Almeda
by Solange (featuring Playboi Carti)

Album: When I Get Home (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • When I Get Home acts as an ode to Solange's hometown of Houston. The song is titled after the area that is located 11 miles outside of downtown Houston.
  • "Amelda" draws from Solange's cultural experiences as an African-American female growing up in Houston. Its composition utilizes chopped and screwed, a technique of remixing hip-hop music originated in Houston by producer DJ Screw in the 1990s. His method was to slow down the basic tracks of a cut ("Screwing"), before applying techniques such as skipping beats and record scratching to produce a "chopped-up" version of the original.
  • Lyrically, the song is a daydream in which Solange wearing black braids sips on purple drank

    Pour my drank, drank
    Sip, sip, sip, sip, sip


    Purple drank is a stripe or fruit juice mixed with prescription-strength cough syrup, which was popularized by DJ Screw.

    Solange also references the unisex perfume Florida Water as a metaphor for the strength of black faith.

    Black faith still can't be washed away
    Not even in that Florida water


    The body scent is often used as a form of holy water in Wiccan and Vodun religious rituals.
  • The song features an appearance by rapper Playboi Carti, while The-Dream, who co-wrote the cut, croons the refrain. Solange and Playboi Carti have never worked together before. The-Dream also appears on another When I Get Home track, "Binz," and previously collaborated with Solange on her A Seat at the Table tunes "F.U.B.U." and "Mad."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Weezer

WeezerFact or Fiction

Did Rivers Cuomo grow up on a commune? Why did they name their albums after colors? See how well you know your Weezer in this Fact or Fiction.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.