Solange Knowles looks confident and beach ready in her cover feature for Complex magazine's June/July issue, but the DJ says she wasn't always so comfortable with her boldness. In her interview, Solange recalls being a quirky child and being teased for her outfits.
"I had my own little quirks as a child," Solange says. "I had a very vivid imagination, mostly through my style and fashion choices. The kids had a lot to say."
She credits her fourth-grade teacher for teaching her not to "bend or break because of who you are" after experiencing an upsetting moment.
"From that point," Solange says, "the idea of convention versus non-convention or mainstream versus indie or any of those quote-unquote 'conflicts' has never crossed my mind."
It definitely doesn't hurt to grow up with role models who knew how to forge their own paths and attain their goals. In the singer's case it was her mother, Tina Knowles, and father Matthew who taught her how to persevere and make things happen.
"I have a mother who never took no for an answer when it came to her creative pursuits," she adds. "She started a hair salon in her spare bedroom and four years later had 30 employees. I have a father who was the first Black student at his junior high and high school and had to do a lot to get to that point. So it's really in my bloodline when it comes to having an idea and making it happen."
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(Photo: JUCO/ Complex Magazine, July 2013)