Solange worked through personal issues while recording new album

Singer Solange worked through a series of personal issues while recording her new album A Seat At The Table and insists the experience helped make her a better person.

The 30-year-old released the record in September (16) to critical acclaim and now reveals it took three years to make the album, because each song forced her to tackle some serious issues that were weighing on her.

"It really started with wanting to unravel some truths and some untruths," she told sister Beyonce in a candid new article for Interview magazine. "There were things that had been weighing heavy on me for quite some time, and I went into this hole, trying to work through some of these things so that I could be a better me and be a better mom to (son) Julez and be a better wife and a better friend and a better sister..."

Solange considers A Seat at the Table her most personal work to date because of the amount of production she did on the record. In addition to writing the songs, she also played some of the instruments and produced the songs.

"One of my biggest inspirations in terms of female producers is Missy (Elliott)," she says. "I remember seeing her when you... worked (with her) and being enamoured with the idea that I could use myself as more than a voice and the words... When I started to work on the sonics for this record, I realized that I had to create such a very specific sonic landscape in telling the story.

"I had these jam sessions, and there were holes that no one else could really fill for me. It really came out of a need for something outside of what I could articulate and lead someone else to do. And it was scary. It was really scary, and a lot of times I was frustrated with myself and feeling insecure because it was new to operate in that space and be in front of people at this age, learning something on this level. But I feel so grateful and excited that there's a new phase that I conquered as an artist."