Monthly Archives: February 2012

#NaturalHair – The Soundtrack

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the soundtrack to our curls. (all pictures from last.fm)

I love stereotypes. After reading that sentence, you may be giving me the o_O face, but I genuinely do. I love them because I love getting the chance to break them. (Or maybe I’m a masochist, who knows?) Now there are a million and one stereotypes out there about us girls that have decided to go natural. Everything from we’re all militant feminists, to we’re all vegan, to we could never dare be friends with ANY woman who could even remotely think of putting a perm in her hair.

(._.)

One of the BEST (and absolutely hilarious) stereotypes is that girls with natural hair only listen to “conscious” music. No Southern rap, no booty shakin’ music, and DEFINITELY nothing outside the genres of R&B/approved hip-hop.

 

precisely what my face looked like.

 

My good friends Peebz and Alise that brought this assertion to my attention, and I got confused. Real confused. So what they’re saying is, the minute I chopped all of the perm out of my hair, I forfeited the right to listen to such great (and sometimes ratchet as all hell) artists such as UGK, Project Pat, and Gucci Mane? Oh. Ok. What am I supposed to listen to on the way to the bar? I mean, right now, I’ll listen to Racks on Racks, or Rack City, or The Motto (YOLO!) but am I supposed to be listening to Next Lifetime, Golden, or Doo Wop (That Thing) instead? And all because I have baby locs in my hair? NO MA’AM, NO SIR. I liked my ratchet music when I had a perm, and I might like it even more now because I get to shake these locs to it!

Don’t get me wrong, I love every song that I just named at the end of that sentence, but I feel like my selection of music shouldn’t be expected to change SOLELY because I don’t perm my hair anymore. Sometimes the world needs a little ratchet music. My iTunes isn’t indicative of what anyone else listens to but me. Hmph.

That being said, it was only fitting that I came up with a playlist of music that is #NaturalHair tried, tested, and approved. Here is a sneak peek into some of what will  help all of my natural-haired sisters through those long bouts of detangling, co-washing, re-twisting, Bantu knotting, and deep conditioning.

Sister Jill...

 

Because I am *not* my hair.

Queen Mother Chaka! (And ATCQ)

See? All vetted through the #NaturalHair Committee on Musical Selections.

The playlist can be found on my Spotify, and the more than 200 songs should prove to be your new go-to track list on your hair days, or any other day that you want to get a dose of approved music. :-)

To my readers, I come asking you for your help. If you have any suggestions on songs that could be added to the playlist (and that are #NaturalHair friendly), please toss them into the comments, and I’ll add them to my ever-growing list of songs. Happy co-washing and conscious music listening!

 

Feature Fridays – Robert Glasper Experiment “Ah Yeah”

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Hello there good people! It’s been entirely too long since I’ve done a Feature Fridays post, but I knew I couldn’t come back with it until I had something that struck me to my core to write about.  Well, you and I both are in luck, because I heard a song about a week ago that I literally CANNOT stop listening to. If I love a song, I’ll keep it on constant repeat, and this song is no exception to that rule. The song that I am newly in love with would be “Ah Yeah” by the Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Musiq Soulchild and Chrisette Michele on vocals.

From the very first time I heard it (on Keyknow’s “Bulletproof Soul” mix found on SoulBounce), I completely fell in love. Every single thing about this song had and still has me intrigued. The groove of the beat, the mellow keyboards, the poignant and perfectly executed lyrics…I was obsessed with the song from the first time I heard it. Very rarely do I call a song perfect, but this song is complete and absolute perfection. For the first time in a while, I saw a song in color, and this song has a radiant hue of orange and a deep purple surrounding it – almost reminiscent of the kind of sunrise that reminds you why you’re grateful and thankful to be alive.

The music and the lyrics seamlessly sync with one another. Musiq and Chrisette sing about love, but in a different way. One of the lines is “I’ve learned/in this life/you’ve gotta be with someone you like…” How often is it that we focus on finding someone to love rather than someone we like? I feel like that’s so important nowadays, because love doesn’t really sustain relationships for the long haul; you’ve actually got to like the person you’re dealing with to get past some of the trials and tribulations you’re sure to face in your relationship. Luckily, the video above shows all of the lyrics, so I was able to see exactly what they were saying, and to see why I relate to the song so much. It’s like they put into song form what I hope my next relationship will be like.

I feel like the late kid in class since I’m just really finding out about the Robert Glasper Experiment, but…it’s better to be late than to never find out. I am a true fan now, and I cannot wait for the next album, “Black Radio,” to come out on February 28. I am definitely going to pre-order a copy, and I will definitely be checking them out whenever they come to or near DC. I hope you all will check them out as well!

Until next time, folks!

The Write Questions

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I’m a writer. Me typing that sentence is somewhat of a new experience for me – for the longest time, I never really self-identified as a writer. I used to just say, “I write.” Well, I do, but I’ve finally come to the realization that I am, in fact, a writer. It sounds like a simple realization to come to, but in all honesty, it wasn’t. Taking on the identification of a writer has taken a lot of time. I’ve come to accept that it is as much engrained in me as my personality, my love of music, and my sarcasm. With the realization that I am a writer has come a myriad of thought processes, roadblocks, revelations, and questions. I have a lot of questions.

Is there a place between words spewing out of you like lava and writer’s block? Is there a middle ground in between those two extremes? If there is, I feel like that’s where I live right now. I have such great ideas, I have amazing direction, and I can literally see the story coming together before my eyes, but I simply cannot find the words to translate that to paper. I’ve done everything I know how to, from listening to music that inspires me, to watching videos that give me inspiration, to imagining the story in my head…and nothing is working. It’s frustrating! I can’t tell you how many pages I rip out, how many lines I cross through, and how many times I just sit there frozen without the words to say to keep going through the story. It even happens to me while I’m trying to write blog posts, which is why sometimes it takes me forever to get posts up. I get stuck, I get frustrated, hell, sometimes I get angry.

But…this resurgence of my writing has proven something else to me. It’s proven to me that if I really want to do something, I’ll put my mind to it and get it done. Over the last few months, I’ve really stepped into the “writers headspace,” and am taking the time to actively get better. I try my best to write something every day. I’m starting to think the frustration is a good thing; to take it in stride instead of quitting and saying I can’t do it is a clear paradigm shift from how I used to operate. Granted, I have my days where writing is the hardest task I take on in the entire day, but it’s definitely all worth it in the end to me. That sweet day that I actually hold a copy of a book I’ve written in my hand? I can only imagine what that will feel like…

To all of my fellow writers out there, I commend you for the work you do. I know what it’s like to stare at a blank piece of paper and feel intimidation like never before, and I know the triumph you feel when you get something down on that piece of paper for the first time in days. I now turn this over to you and ask you a question: Do you feel this same level of frustration in your writing? I know I can’t be the only one, but I figured I’d start a discussion in the comments and see where it takes us…

Until next time, folks…