On March 1st, 2023, Solange released her ambitious follow up to A Seat At The Table. An avant-garde R&B piece dedicated to her Black Southern upbringing, Solange used repetition and cosmic production for her listeners to go through a sonic journey – very much in the spirit of Stevie Wonder’s “The Secret Life of Plants.” When I Get Home is a modern masterpiece that allowed Solange to be fully creative and in control. To understand this project, you need to understand Houston. Lucky for you, I have a candy-painted caddy to take you there.

Third Ward

Otherwise known as the Tré or the Third, this is Solange’s neighborhood in her hometown of Houston. Third Ward is the cultural heart of the African American community in Houston. The neighborhood is home to Texas Southern University, a historically black college and university (HBCU), and plenty of black businesses. The neighborhood fostered a lot of artistry of Houston hip hop and R&B, including the technique of chopped and screwed production. Chopped and screwed is a technique where beats would be slowed down and be skipped, pioneered by DJ Screw. To honor her Houston roots, much of the production from When I Get Home contains chopped and screwed elements.

In When I Get Home, some songs are named after streets in Houston. The most popular song, “Almeda” – which features production by Pharrell and vocals by The Dream and Playboi Carti- is named after the street Almeda that runs through Third Ward and other nearby neighborhoods. Similarly, “Binz” – which Solange sings about black wealth -is named after a street that runs through the lavish and upscale Museum District of Houston. Other allusions include “Exit Scott St” named after a highway exit to enter the neighborhood of Third Ward, “Beltway” named after a state highway that’s a ring road to get to another HBCU Prairie View A&M University and “S McGregor (interlude)” named after another street in Third Ward.

Visual Themes

“Not even on any controversial shit, it was just funny to me because all of the first cowboys I saw were black. Growing up here, off Almeda, you’re just going to see black cowboys on the street.

While When I Get Home was an album based on feeling, the visual themes were strong for this project. To pair When I Get Home, Solange created a short film. The music videos featured many Third Ward and Downtown Houston landmarks. It also contains themes of Afrofuturism and manifestation (look no further in “Things I Imagined”). The short film showcased facets of Black Houston from slabs (Cadillacs that are modified) to cowboys. So much so, Solange was cited to be the Final Boss of “the Yeehaw Agenda”, a phrase coined in 2019 to reclaim cowboy culture in the Black community.

Tracklist

Things I Imagined S McGregor (Interlude) Down with the Clique Way to the Show Can I Hold the Mic (Interlude) Stay Flo Dreams Nothing without Intention (Interlude) Almeda Time (is) My Skin My Logo We Deal with the Freak’n (intermission) Jerrod Binz Beltway Exit Scott (Interlude) Sound of Rain Not Screwed (Interlude) I’m a Witness

Links

Streaming

Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube

Music Videos

Almeda | Binz | Way to the Show | Beltway | Things I Imagined/Down with the Clique

Short Film

When I Get Home (Director’s Cut)

Discussion Questions

Did you enjoy When I Get Home on your first listen or did it take multiple listens for you to enjoy it? What’s your favorite song in When I Get Home? How do you think the album fits with the rest of Solange’s discography? What do you think is the legacy of When I Get Home?