange's authenticity can be genuinely felt throughout the piece.
Her full essay will be available in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Dazed, which is available for purchase here.  
A Seat at the TablejamaicaSolange