[ Cheers and applause ] -Every single time that I see her perform and there's 50,000, 60,000 people screaming... [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ...and crying... and then there's smoke.

All of a sudden, she arrives on the stage.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ And I just have to stop a minute.

And just like, "Wow!"

-♪ Baby ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪ Seem like everywhere I go, I see you ♪ ♪ From your eyes, your smile ♪ ♪ It's like I breathe you ♪ ♪ Helplessly, I reminisce, don't want to ♪ -Her technique is stunning.

♪♪ -♪ Yes ♪ ♪ So crazy right now ♪ ♪ Most incredibly ♪ ♪ It's your girl, B ♪ ♪ It's your boy, Young ♪ -You ready?

-She's the top whatever you want to call it.

[ Laughs ] The top star.

The last of, like, the really big superstar.

People fainting and falling over at shows.

-♪ History in the making, part two ♪ ♪ So crazy right now ♪ -♪ I look and stare so deep in your eyes ♪ ♪ I touch on you more and more every time ♪ ♪ When you leave, I'm begging you not to go ♪ ♪ Call your name two, three times in a row ♪ -It's kind of like the Grammys are beneath her, in a way.

-♪ Got me looking so crazy right now ♪ ♪ Your love's got me looking so crazy right now ♪ -She's a world -- She's a world icon.

-♪ Crazy right now ♪ -When did you notice that there is another sister who's doing music, as well?

-[ Chuckles ] Um, I mean, I always knew she had a sister, but I wasn't really keeping up with it.

♪♪ -♪ Tony don't care no more ♪ ♪ He doesn't want me there no more ♪ ♪ And I just wanna know what I did wrong ♪ -Solange was that kid who should be seen and not heard.

Beyoncé had 100% support.

And Solange was ignored.

-♪ And he wasn't just some regular guy ♪ -She went a neosoul kind of route, and Beyoncé was, like, shooting for number-one pop songs.

-But she knew what she could do, and she would own it and she would dance her heart out.

-♪ I tried to drink it away ♪ ♪ I tried to put one in the air, I tried... ♪ -She has done this iconic genius work that I think the tentacles of it won't be visible to a broader public for quite some time.

-♪ I ran my credit-card bill up ♪ -The two of them feed off of each other as sisters, clearly, but they're different enough that they both stand on their own merits.

♪♪ -Two just beautiful, talented women.

♪♪ -Houston, Texas, is split up into -- They call it wards.

♪♪ Beyoncé lived in what we call Third Ward.

♪♪ Third Ward was full of professionals -- professors, doctors, lawyers, judges, things like this.

The Black bourgeoisie.

♪♪ -During that time, it was a predominantly Black neighborhood, but the neighborhood that they lived in were, um, upper-class.

-It was a beautiful home.

It was upscale but nothing majorly fancy.

-I remember thinking, "Wow!

This is huge!

You know, big house."

I was like, "Wow!

They're rich!"

♪♪ -Beyoncé's mother, Celestine, owned a hair salon.

She's a hairdresser.

-Tina's salon was known.

It was definitely known in Houston amongst Black women, for sure.

♪♪ -That was a space in which the girls are raised to kind of be thinking about hair, like many Southern women are raised around people who do hair, get their hair done.

It is so important.

♪♪ -I remember walking into Miss Tina's salon, and I was like, "This is nice!"

You know?

It's big.

It's, like, women making money doing hair and women looking beautiful.

Like, I just remember thinking as a kid like, "Wow!"

♪♪ -Tina was really good at making people feel really welcome and feeling at home.

And he was really good at the business.

♪♪ -Mathew was a salesman.

That's what Mathew did.

He sold medical equipment.

He was a good salesman.

-He made the type of money where he could -- Both kids flew to wherever they needed to fly.

They could go to wherever they wanted to go.

They went on vacations.

There were no limits.

-I think Beyoncé also saw her parents in that light and saw all the hard work.

And I always say, not only did she see our successes, but she saw our failures.

And it's only through failure can you be successful.

-I love you!

-This is our dream house.

We really love this one.

Y'all say hello!

That's Beyoncé in the middle.

And Solange.

-[ Speaking indistinctly ] [ Laughter ] -Beyoncé and Solange.

They are beyond typical sister-close.

In the house, Beyoncé had a bedroom and Solange had a bedroom.

Beyoncé never slept in her bedroom.

She slept in the same bed with Solange.

That's how close they are.

♪♪ Somehow Beyoncé felt protected when she slept in Solange's room that the boogeyman couldn't get her.

-If Beyoncé got in trouble, you know, I remember Solange being about 2 years old and going, you know, "Stop fussing at my sister," you know?

But she couldn't really say, "Sister."

"You can't --" You know.

"You can't do that!"

Like, Solange, calm down.

Beyoncé is unbothered.

-She takes care of Beyoncé, so to speak, you know?

She was her protector over Beyoncé.

I guess -- I guess being so little, she knew that Beyoncé was shy.

♪♪ -Tina and I, her mother, we -- we didn't know she had this gift.

We didn't know she had this passion.

And she was a little girl.

-Ready!

-Always singing when she was a kid and dancing around in the house.

-[ Speaking indistinctly ] -No matter how old she is, Beyoncé is my baby.

♪♪ She came to me.

Her mom and dad put her in dance classes just to take dance classes because she was very shy.

♪♪ So basically it was just for her to open up a little bit.

♪♪ -She really, you know, didn't have a lot of friends when we were growing up, so the dance studio was a place where she could be herself without being judged or not being liked at school because a lot of girls were mean to her at school.

♪♪ -One particular day at dance, she was humming a song, and I turned around and said, "Sing it again."

And she wouldn't sing it.

And I promised her a dollar.

One dollar.

And she sang.

-[ Indistinct singing ] -And it just blew me away.

And finally I said, "Look, Tina, can I please put her in a pageant or a contest or something?

This child is singing."

She said, "Okay.

Sure."

-And so she decided to compete as a little girl and got on the stage, and we could not believe the Beyoncé we were seeing because she was so animated, so confident.

♪♪ After that, she probably had 30-plus competitions.

Never lost.

Always got a standing ovation.

-She is the winner of the Baby Junior Final category last year.

Her name is Beyoncé Knowles.

[ Cheers and applause ] -♪ Living here ♪ ♪ In this brand-new world ♪ ♪ Might be a fantasy ♪ ♪ But it taught me to love ♪ ♪ So, yes ♪ ♪ So it's real ♪ ♪ It's so real ♪ ♪ It's real ♪ ♪ To me ♪ ♪ The love that people see ♪ -One day in dance class -- By then, she was a little older.

And I looked down and told her.

I said, "You know what?"

She said, "What?"

I said, "The world is going to know your name."

-♪ Full of love ♪ ♪ Like yours, like mine ♪ -"You're gonna be so big.

And all I want is front-row seats."

And she said, "I am?"

And she just didn't even say, "Wow," or, "Really?

You think so?"

You know?

She said, "Oh.

Okay."

Because that's who she is.

Just humble and grounded.

You know?

Never forget that day.

♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you!

[ Man singing operatically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -I had never really heard of opera until I met David.

And I remember, when he would teach me, I would get so frustrated because he was teaching me technique that I just felt like, "I can't do this.

This is hard."

You know, because opera sits in a different place than any other music.

-[ Singing operatically ] ♪♪ -He would give me techniques that, overnight, like, my voice would just blossom.

-[ Singing operatically ] ♪♪ -Eight months later, I got a phone call from Beyoncé's mother, who asked me if I would audition her daughter.

I asked her how old she was.

She said 8.

And I thought, "Oh, my God.

Why is God sending me all these kids?

This is like -- Can I get some adults, please?"

But at any rate, I agreed to -- to audition her.

And when she opened her mouth, what I heard I can only describe as molten gold.

-♪ And now I learned the meaning to your story ♪ ♪ And it's enough love for me to stay ♪ -And I thought... "I'm a part of history."

♪♪ ♪♪ -She's the beginning of the Beyoncé story.

Without her money and without her dedication to building this girl group, there might not have been a Beyoncé.

-Anne was like the mother, the aunt, the big sister, but she was very, like, the best manager.

♪♪ -She told me about her dream of building a girl group, and I was intrigued.

And I had three groups in mind.

I had The Clark Sisters, which is a gospel group.

-♪ A love song ♪ Then I had The Emotions, which was a popular singing group.

-The Emotions!

-♪ Hey, if you really wanna come along with me, smile ♪ ♪ Baby, baby, baby, won't you smile with me?

♪ -Fabulous.

I mean, to me, they're like the epitome of girl band.

-♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ -And, uh, The Andrews Sisters in those old black-and-white movies.

-♪ Straighten up and fly right ♪ ♪ Cool down, Papa, don't you blow your top ♪ -For that, I needed special girls.

And I found my special girls in Beyoncé, Kelly, and Ashley.

-♪ I wanna be where you are ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Anywhere you are ♪ -♪ Meaning to your story ♪ ♪ And it's enough love for me to stay ♪ ♪ I wanna be where you are ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ ♪ Anywhere you are ♪ ♪ Ohh, ohh ♪ ♪ I wanna be where you are ♪ ♪ Ohh, ohh ♪ -♪ I wanna be, I wanna be, oh ♪ -We used every nook and cranny of the house we could.

If someone had to change clothes, they were upstairs.

If someone had to get their hair done, they were in the kitchen.

It just felt like this multi-purpose home.

-♪ Yeah, yeah, baby, I wanna be, I wanna be, oh ♪ -He worked them very hard.

He really did.

They had to put in hours of practice, and they had breathing techniques, and they had potion to drink and exercises to do to strengthen their voices.

-[ Choir singing ] -Beyoncé was extremely interested in classical music.

They all were, but Beyoncé was kind of, like, fanatical.

-[ Choir singing ] -We would study Bach chorales, and I would teach them music theory based on Bach chorales.

And so when you listen to Destiny's Child songs, you're listening to Bach.

-♪ Thank you, Lord, hallelujah ♪ ♪ You've been so good to me ♪ ♪ Thank you, Lord, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I'm grateful for my blessings ♪ ♪ I give you the praise ♪ ♪♪ -All the focus was on Beyoncé, and I think that might be the reason why she was fighting for so much, um, attention.

Because even as a child, even at 4 or 5, she recognized that she was gonna get lost -- lost in the sauce.

-Solange wanted to sing.

Solange wanted to hang with us.

It was a typical, "Get out of my room."

Like, you know, "Go do your own thing."

♪♪ -During our rehearsals, she would just be sitting on the side doing what we're doing, and she would want to do it.

And Mr. Knowles would be like, "No," you know, "You can't go this time."

♪♪ -Beyoncé was embarrassed by the unequal -- the inequality in support for her and Solange.

She was getting more attention in the group.

She was getting more attention than her sister.

Beyoncé felt extremely uncomfortable with all of this unfair attention.

[ Static ] -Best new star of the year!

Ladies and gentlemen, your host for "Star Search: '91," Ed McMahon!

♪♪ -Thank you, Skeleton Crew.

Your challengers are a young group from Houston.

Welcome Beyoncé, LaTavia, Nina, Nikki, Kelly, and Ashley -- the hip-hop rappin' Girls Tyme!

[ Cheers and applause ] -I just remember "Star Search" was not as fun.

It just felt so business, you know?

That was the show that all kids wanted to be on.

I mean, Justin Timberlake was on there.

Christina Aguilera was on -- You know what I mean?

It was the show of all shows.

But for us, when we got there, it just felt like nothing but business.

-♪ Yeah, G.T.

in the house ♪ ♪ With a brand-new slam guaranteed to make you jam ♪ ♪ While you're eatin' your green eggs and ham ♪ ♪ So check it out ♪ ♪ Hey, it's time to get busy ♪ -♪ Yeah ♪ -When we got up and performed, you can see it on our faces.

We weren't as smiley, and it just felt like, "Alright.

Let's get this over with."

And then when we didn't win, we cried!

Oh, we cried!

-The challenger, Girls Tyme, receives... three stars.

Skeleton Crew.

Champions once again.

[ Static ] -It was the first trauma that the girls collectively as a group experienced.

-I played the parent role in the beginning.

It was only up until they lost on "Star Search" and they were crying their hearts out.

And I went over to Ed McMahon and said, "What do a dad does?

Look at these kids.

They're crying their hearts out."

He goes, "Mr. Knowles, you know, people that's won on this show, they never go on to be professionals, but people who lose on this show, they go back, they rededicate, they refocus, they make changes in the organization, and some of them go on to be professionals."

And I really listened to that.

And that's exactly what we did when we got back to Houston.

♪♪ ♪♪ -That was the moment everything changed.

All of a sudden, there was competition.

The parents were fighting for territory.

The harmony was going away from my little wonderful group.

♪♪ ♪♪ -I remember they sat us down in the living room.

Mathew was like, "Ashley will no longer be with us."

And we cried, you know, because no one told us.

♪♪ I just didn't see them anymore.

We didn't really talk.

And then the first time I saw Beyoncé was 2014.

[ Chuckles ] That's a huge gap.

-♪ You'll be sayin' no, no, no, no, no ♪ ♪ When it's really yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ You'll be sayin' no, no, no, no, no ♪ ♪ When it's really yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ Boy, I know you want me, I can see it in your eyes ♪ ♪ But you keep on frontin', won't you say what's on your mind?

♪ ♪ 'Cause each and every time you need me ♪ ♪ You give me signs ♪ ♪ But when I ask you what's the deal, you hold it all inside ♪ -While we were in middle school, that was when, um, "No, No, No" came out with Destiny's Child, and I never realized how big of a deal it was because all my life, like, we've been dancing, we've been singing, we've been doing all of these things.

-♪ When it's really yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -These girls are on the radio!

Like the same people that I've been, you know, hanging out at the house trying to figure out how to sing.

They're on the radio!

Wait a minute.

They're -- They're famous!

-♪ Everything you like is with me ♪ ♪ So if you know like I know, this is where you need to be ♪ -♪ Do you ever wonder when he ♪ -The fact that they would perform in stilettos.

For those of us who cannot wear stilettos for even a few minutes, that's just an amazing feat... [Laughing] to be able to do something like that.

-♪ And why in the middle of the night... ♪ -They each had their own personality.

Sort of almost "Charlie's Angels," you know?

It was -- Each one had their own thing and their own style of dressing.

-♪ From the first sign of him tryin' to play ♪ ♪ If you want me to stay, you gotta let all that go ♪ ♪ Oh, but, no, you wanna stick around ♪ -I want to show you one of the dresses that Beyoncé actually wore for the cover of the single "No, No, No, No."

This is the actual dress she wore.

It's a dress made of rubber.

[ Laughs ] And I just thought that was so interesting when I came across it.

♪♪ I was thinking high fashion at the time, so I wanted them to look, you know, really stylish, but youthful, you know?

Not, you know, too grown for their ages.

♪♪ I think at that time, for a lot of R&B groups and, you know, hip-hop and all that stuff, it was kind of, like, tomboy looks, which I wasn't crazy about at the time.

I would put, like, a tube top on them and high heels or something just to flip it a little bit.

♪♪ -The album cover shows Destiny's Child in leather dresses.

Now, this was, for the time, very...

This was unheard of.

But they were so beautiful.

And they were -- It was hot.

They were hot.

After that album cover, the marketing department got Destiny's Child.

[ "Bills, Bills, Bills" plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ You triflin' ♪ ♪ Good-for-nothing type of brother ♪ ♪ Silly me, why haven't I found another?

♪ ♪ A baller, when times get hard, I need someone to help me out ♪ ♪ Instead of a scrub like you ♪ ♪ Who don't know what a man's about ♪ ♪ Can you pay my bills?

Can you pay my telephone bills?

♪ ♪ Do you pay my automo' bills?

♪ ♪ If you did, then maybe we could chill ♪ -The salon was, like, the focal point in terms of it was -- it became the first stage.

-♪ You've been maxing out my card, card ♪ -You had the who's who coming in there just to come and visit.

It was women just conversing with each other.

She did slight events there.

Um, sometimes we would perform there.

-♪ You be ballin' ♪ ♪ And then you use my cellphone, phone ♪ -When they wanted to sing what they had been practicing in front of people, they would go to the hair salon and harass those women who were stuck and who couldn't get away because they were under the hair dryers.

[ Laughs ] -♪ Pay my bills, can you pay my telephone bills?

♪ ♪ Do you pay my automo' bills?

♪ ♪ If you did, then maybe we could chill ♪ ♪ I don't think you do ♪ -♪ Do ♪ -♪ So you and me are through ♪ -♪ Through ♪ -[ Vocalizing ] ♪♪ -Solange was always, as a little girl, always trying to sing... ...which makes sense.

She's in the house where girls have invaded her home every day for years to come and work with a private voice teacher who lives in the house on the property, and she's not getting any voice lessons!

Her parents tell her, no, she can't have voice lessons.

They don't believe in her.

And what did I tell you about Solange earlier?

Solange wants to be seen.

She's not gonna be ignored.

♪♪ I thought that they would not help her.

Um, but Solange being Solange... [ Laughs ] ...she found a way.

She, uh, was a great negotiator.

-She is very direct, very forward, and she's gonna tell you what she thinks.

-When he finally acquiesced and decided, "Okay, Solange, I'm going to help you get a record deal," he developed a plan.

-♪ Won't let you go ♪ -Part of that plan was to do features on rappers' videos.

-♪ A memory I had since you've come my way ♪ ♪ I hope you know ♪ ♪ I'll gladly go ♪ -♪ This was meant to be ♪ ♪ They called us little one and shorty ♪ ♪ Find us hugged up at every school party ♪ -The rappers were terrible.

-♪ See me again when I'm grown, type of playa ♪ ♪ But it ain't, it just sounds like that ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm just too young to get down ♪ -Then he got her connected to children's programs.

Just trying to get her some exposure.

[ Static ] -"The Proud Family," premiering this September.

-♪ Sleep tight knowing that you're there ♪ -Sweet dreams.

-♪ You're everywhere ♪ ♪ In my heart, and even in my soul ♪ ♪ You know I take you every single place I go ♪ ♪ Every day, I'm hangin' with my friends ♪ ♪ That's who, but when the day ends ♪ ♪ I wanna feel the love I know that's really true ♪ ♪ I only wanna feel how I feel when I'm with you ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ S-O-L-O S-T-A-R ♪ ♪ Is how I roll, solo star ♪ -Is that the one where she was sounding and looking like Beyoncé?

Yeah.

[ Laughs ] ♪ This guy that I'm diggin' ♪ ♪ What I've been looking for ♪ ♪ Don't know where to begin ♪ -It was feeling too much like Beyoncé, but I didn't feel that was quite her, you know?

I felt like she wanted to say something different.

-Solange's first record was a flop.

Complete flop.

-♪ Original and so deep ♪ ♪ This guy is just like me ♪ -♪ Hey, uh, let's try something ♪ ♪ Let's try to be together ♪ ♪ Wrong choice of words ♪ ♪ I just want time together ♪ -They were hating.

They were hating on Solange.

I thought that was terrible.

Yeah, they -- they -- Yeah, the -- the coverage of that was terrible.

So she never liked being Beyoncé's sister in that aspect.

She's had at least 20 years of hearing only about her sister.

So for somebody to compare her to Beyoncé or to trash her work, she took it personal.

♪♪ ♪♪ -I do miss her.

When I found out she passed, it was, ugh, you know?

It was very devastating.

She was very nurturing to our feelings, our emotions.

Like, if we were rehearsing for a long time, she was our balance to say, "Okay, that's enough today.

Let's stop today."

-♪ Amazing grace ♪ -♪ How sweet ♪ -♪ How, how sweet, sweet ♪ -♪ The sound ♪ -♪ The sound ♪ -♪ Sound ♪ -♪ That saved ♪ -♪ Saved ♪ -♪ Saved a wretch ♪ -♪ A wretch ♪ -♪ Oh, oh oh oh ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -The girls didn't break up.

Matthew decided to kick them out.

-And why did the band split?

-I'm not talking about that.

Next question.

-Oh.

-See, the beauty about interviewing is, I only can talk what I want to talk about.

If I don't want to talk about it, I say, "Next question."

♪♪ -They loved making that album.

Loved, loved, loved making that album.

That's why it was so painful when LeToya and LaTavia were kicked out of the group.

She really thought her career was just over, and she said that she was gonna give up.

♪♪ ♪♪ Whenever Beyoncé would get depressed about something her parents did, Solange, you know, just go and tell her truth.

-Solange is gonna tell you how she feel.

If it wasn't right, it wasn't right.

She would call green green and a horse a horse.

And if she was right, hey, you wasn't gonna tell her otherwise.

-"You got to get up because this is your career, and you can't let Mama and Daddy ruin your career.

Get up and fight."

And Beyoncé got up and fought.

♪♪ -♪ Now that you're outta my life, I'm so much better ♪ ♪ You thought that I'd be weak without you ♪ ♪ But I'm stronger ♪ ♪ You thought that I'd be broke without you ♪ ♪ But I'm richer ♪ ♪ You thought that I'd be sad without you ♪ ♪ I laugh harder ♪ ♪ Thought I wouldn't grow without you ♪ ♪ Now I'm wiser ♪ ♪ Thought that I'd be helpless without you ♪ ♪ But I'm smarter ♪ -They had the courage to do "Survivor."

That cemented Destiny's Child in the history of music.

-♪ I'm a survivor ♪ ♪ I'm not gon' give up ♪ ♪ I'm not gon' stop ♪ ♪ I'm gon' work harder ♪ -From then on, it's just been up, up, up, up, up, up, up.

-Here we go!

♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run this motha?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run this motha?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run this motha?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run this motha?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Who run the world?

♪ -♪ Girls ♪ -♪ Some of them men think they freak this like we do ♪ ♪ But, no, they don't ♪ ♪ Make your check, come at they neck ♪ ♪ Disrespect us, no, they won't ♪ -Every album, she somehow surpasses what she's done.

And creates a new pinnacle to reach.

And then, just like it's nothing, she waves her hand and she's got something even better than that.

-♪ Gon' be rockin' chinchilla coats ♪ ♪ If I let you go ♪ ♪ Gettin' the house off the coast ♪ ♪ If I let you go ♪ ♪ She gon' take everything I own ♪ ♪ If I let you go ♪ ♪ I can't let you go ♪ ♪ Damn if I let you go ♪ ♪ She gon' rock them VVS stones ♪ -I haven't seen anything she's done that I didn't like.

And I haven't -- I've never heard a song that she sang that I didn't like, so... -♪ Gettin' the house off the coast ♪ ♪ If I let you go ♪ ♪ She gon' take everything I own ♪ -She is the hardest-working woman in the business.

-♪ She gon' rock them ♪♪ [ Somber music plays ] ♪♪ -Beyoncé is getting bigger and bigger, and Solange was fighting for her spot, to be seen, in a state that I can only imagine would be one of confusion and anger.

-She's had to deal with the rejection, and she's had to regroup.

♪♪ ♪♪ -She just really wanted out of her parents' house.

-Think about the 20s as a space of kind of defining yourself as a young person and separating from the parents.

That's happening.

-Eventually, Solange did what Solange did best.

She said, "I'm gonna do it my way."

And so her answer to that was a song called "...the Industry."

-♪ I'll never be picture perfect Beyoncé ♪ ♪ Fly like J.Lo or singing baby like Ashanti ♪ And this song marks the beginning of Solange taking her power back.

-♪ So I'm writing this letter to the industry ♪ ♪ It says...you, signed sincerely ♪ -[ Laughs ] She just tells you exactly where she is.

"This is where I am.

...the industry."

-♪ I was a little different ♪ ♪♪ ♪ I didn't do what the fast girls do ♪ ♪ You studied my rhythm ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Now you can speed me up when you want to ♪ -What we see is something fantastic on that album, as she has been able to say, "No, this is who I am, and this is who I'm going to be, and I'm going to continue to evolve in ways that maybe don't fit here."

-♪ Took me around ♪ ♪ Introduced me to your family and friends ♪ -There are tons of interviews where Solange is there to promote her project, and they start talking about Beyoncé.

There are a couple of them where she actually goes off on the host.

-Hey, Solange, good morning, and thanks a lot for joining us.

-Good morning.

I have to say, that was, uh, not a very professional introduction before.

Please don't tie me in to family and my brother-in-law's establishment.

-Yo-- uh, okay.

Well, we do apologize.

-That wasn't live, Solange.

That wasn't on TV.

-Okay.

Well, whatever the case, we do apologize.

We're glad that you're here with us this morning.

-♪ I'll never be picture perfect Beyoncé ♪ ♪ Fly like J.Lo or singing baby like Ashanti ♪ -I think Solange has been saying, you know, "I'm going to be the totality of who I am.

It could be messy.

It could be flawed."

And I don't think she's sort of clapping back at her sister.

-It's interesting that Solange chooses "picture perfect Beyoncé," because the industry and the media have not seen Beyoncé as picture-perfect.

She can be seen as both, that people, "Oh, flawless.

She can do no wrong," and yet people have torn her down at every single instance.

To see what Beyoncé went through in the media because of that, because they're paying more attention to, also took a toll, and then that comes out in songs like "Pretty Hurts."

-♪ Mama said, "You're a pretty girl ♪ ♪ What's in your head, it doesn't matter ♪ -There's something literal about light and shadow that we should think about when we're thinking about the dialogue that these sisters are having.

The trap and prison of prettiness.

Like, Beyoncé has -- has told us this.

The pageant trap.

The beauty trap.

She's been telling us, "This isn't a comfortable space.

Pretty hurts."

-♪ Pretty hurts ♪ ♪ We shine the light on whatever's worst ♪ ♪ Perfection is a disease of a nation ♪ ♪ Pretty hurts, pretty hurts ♪ -I remember thinking, like, "There's gonna be a lot of backlash against this," because they're like, "Oh, really?

It sucks for you to be pretty," you know?

But, no, it's the trap of beauty standards and what people expect of you when you show up and look in a particular way.

-♪ Are you happy with yourself?

♪ ♪ Pretty hurts, pretty hurts ♪ ♪ Are you happy with yourself?

♪ ♪ Pretty hurts, pretty hurts ♪ ♪ Yes ♪ ♪ Ah, ah ah ♪♪ ♪ Na-na-na, diva is a female version of a hustla ♪ ♪ Of a hustla, of a, of a hustla ♪ -She introduces the world to this character, Sasha Fierce, with the "I Am...Sasha Fierce" album, which is like a binary back and forth of the quiet, shy Beyoncé persona and the over-the-top wild Sasha Fierce that can do anything and has so much confidence.

-♪ Tell me something ♪ -♪ Tell me something ♪ -♪ Where yo boss at?

♪ ♪ Where my ladies up in here that like to talk back?

♪ -♪ They like to talk back ♪ -♪ I wanna see ya ♪ ♪ I'd like to meet ya ♪ ♪ What you say?

♪ -When Beyoncé was 16, I talked to her about a drag queen that I knew in Houston, Texas, who was one of the most brilliant drag queens I have ever seen in my life.

His name was Corwin Hawkins, and his drag name was called Amazing Grace.

I couldn't take her to the drag club because, you know, she couldn't get in.

[ Laughs ] But I could describe it for her.

And I told her about this moment where he'd fallen to his knees, and there was a fan in front of him, and his hair would blow.

And the audience went crazy.

All of a sudden, Beyoncé, with the release of this album, falls on the floor in front of fans and her hair is blowing.

I know that she's taken Corwin onto the stage with her.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" plays ] -♪ All the single ladies, all the single ladies ♪ ♪ All the single ladies, all the single ladies ♪ ♪ All the single ladies, all the single ladies ♪ ♪ All the single ladies, now put your hands up ♪ The Sasha Fierce container is the space where Beyoncé is saying, "I'm probably not fitting where you think I'm going to fit, but I'm going to create this -- this space over here, and there's Beyoncé over here, and I'm going to evolve in these spaces.

-♪ I cried my tears, gave you three good years ♪ ♪ You can't be mad at me ♪ ♪ 'Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it ♪ ♪ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it ♪ ♪ Don't be mad once you see that he want it ♪ ♪ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it ♪ ♪ Whoa-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh ♪ -What comes out of the "I am...Sasha Fierce" moment is that everything Beyoncé does, even the "I am" part, is a performance.

So we've never really gotten private Beyoncé stuff since then.

-♪ Hold up, they don't love you like I love you ♪ ♪ Slow down, they don't love you like I love you ♪ ♪ Back up, they don't love you like I love you ♪ ♪ Step down, they don't love you like I love you ♪♪ [ "Cranes in the Sky" plays ] ♪♪ -That was a big year, in 2016.

You see both sisters creating these huge, magnum opus kind of albums that are so different from one another but so similar at the same time, and they come out right in the same year.

-♪ I tried to drink it away ♪ ♪ I tried to put one in the air ♪ -"Seat at the Table" was the best seat at the table.

[ Chuckles ] She was awesome.

That -- that sound was just perfect for her.

And the styling, everything went together seamlessly.

-♪ Though a new dress would make it better ♪ -The title alone speaks volumes.

Solange took her seat at the table.

She decided, "That's a table.

There's a chair, and I'm taking it."

-♪ Fall in your ways ♪ ♪ So you can crumble ♪ -When you are growing up and nurturing a gift, I guess somewhat in the shadow of someone who's become this mega superstar, you are making it known that you are very much still a part of the seat at the table.

-[ Vocalizing ] ♪♪ ♪ Fall in your ways ♪♪ [ "Lemonade" plays ] ♪♪ -"Lemonade," I think, will be one of the greatest albums of all time.

You look back in 50 years and it's gonna be the one something that everyone is a historical document -♪ And true love never has to hide ♪ -♪ True love never has to hide ♪ -♪ I'll trade your broken wings for mine ♪ -♪ Trade your broken wings for mine ♪ -♪ I've seen your scars and kissed your crime ♪ -♪ Seen your scars and kissed your crime ♪ -She was able to put everything that she'd been thinking about or playing around with ideas of feminism, of Black history, of gender dynamics that you pick out in different places in her catalogue, it all comes together in "Lemonade."

♪♪ -♪ Love, all night long ♪ -In a time that was so fraught for Black Americans, in terms of the lead-up to the 2016 election, to get some introspective work was a breath of fresh air.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -During that period of time, we have the murder of Trayvon Martin... ♪♪ ...and we have other high-profile murders of young Black men and then of young Black women.

So what do we have?

We have the Black Lives Matter movement emerge.

♪♪ -What do we want?!

-Justice!

-When do we want it?!

-Now!

-What do we want?!

-Justice!

-We can see both of their work as in conversation with a moment that is confusing, because here we have, you know, the first Black president and also this rise of social media and documentation of violence.

And they have to respond to that.

-♪ Don't touch my hair ♪ ♪♪ ♪ When it's the feelings I wear ♪ -"Don't Touch My Hair" It's just a beautiful song, and I think that Black women may have been waiting to hear a song like that.

-♪ I know ♪ ♪ Don't touch my crown ♪ -Her music is healing.

It is healing for me.

I mean, it's truly -- Her music healed the soul.

It really does.

-♪ ...what's there ♪ -For a woman to express, "Do not touch my hair," that is not just a contemporary statement.

It is speaking to a kind of history that Black people are fully aware of.

If we go back and look at enslavement, we know that the freedom that people who were purchasers of Black people as bodies had the freedom to touch those bodies.

-♪ But this hair is mine ♪ -And then I listened to the album, and I'm thinking, "Okay.

There are little interludes between the songs where her mother and father are speaking."

-KKK members having signs and throwing cans at us, spitting at us.

We lived in the threat of death every day.

Every day.

So I was just lost in this vacuum between integration and segregation and racism.

That was my childhood.

I was angry for years.

-The things that her parents are talking about on that record, Solange never knew.

Solange never knew that her father suffered in Alabama, that racism was so strong in Alabama.

-Back in those days, Alabama might not have been the easiest place for a young African American to grow up in.

Imagine the questions for a little child back in those days.

"Why would I have to use a separate restroom?

Why would I have to use a separate water fountain?"

But that was the day and the time.

Alabama was actually at sort of the epicenter of that -- that moment in history.

-She learned a lot about her parents, and thus she learned a lot about herself.

-♪ My daddy Alabama, momma Louisiana ♪ ♪ You mix that Negro with that Creole ♪ ♪ Make a Texas bama ♪ ♪ I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros ♪ ♪ I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils ♪ ♪ Earned all this money ♪ ♪ But they never take the country out me ♪ ♪ I got hot sauce in my bag, swag ♪ -Ooh, yeah, baby.

-Racism is not something that they would have been insulated from or isolated from, so that it shows up in their music in 2016 should be of no surprise to anyone.

-I don't think it's a surprise for people who, you know, are astute watchers of, you know, Black women musicians or Black Southerners.

But I do think it was a surprise for many people.

I don't know if you have seen this "SNL" sketch, "Beyoncé is Black."

Have you seen that sketch?

-Beyoncé released a new music video that embraces her Black heritage.

-Beyoncé video is unapologetically Black.

-Attributed to the Black Lives Matter movement.

-It's for Black... -Claiming her Blackness like never before.

-Honey, get in here!

-What is it?

What's wrong?

-Out of nowhere.

-Black.

-I think Beyoncé is Black.

[ Dark music plays ] -[ Laughing ] It's just like that was one of the first times that I considered white people weren't understanding Beyoncé in the way that I was.

-Obviously, she is Black.

Everyone's known that.

But the fact that so many people can overlook it until 2016, when she won't let you overlook it anymore, um, that says a lot about society.

-♪ So I cry and I cry and I beg ♪ ♪ Love me, love me ♪ ♪ Say that you love me ♪ ♪ Fool me, fool me ♪ ♪ Go on and fool me ♪ ♪ Love me, love me ♪ ♪ Pretend that you love me ♪ -Here we have grown women, as it were, women who are in their 30s, who are thinking about, like, "Okay.

I've climbed this hill of adolescence, both as a woman and as an artist, and here I am, and I know what I want to say."

-♪ And I pray ♪ -It's fun just as a fan, because you never know what you are gonna get next.

♪♪ -And now my heart knows no delight.

-I boarded a train, kissed all goodbye.

I boarded a train, kissed all goodbye.

And now my heart knows no delight.

♪♪ -Goodbye.

♪♪ -We can only heal by going back.

So I think that's why she's done this album, returning home, and she's talking about South MacGregor and the park and places that were very significant in her childhood.

♪♪ It is the last journey that she needs to take to be on the road of peace.

-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ Stack my money fast and go ♪ -♪ Fast, fast ♪ -♪ Fast like a Lambo ♪ -♪ Skrrt, skrrt, skrrt ♪ -They brought movement into a space that seemed so very stoic and still and serious.

It was such a statement about the importance of Black cultures, of African-descended people, and about inserting ourselves into these histories where we're often absented from.

-♪ I can't believe we made it ♪ -♪ This is different, ay, ay ♪ -♪ You ever seen the crowd goin'... ♪ -They have two totally different genres and two totally different styles, and they support one another to the utmost.

-Their impact will, like, blossom and unfold.

Like, the tentacles of it will be more visible in the years to come.

-♪ Got me so lit, I need Tylenol ♪ -Because they're one of a kind.

There will never be another two just beautiful, talented women.

-♪ ...a week, oh no ♪ ♪ My, how time, it goes so fast ♪ ♪ But I still refuse to call his ass ♪ ♪ I remember the way that I reacted ♪ ♪ And today, he's even more attractive ♪ ♪ But I really miss Tony ♪ ♪ Still, he wasn't just some regular guy ♪ ♪ Tony actually, the other night ♪ ♪ Oh, why, could've been in love by now ♪ ♪ If it wasn't for Tony ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Could've been in love by now if it wasn't for Tony ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪♪