Solange is no stranger to the music industry. It is easy for someone less familiar with her discography to believe that she was not active in the community prior to her seminal album A Seat at the Table, released in 2015. Solange has been making and releasing projects for nearly two decades. In that time, she has defined her sound, solidified her personal aesthetic, and delved deeper and deeper into her own artistry. The culmination of these facets of her image manifest themselves without trepidation on her new studio album When I Get Home.

The title of the album communicates a sense of longing and a desire to go back to where she came from. The concept of “home” for Solange is her city and state of origin, Houston, Texas. References to Houston culture are apparent throughout the project. In “Way to the Show,” Solange sings of chrome decorated “candy painted” cars. The song titles “Almeda” and “Binz” are named after streets in Southern Houston, and she pays homage to the late Houston hip hop legend DJ Screw throughout the project.

When I Get Home is not simply a love letter to Solange's hometown. It is also a love letter to black culture. In tracks such as “Almeda,” “My Skin My Logo,” and “Binz,” Solange celebrates the beauty of blackness with full conviction. In “Almeda,” the chorus is the naming of “black” things, both in color, like molasses, and in cultural significance, such as braids. She then asserts, “These are black-owned things/ Black faith still can't be washed away.” “My Skin My Logo” is a collaboration between Solange and Gucci Mane, in which they both take pride in the things they enjoy, whether that be, in Solange's case, drinking and shopping, or in Gucci’s, “slanging” and “banging.” “Binz” features the lyrical couplet “Dollars never show up on CP time/I just wanna wake up on CP time.” CP time is an abbreviation for “colored people time” which plays into the stereotype that black people are always late. Solange reclaims this negative rhetoric and turns it on its head in such a clever way that I couldn’t help but grin when I first heard it.

When I Get Home also carries within it the themes of self love, sexuality, and female empowerment. Of the 19 tracks on the project, five of them are interludes. Some of these are wholly instrumental while others include some kind of narration. On “Can I Hold The Mic?” Solange embraces the multiplicity of her identity with the lyric: “I can't be a singular expression of myself, there's too many parts, too many spaces, too many manifestations…” making it clear to us that she will not be contained, limited, or kept in a box by any person, institution, or entity. Later on the album, the interlude “We Deal with the Freakin” takes a sample from an Alexyss K. Tylor video entitled “Sperm Power 2” where she says, “It's not about the physical manifestation of sex...First, I’m tryna get women to understand the dynamic power and the spiritual energy. Do you know how magnificent you are?” The interludes work to connect the various themes of the album together and they heavily aid to the overall cohesiveness of the project.

Outside of being thematically solid and artistically strong, When I Get Home has the additional benefit of being worked on by an array of extremely talented and cutting edge artists. Big names such as Earl Sweatshirt, Gucci Mane, Cassie, Pharrell Williams , Tyler, the Creator, Steve Lacy, Metro Boomin, Playboi Carti produced tracks, provided instrumentation, sang background vocals, or, in the cases of Playboi Carti and Gucci Mane, had full features on the project. Solange did not only pull from this prominent pool of hip hop and alternative artists. She also collaborated on tracks with Dev Hynes of Blood Orange, Sampha, The-Dream, Panda Bear from the experimental pop group Animal Collective, and female rapper Abra of the Atlanta rap label Awful Records.

The amount of artists that came together to work on the project added a new layer of depth and interest to Solange’s floaty, dreamy, jazzy R&B sound. When I Get Home incorporates sparkly instrumentation, with bright piano chords, high pitched synths, and deep bass hooks all bolsted with echo effects and reverb. With the sweet and calming tone of Solange’s vocals and harmonies, the album is wonderfully enchanting, addicting, and undeniably vibey.

It can be hard to believe that with 19 tracks the duration of the album is only 40 minutes. With most songs being under or slightly above three minutes long (with the exceptions of “Down With the Clique” and “Time (is)”), Solange is able to pack a lot of content into a small package. Although Solange’s melodies and some of the instrumental aspects of the album can lose their definition as the album nears its end, When I Get Home does not drag significantly or feel too long. Moreover, many of the songs on the project feature lyrical repetition. This could be seen as a detriment to some, but I believe the repetition throughout the album is never done absentmindedly or as filler. Solange’s repetition of certain lyrics or certain flows is intended to bolster the album’s easy listenability, give attention to the beauty of the instrumental work and production, and to reinforce themes and ideas that she wants to ensure we continue to think about and engage with long after the last track finishes.

When I Get Home is a patchwork quilt of the most interesting, creative, and innovative musical minds in the industry today. Outside of that, Solange uses the album as a declaration to all that she loves. She loves Houston. She loves her blackness. She loves her femininity. She loves sex. She loves wealth and prosperity. And Solange is able to express this love for herself and her life in way that is not braggadocious. Solange invites us through her album on a journey of self actualization. When I Get Home is a mechanism through which we can reflect upon our own values, legacies, and desires and encourages us to not be afraid to show admiration for all the parts of us that make us who we are.

Solange, you beautiful black cowgirl, you truly created an incredible piece of art.