Why Solange Matters: Why Music Matters

Review Forget "Gimme Indie Rock", this is Gimme Afro-Punk Feminist Knowledge right here. Stephanie Philips, founder of the amazing Big Joanie band, throws down a scholarly take on Solange and the intersection of punk, indie and R&B through a personal prism of race consciousness. Focusing on Solange's critical masterpiece "A Seat At The Table", as well as the artist's life story, Stephanie explores, not only the class and gender issues of the record industry, but her own radicalism and epiphany as an activist. Why Solange Matters is a significant and sober treatise on popular music. A music which has come to blur the lines between commercial and experimental. This book is more than necessary. Read it and join hands! -- Thurston Moore [A] celebration of a free spirit . . . [a] hymn to black individualism . . . the author's prose sparkles . . . as moving as it is insightful . . . It's wonderful to read Phillips's own story alongside Solange's - the two are similar in age and share a DIY ethic, as well as a belief in the power of community, and their lives are vividly detailed . . . This is a book about what freedom could look like for Black women, in which Phillips provides a framework, a vision of a new world, one she hopes Solange would be proud to be a part of. -- Caleb Azumah Nelson ― Observer Invigorating . . . much more than a dry thesis and at times something nearer to personal reverie. -- Ian Penman ― London Review of Books A love letter to quirky black creatives . . . Much of this book may leave you with heightened emotions . . . [Phillips'] vibrant writing reminds us how Solange lit "the flame of creativity" within many Black women, reminding us that society's expectations continue to be limiting. Long live "kooky" Black artistry. -- Morgan Cormack ― gal-dem Why Solange Matters is Stephanie Phillips' examination of [Solange's] work, but it quickly expands beyond this to tackle Blackness, womanhood, misogynoir, the essence of creativity and more . . . the author's empathetic touch feels like the perfect way to approach Solange's art. A figure much mythologized by fandom, Why Solange Matters removes digital gloss to look at the person underneath, her motivations and aesthetic, all while offering a personal slant on the meaning of an icon. -- Robin Murray ― Clash (Books of the Year) Shows the way Black women have to justify their experience, especially in majority white spaces . . . Phillips writes with great insight . . . It feels refreshing and true to see such considered critique . . . Phillip's book celebrates and makes space for all kinds of Black women . . . a rich portrait of Black artistry as abundance. -- Claire Biddles ― The Wire [Phillips] writes eloquently in defence of Solange . . . Phillips writes with clarity about why Solange's work matters, exploring issues of cultural appropriation and black feminism along the way . . . a vivid picture. -- Lucy O'Brien ― Mojo Why Solange Matters is a love letter to outsider music nerds, but especially to Black women, who continually have their tastes, talents, hearts, bodies, and minds suppressed by 'the limited imagination of the white mainstream.' The book is a call to action - embrace yourself, embrace those who are hurting alongside you, and be brave. -- Julie Poole ― Sightlines Every once in a while, a musician comes along who so beautifully, so poignantly speaks that Black women remember that we are more than our vulnerability. In Why Solange Matters, Stephanie Phillips gracefully positions Solange amongst that elite cohort. From Houston to London and many places in between, Phillips presses our ear to the street in order to reveal how Solange broke the mold and released us all. -- Shana Redmond ― author of EVERYTHING MAN: THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF PAUL ROBESON Stephanie Phillips (a rockstar in her own right)deftly interweaves Solange's ascendance from "black girl weirdo" to one of contemporary pop music's most innovative artists with her own coming-of-age