Solange Knowles was inspired by Missy Elliott to produce her album ‘A Seat at the Table’.
The 30-year-old singer looks up to the ‘Work It’ rapper and has fond memories of her R&B superstar sister Beyonce, 35, collaborating with her on tracks, including 2003’s ‘Signs’ and 1999’s ‘Crazy Feelings’, which led her to feel "enamoured" by their creativity and want to do more than just sing.
She explained: "One of my biggest inspirations in terms of female producers is Missy. I remember seeing her when you guys worked together and being enamoured with the idea that I could use myself as more than a voice and the words."
The ‘Cranes in the Sky’ hitmaker admits before now she felt "afraid" to turn her hand at producing and that it only felt right this time because she was "comfortable" with her songs.
Speaking to her sister for Interview magazine, she shared: "On my previous records, I contributed to production here and there, but I was always really afraid to really get in there and … I guess I wasn’t really afraid, I was just really comfortable writing the songs. I felt like my contributions as a producer were enough."
Solange came to realise that she was the only one who could produce the tracks because she found it hard to explain to others what was needed, which was a really "really scary" feeling.
However, she is proud of herself for conquering production and fighting her fears.
She continued: "But when I started to work on the sonics for this record, I realised that I had to create such a very specific sonic landscape in telling the story. I had these jam sessions, and there were holes that no one else could really fill for me. It really came out of a need for something outside of what I could articulate and lead someone else to do. And it was scary. It was really scary, and a lot of times I was frustrated with myself and feeling insecure because it was new to operate in that space and be in front of people at this age, learning something on this level. But I feel so grateful and excited that there’s a new phase that I conquered as an artist. "
Solange Knowles inspired by Missy Elliott to produce LP
