Entertainment
Solange Knowles' New Album Tracklist Is Packed With References To Her Hometown
Prepare yourselves, because there's some highly anticipated new music coming your way at midnight on Feb. 28. As confirmed by Vulture, Solange Knowles' new album When I Get Home is dropping in just a few hours, and the album's tracklist points to Solange paying homage to Houston through several of her songs. Given the album's title, it's only fitting that her hometown seems to be such a big part of her fourth studio album. And Twitter is here for all of the references.
Solange released the title of all 19 tracks (13 songs, five interludes, and one intermission) in the form of a dreamy, mathematical bit of artwork that may hint at what the album cover will look like. Here's the tracklist in full:
1. "Things I Imagined"
2. "S McGregor (Interlude)"
3. “Down With The Clique”
4. "Way To The Show"
5. "Can I Hold The Mic (Interlude)"
6. "Stay Flo"
7. "Dreams"
8. "Nothing Without Intention (Interlude)"
9. "Almeda"
10. "Time (is)"
11. "My Skin My Logo"
12. "We Deal With The Freak'n (intermissions)"
13. "Jerrod"
14. "Binz"
15. "Beltway"
16. "Exit Scott (interlude)"
17. "Sound Of Rain"
18. "Not Screwed! (interlude)"
19. "I’m A Witness"
Fans on Twitter have pointed out that several song titles seem to make explicit reference to Houston. "S McGregor" could be reference to a neighborhood in the Texas town, "Almeda" appears to be a reference to either Almeda University or the Almeda area in general, "Binz" is another Houston locale, and finally "Beltway" likely refers to the Beltway 8 Highway that runs through the city. Seeing so much hometown pride in Solange's new music is only heightening the anticipation surrounding the album's release.
Twitter user @AshanaMarie pointed out that a recurring theme throughout the tracks seems to be titling songs in honor of the streets, roads, and highways of Houston. They tweeted,
"I love how Solange’s track list pays homage to different Houston streets/roads/Highways:
02. S. McGregor
09. Almeda
14. Beltway (Called Beltway 8)
16. Exit Scott
Then a play on Houston Screwed (not chopped?) Music:
18. Not screwed
#ItsAHoustonThang #Solo #Solange #HTownReppa"
Another Twitter user, @wtm_jpg, wrote, "Okay but let's talk about Solange's track list it's Houston af & 19 SONGS!!! I'm ready." Meanwhile, @weworemasks added, "there are way too many houston references on this solange tracklisting to not be album of the year."
In addition to the tracklist, Solange has also released a series of vignettes that seem to include new music (and even more ties to Houston). Prior to confirming the release date for When I Get Home, the artist posted teasers on the African-American networking site BlackPlanet (a precursor to MySpace and Facebook), and shared the hotline number 281-330-8004 that was also used by Houston rapper Mike Jones for her fans to call for a special announcement.
Solange clearly knows how to get her fans hyped while also paying homage to her Houston roots. Now all that's left is to wait for the album to officially drop.