Solange Knowles

Solange Knowles
a.k.a. Solange Piaget Knowles

Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyoncé, studied dance and theater as a child and made her singing debut at age five at an amusement park. As her father managed her sister's emerging R&B group, Destiny's Child, she often opened for the group, and she soon began writing songs. At 13, she decided to pursue a professional singing career, but her parents at first advised her to wait. Shortly afterward, however, she was called upon to replace one of the dancers in Destiny's Child's stage act on short notice. She spent the next two years dancing in the group's performances. When she was 16, her father signed her to his company and began grooming her for a solo recording career. Her debut single, "Feelin' You, Pt. 2," was released in late 2002 and reached Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart. Her first album, Solo Star, followed in January 2003 and debuted in the Top 50 of the Billboard 200. A second album, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, did not materialize until late August 2008, but it was much more unique than its predecessor, steeped in mid- to late-'60s soul (while one track made liberal use of a Boards of Canada track) with no guest rappers. William Ruhlmann