Solange On How Owning Her Fears Empowered Her To Become The Best Version Of Herself

This video of Solange rapping "Almeda" to an obviously bothered old white man is our mood 4 eva and she kept that same energy throughout her latest album When I Get Home. The 33-year-old singer's fearlessness has translated from her music all the way into her eclectic sense of beauty and style, but like all of us, Solange has moments where her anxiety gets the best of her. In a recent interview with Trina for L'Officiel, she opened up about how confronting her fears helped has helped her boss up and design her dream life.

Solange, who made her musical debut at only five years old and started writing songs at the age of nine, is no stranger to the spotlight. Although Solange has been in the industry for more than a decade, the singer says that she is only recently finding the courage to confront her fears. She explained:

"There are certainly some days where I have to work a lot harder to own my fears. That's what I've been trying to work on the most this past year. Moving past fear. It may look like I'm owning all of it, but some days I'm most certainly struggling, too. Those are the days I just try to be silent. Reflective. And just sit in it all. It sucks, though! It's really not fun or sexy to have to confront those parts in that way. But I really am trying."

Earlier this year, Solange said that her relationship with fear, which she now calls "a beautiful love affair that took me time," was especially elevated throughout the making of When I Get Home. Along with unapologetically reconnecting with her sensuality, she learned that fearless creativity allowed her to be the best version of herself:

"During that time of creation I really was fearless. I had so many tests in front of me and something really guided me at all times. Stood alongside me. Held my hand. Lifted me up. I feel my most sure and beautiful when I am creating the work. When I am thick in the midst of my own guidance. When I am done creating, that's another story. I am all in my head and making decisions all from up there. But when I am creating I am using and speaking from other parts of myself. My gut, my legs, my heart, my fingers, my throat. That feels like the best me."

Another technique that Solange says helps get her out of her head and into the music is collaboration. Even though we as women have been blessed with the superhuman ability of not only bringing home the bacon but cooking it up and feeding it to our babies, it's important to know that it takes a village to create a healthy environment for creativity:

"I find out things about myself that I can't necessarily speak to when I am collaborating. There are so many facets of who I am, and that articulation just feels so much wider and more expansive when someone helps bring something out of you that you wouldn't normally express. There's a lot of value and humility in that trust, and when it feels safe it can be the most rewarding feeling ever. More importantly, I learn so damn much. There are people who are going to be a trillion times better at a specific scope of expression or a skill or just time and experience, and I feel such appreciation when I'm gifted that access into someone's process. I used to be stubbornly DIY."

Although in the past, the singer says living with this "f*ck it, I'll do it myself" mentality has been beneficial, she's ultimately learned that doing it all alone is working harder, not smarter. According to Solange, one of the most bossed-up things you can do for yourself is to ask for help. She continued:

"That shit is important too. You have to! And that spirit will never go away within me. I need to be able to do my own shit. But I've really learned the last couple of years to ask for help. I feel confident in my ability to guide and lead my vision, but having more tools has been invaluable for my process."

Check out Solange's full interview here!

Featured image via Giphy