Solange Knowles

Solange Knowles may be graceful, soft-spoken, even bashful. But inquire about her über-famous sister and she might just lose her cool. "At first I didn't want to make people uncomfortable in interviews. I didn't want to come off rude or arrogant. But now, I just really don't care," the 22-year-old singer/songwriter says when asked about being compared to her superstar sibling Beyonce. "Now, I'm very good at saying this is not what this project is about. I'm not asking you about your mom, auntie or cousin, so, respect me and be more creative."

It's her frank approach that drives her eclectic sophomore album, Sol Angel and The Hadley St. Dreams, released August 26th via Music World/Geffen Records. On tracks like "God Given Name," she continues to refute comparisons to big sis, vehemently chanting, "I'm not her and never will be / two girls gone in different directions, striving towards the same galaxy / let my star light shine on its own / No, I'm no sister, I'm just my God-given name."

Also contained in Sol Angel… are the break-up track "Valentine's Day," the Bilal-penned "Cosmic Journey," the regretful "T.O.N.Y.," about a one night stand, the first single "I Decided," and the drum-based, second single "Sand Castle Disco," whose video was helmed by Solange in her directorial debut. The Neptunes, Jack Splash, Q-Tip and Mark Ronson contribute production to the set, which she describes as a "marriage of ‘60s and ‘70s music with subtle hints of electronica."

But once upon a time, the now divorced, single mother of one wasn't as assertive. In 2002 Solange released Solo Star, her pop-driven Music World/Columbia debut, which has only sold 112,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her lack of aggressiveness was partly to blame for her album's slump, she says.

"I've always known what I wanted, I just didn't know how to execute it," says Knowles. "At 15 years old I wasn't in any condition to express myself how I wanted to. Furthermore, I was at a label that didn't try to develop me or ask me, for that matter, what kind of record I was trying to make. They just got all the big wigs [producers] and hoped we formulated big songs."

Now, Solange has a home that sees her vision and doesn't have many qualms about her being her own woman, whether brassy or not. She recently signed on to be the face of Armani Jeans, and partnered with L'Oreal and Samantha Thavasa handbags. She will also perform in September on CBS's star-studded Fashion Rocks special.

"Women, especially in R&B, more so than any other genre, are supposed to be very prim and proper and diplomatic. I just have a really hard time with that," she says. "But I definitely want to have creative control and I want to do things on my own terms. In the meantime, I will continue to play the game."