Solange Knowles may be known for her R&B style, but the singer is receiving some rap-related assistance Cash Money Records MC Lil Wayne on her forthcoming release SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams.
Lil Wayne, who appears on the song “Champagnechronicnightcap,” will join Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo Green on the new album.
For Knowles, the chance to work with Green was a dream come true.
“I literally had to beg Cee-Lo to listen to my music but once he did he signed on immediately,” Knowles said. “We wrote and recorded [the tracks] ‘T.O.N.Y’ and ‘Sandcastle Disco’ that same week.”
SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams is the follow up to Knowles’ 2003 debut release Solo Star.
In addition to Lil Wayne and Green, the new album will include cameos from Bilal (“Cosmic Journey”), Floetry’s Marsha Ambrosius (“Wanna Go Back” ) and Estelle (“Same Song, Different Man”).
Other album selections include the Jack Splash-produced “Would’ve Been the One” and “Ode To Marvin,” Knowles’ personal take on Marvin Gaye’s classic song “What’s Going On.”
Production will be handled by Raphael Saddiq, Soul Shock and Pharrell Williams, who contributed to the album’s first single “I Decided.”
The video for “I Decided,” which will be shot today (April 22) in Los Angeles, will focus on pop culture from the 60’s.
“By the end of the project, I had worked with all of the producers and artists I had ever dreamed of including Q-Tip, Boards of Canada and Mark Ronson,” said Knowles, who also worked with legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier.
Solange Knowles’ SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams is slated to hit stores on Aug. 26.