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Solange is a Grammy Award-winning artist, philanthropist, and activist. She’s also a mother, giving birth to her son at 18 years old. Here’s what we know about the “Cranes in the Sky” musician.

Solange Knowles arrives at the Lavazza Marquee on Derby Day
Solange Knowles arrives at the Lavazza Marquee on Derby Day | Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Solange is the award-winning artist behind ‘A Seat at the Table’

Some fans know her for songs like “Stay Flo,” Losing You,” and “Cranes in the Sky.” Solange has been recording and releasing music for years, first showing interest in music as a child. In 2016, Solange released A Seat at the Table, which featured fan-favorite songs like “Cranes in the Sky” and “Don’t Touch My Hair.” 

It’s this album that earned the singer her first Grammy Award in the Best R&B Performance category. In 2019, Solange debuted her album When I Get Home, reaching millions of Spotify plays in the process.

Solange is the younger sister of the legendary Lemonade and The Lion King: The Gift artist, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. She partnered with Beyoncé for several projects, most of which began with Destiny’s Child. The artist also appeared for “Get Me Bodied” during Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance, featured in Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé.

Solange has 1 child — her son Daniel Julez Smith

Solange was 18 years old when she welcomed her son, Daniel Julez Smith Jr., with her then-husband and high school sweetheart, Daniel Smith. Having the child as a teenager proved challenging for this artist, especially while balancing her career. 

“It was one of the most bittersweet moments of my life,” Solange said during a 2017 interview with Elle Magazine, “because I was so in love with Julez, and having spent a lot of time on the road, I yearned to be in one place, to have the opportunity to really ground myself with him. 

“But it was isolating and lonely and so cold and dark,” she continued. “And it was just Julez and me most of the time. It was hard to imagine being able to progress in my career in any way.”

It was her relationship with her family and son that informed Solange’s 2017 release. During an Interview Magazine piece with Beyoncé interviewing her sister, the artist elaborated on the messages of A Seat at the Table.

“There were things that had been weighing heavy on me for quite some time,” she said. “And I went into this hole, trying to work through some of these things so that I could be a better me and be a better mom to Julez and be a better wife and a better friend and a better sister… Because the album really feels like storytelling for us all and our family and our lineage.” 

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Who Is Solange? Learn About Beyoncé’s Sister and Her Album, ‘When I Get Home’

Solange’s sister, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, has three children

Beyoncé has children of her own, the eldest being her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who the artist featured on songs like “Brown Skin Girl” and The Carters’ “Boss.” Beyoncé then had her twins, Rumi and Sir Carter.

Solange’s When I Get Home is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and most music platforms.