Beyonce knew Solange was 'super special'

11 January 2017

Beyonce always knew her sister Solange Knowles would be "something super special".

Beyonce

The 'XO' hitmaker has always been impressed by the 30-year-old singer's focus and determination and desire to always follow her instincts, even when other people disagreed with her.

She said: "I remember thinking, 'My little sister is going to be something super special,' because you always seemed to know what you wanted. And I'm just curious, where did that come from?"

Solange explained: "I have no idea, to be honest! I always knew what I wanted. We damn sure know that I wasn't always right. But I'd sit firm, whether I was right or wrong.

"I guess a part of that was being the baby of the family and being adamant that, in a house of five, my voice was being heard.

"Another part is that I remember being really young and having this voice inside that told me to trust my gut. And my gut has been really, really strong in my life. It's pretty vocal and it leads me. Sometimes I haven't listened, and those times didn't end up very well for me.

"I think all of our family--you and mom--we're all very intuitive people. A lot of that comes through our mother, her always following her gut, and I think that spoke to me really loudly at a young age and encouraged me to do the same."

The 35-year-old singer - who has five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay Z - is also in awe of the way Solange is able to spot hot new talent long before anyone else does.

Speaking to her sister for Interview magazine, she said: "You have an ability to see things before they happen that I've never really seen in anyone else as consistently as you do.

"You always know the new artists two years before they come out. Or the new DJs or producers or the new fashion brands ... How do you do that?"

And Solange - who is married to Alan Ferguson and has 12-year-old son Julez from a past relationship - credits her talent-spotting skills to using the Internet too much.

She replied: "I'm probably on the internet way more than I should be. [both laugh] I don't know. I love connecting people. I love introducing people to other people who are doing incredible work in the world. And I'm just on the internet too damn much."

During their conversation, Beyonce admitted she felt "proud" to introduce Solange to one of her heroes, Nas, because she was "surprised to see her "too-cool-for-everything" sibling act "a fool" in his presence because she was so overwhelmed.

She recalled: "One of my proudest moments as a sister was when I was able to introduce you to your hero, Nas, and you cried and acted a fool. I was so surprised that Mrs. Too-cool-for-everything was acting a fool."