Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases Hezekiah Walker's Gospel song "Every Praise" (also known as "Every Praise Is To Our God".)
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Hezekiah Walker for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in this video and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
****
LYRICS - EVERY PRAISE
(Hezekiah Walker)
Every praise is to our God
Every word of worship with one accord
Every praise every praise is to our God
Sing hallelujah to our God
Glory hallelujah is to our God
Every praise every praise is to our God
God my Savior
God my Healer
God my Deliverer
Yes He is, yes He is
Yes He is, yes He is [repeat]
Every praise is to our God.
Every word of worship with one accord
Every praise every praise [repeat]
Is to our God
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hezekiahwalker/everypraise.html
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Hezekiah Walker New Video "Every Praise"
Hezekiah Walker, Published on Oct 17, 2013
-snip-
Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread:
Brer Fox, 2016
"Little 9 year Willie Myrick of Georgia was kidnapped from his front yard. He did not speak as he was warned by his abductor. But Willie sang "Every Praise" continually for three hours until this abductor stopped and told him to get out! LOL! This little boy's testimony may cause his abductor to turn from his evil ways before it's too late. This song was Willie's message and his inspiration.
Although this happened more than a year ago, I just found out about it yesterday. The right message at the right time. This song has been running through my mind continually since then! Every praise TRULY belongs to our God! The video is SO UPLIFTING to me too! Make a joyful noise!"
-snip-
Click http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/04/23/gospel-singing-kidnapping/8042195/ for this news story and a video of Willie Myrick meeting Hezekiah Walker, the composer of the Gospel song "Every Praise" that he sung until his kidnapper released him.
****
Example #2:Hezekiah Walker // Every Praise // 2014 Stellar Awards
WETHEBLESSEDtv, Published on Jan 19, 2014
-snip-
Here's information about the Stellar Awards from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_Awards
"The Stellar Awards is a Gospel Music Awards in the U.S., honoring Gospel Music artists, writers, and industry professionals. Chicago based production company Central City Productions Inc. spearheaded by founder, chairman & CEO Don Jackson, has produced the show since its inception in 1985.[1][2]
The Stellar Awards was first taped in Chicago at the Arie Crown Theater.[3] The show has featured performances by The Clark Sisters, Kirk Franklin,[4] Da' T.R.U.T.H, Tye Tribbett, Mary Mary, Heather Headley, CeCe Winans,[5] Marvin Sapp, Yolanda Adams,[6] Donnie McClurkin, Tamela Mann and many more. The show has been held at various venues across the United States in cities such as Atlanta,[7] Chicago,[8] Houston,[9] Los Angeles, Las Vegas,[10] Nashville,[11] and New York.[citation needed] The show is normally taped in mid-January and is broadcast on local and national TV stations such as ABC, FOX, and NBC."
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Hip Hop Group Nappy Roots' Song "Po' Folks"' & That Group's Definitions Of The Word "Nappy"
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part IV of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy". Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Nappy Roots for their musical legacy. Thanks to all who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this showcased video.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE HIP HOP GROUP "NAPPY ROOTS"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nappy_Roots
"Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap quartet that originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002.[1] The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch.
In 2006, Oakland, California native R. Prophet left the group, and in 2012 Kentucky native Big V aka Vito Banga also left. Both former members are pursuing solo careers.[2][3]
Biography
The group formed when the members were students at Western Kentucky University.[4] Nappy Roots' debut independent album Country Fried Cess was released in 1998, which led to the group being signed by Atlantic Records. Their first album on Atlantic Records was 2002's best selling hip-hop album, "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". The multi-platinum album featured the hit-singles "Headz Up", "Awnaw", and "Po' Folks". The "Awnaw (Remix)" featuring Marcos of P.O.D. appeared on Madden 2003. In their home state, Paul E. Patton the governor of Kentucky, sanctioned September 16 as "Nappy Roots Day".[5]...
Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with their highly anticipated new album, "The Pursuit of Nappyness", released June 15, 2010.
In 2011, Nappy has teamed up with hip hop producers Organized Noize to create "Nappy Dot Org". The first single "Congratulations" made its way into cyberspace on July 13, 2011 by way of XXL Magazine and 2DopeBoyz. On October 11, 2011 Nappy Roots released their new album "Nappy Dot Org" that was entirely produced by Organized Noize.
The "Nappy Roots Presents Sh!ts Beautiful"* album/mixtape that was released on June 27, 2012 through AllHipHop.[10]"...
-snip-
*This is the spelling of that word that is given in that article.
One website that I found whose name I can't recall indicates that the name of the Hip Hop group "Nappy Roots" is "slang for hair".
It would be more accurate say that one American English definition of the word "nappy" is "a referent for afro-textured, tightly curled, kinky hair". Furthermore, the statement that the name of the Hip Hop group "Nappy Roots" only refers to hair is incomplete. The words "nappy roots" in that Hip Hop group's name also refer to being "for real", being natural, being true to yourself, and remaining true to your country [rural, down home] upbringing.
For more on this subject, read the information section below and particularly note the sentences that are given in italics.
****
Note that "Nappy Roots" isn't the same group as the Hip Hop group "The Roots" that is the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The group "Nappy Roots" also shouldn't be confused with the Hip Hop group "Nappy Headz" or the Fugees' song "Nappy Heads".
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE NAPPY ROOTS ALBUM "WATERMELON, CHICKEN & GRITZ" AND THE SONG "PO' FOLKS"
From http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nappy-roots
..."The title they chose for the album ["Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz"] reflected these ideas. "That's what our music is," DeVille told Rolling Stone in January of 2002. "It's refreshing, it's food for thought and it's going to stick to you for a while."*
MTV.com noted that the band's cause was helped when the record company "began touting them as the south's answer to New York's Wu-Tang Clan."Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz" was certified gold (for sales of 500,000 copies) only seven weeks after its release. It went platinum (with sales of 1,000,000 copies) on the success of the singles "Awnaw" and "Po' Folks." (with sales of 1,000,000 copies) on the success of the singles "Awnaw" and "Po' Folks." MTV. com called the album "[o]ne of the better records to emerge from the new wave of southern rap."
Discussing the meaning of "Po' Folks," R. Prophet told MTV.com that the lyrics did not only speak of being poor as an economic issue. "[I]t's a state of mind. It's not so bad being poor when you've got your family and God in your life and you have different values that, when it comes down to it, matter. A lot of other things really don't matter when God is knocking at your door. That's basically keeping it Nappy."
-snip-
*Given that watermelon, (fried) chicken, and grits are often negatively considered stereotypical Southern (and in particular Black Southern) foods, the Nappy Roots' choice of that title further reflects the homage that the group pays to their Southern roots. That album title -like the group's name- is another example of the group turning what some consider to be negative into something positive.
****
From http://globalgrind.com/1731589/nappy-roots/ Nappy Roots: “To This Day, Kentucky Has Never Gotten Over What We Brought…” by Brittany Lewis, published 2011
..."How has being from Kentucky affected the band’s music?
B. Stille: I think that it was a conscious effort because we didn’t want to be looked at as ‘they’re trying to be somebody from Atlanta or they’re trying to be like somebody from New Orleans.’ We had to establish our own identity. It came natural. We had our own swag. When you’re looking at Nappy Roots, it was thirty deep when I first came to college. I couldn’t even tell you how many people were in Nappy Roots. We were just the rappers, the frontmen of it. We started a cult following. To this day, Kentucky has not gotten over what we brought to the campus.We just took that and translated that to our music and now our whole thing about just doing you and being yourself … you don’t have to fake a front. I think that’s what our whole goal is – to spread that message.
Vito: We’re very proud of Kentucky and that really shows in our music. It’s what we do. We’ve maintained our identity and our culture is the sole reason why we’re still here right now.
...How did you come up with the name Nappy Roots?
It started with me and Clutch walking to class one day in our Goodie Mob phase, it just came out. It was very real, organic music. When we came up with the idea to do Nappy Roots, not the name, but the group, me and Clutch started writing and writing. We had our own record store founded by Black college students and we put Nappy Roots on some shirts first. As we began selling music, we sold Nappy Roots shirts in the front."...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight those sentences.
****
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%27_Folks
" "Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) is the three time grammy-nominated second hit single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots. The beat was produced by Trackboyz. The song's signature concept, verse, and chorus was written by R. Prophet, a prolific member of Nappy Roots. Discussing the meaning of "Po' Folks," Prophet told MTV.com that the lyrics did not only speak of being poor as an economic issue. "It's a state of mind. It's not so bad being poor when you've got your family and God in your life and you have different values that, when it comes down to it, matter. A lot of other things really don't matter when God is knocking at your door." Po' Folks was released in 2002 and taken from Nappy Roots's debut album, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. It peaked at number 21 in the U.S. and features vocals by Anthony Hamilton who sung the soulful hook.
Anthony Hamilton's performance, as well as the success of the song, is credited for launching Anthony Hamilton's career in mainstream music .[1][2]"
****
PARTIAL LYRICS FOR THE SONG "PO' FOLKS"
(R. Prophet; Nappy Roots)
Awwww....
Mmmmm, awww..
[Chorus]
All my life been po'
But it really don't matter no mo'
And they wonder why we act this way
Nappy Boys gon' be okay
All my life been po'
But it really don't matter no mo'
And they wonder why we act this way
Nappy Roots gon' be okay, "okay
[Big V]
We came in the game, plain ya see
Average man when the rest was ashamed to be
Nappy head and all, ain't no changin me
Ooooh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh...
So rough it was, downright wrong I tell ya
Nobody never gave us nothin but tough time and made us somethin
Different stretch of road, new somethin to see
Every state on the map, a different somethin to eat
Daps and handshakes, it meant nuttin for real
Everybody makin a killin man, showin no feelins
Walkin off collectin pay, it's the way of the world
Can't change it, so I guess I'm gon' pray for the world
Sometimes I ask myself, was I made for the world?
I scream this to you, and I say it to the world
Nappy then, Nappy now - Nappy for a bit
Knee-deep, head over heels in this country sh&t!*
...
Front po'ch, chillin broke, country folk, I'm Nappy with my ways yo..."
Click http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nappyroots/pofolks.html for the complete lyrics for this song.
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in these lyrics
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Nappy Roots - Po' Folks (Video) w/Anthony Hamilton
Atlantic Records, Uploaded on Oct 26, 2009
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, with the oldest comment given first, except for replies. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've added numbers for referencing purposes only.
2010
1. T Alexander
"I dont have nappy hair, but im nappy for life"
**
2. Cali Joe Turner
"CHILLIN BROKE, COUNTRY FOLK, MAN IM NAPPY IN MY WAYS!!!!"
-snip-
"Chillin" is African American Vernacular English for "relaxing". "Broke" here means "having no money".
**
3. fatdan172501
"this video is awesome i love seeing the blacks and whites together loving each other and chillin. there's only one homie i would trust my life with and hes a black man and i wouldn't have it any other way. and the black cowboys was hella cool lol. straight country boys. we need more rappers to show this unity instead of the resentment and hate."
****
2011
4. whool803
"the realest of the real..."
**
5. pholmes6975
"This video was filmed in my hometown of taylorsville ky, just southeast of louisville. It really doesnt get any better than small town america.... every place you go from mt. eden to elk creek, wakefield doesnt matter if people know you or not, they wave.... its a different world, and i love it!"
**
6. SoggyHotDoggy
"This song just gives you such a great feeling no matter where you come from. I've always loved it, and I'm not all that country (Kinda, but not really)"
**
7. John Moss
"these are the first rappers ever thats actually rap about stuff worth rapping"
**
Reply
8. 90piggs
"@jmossUM6 tupac- dear mama
nas - dance
nas - just a moment
biggie- everyday struggle
tupac - letter to my unborn child
tupac- unconditional love
listen to them bro , they are what rap is all about :)"
**
9. vince lance
"what makes these guys great is that are genuine, they rap from their heart not their wallet."
****
2012
10. samboy1288
"hip hop is capable of having a lot of soul and passion, and here's a perfect example."
**
11. PhatLarkin
"Nappy Roots refers to the collective of musicians. Also, Nappy generally refers to unruly african american hair, here in the states. The tight curly kind thats hard to take care of."
**
12. michael frye
"Hell yeah, thats KENTUCKY, now home of the 2012 NCAA CHAMPS. I dig Nappy Roots, and the pride they have in their ROOTS, down home KENTUCKY BOYS."
**
13. Marqus Davis
"You know its country...
how you say?
black people, overalls, and cowboy hats"
**
14. SiLenTuce808
"Living poor does give you a strong sense of character... and morals. When you struggle your whole life makes you a very conscious person. This song i knew was a hit when first heard it back in 06. Now hip hop is slipping away..."
**
15. MastaBlasta
"my folks are on food stamps, this song ain't about color except green. not having cash, just hanging in there, grinding man. great song."
-snip-
"Food stamps" is a colloquial name for a United States federal nutrition program that helps income eligibe people buy certain food.
The comment that "this song ain't about color except green" means that the blogger feels that this song isn't only about or only for Black people. Paper money (the dollar) in the United States is green.
****
2013
16. Wolfpack87063 years ago
R.I.P to the old southern Hip Hop
**
Reply
17. heatmopwho
"Exactly right my brah. I miss this time in Hip Hop. When if you were a rapper or a group with substance to your music you didn't have to be underground. I remember coming home after school and seeing this video on 106 and Park or hearing it on the radio in the car. Now a days, anybody with a message or meaning to their music gets no mainstream media airtime. It's like they put a ban on good music that spread hope and positivity and only wanna promote garbage. Damn shame."
**
18. Miguel San Martin
"Found them by looking up "Country rap" of Wikipedia. Glad curiosity got the best of me because this song is DOPE!"
-snip-
"Dope" is African American Vernacular English for "great".
**
19. DnlalorNedrob2012
"Even a city dude like myself understand perfectly how it is to struggle songs like this is so inspiring no matter how you was brought up to truly appreciate life counting all the blessing that been given to you. Thank you Nappy Roots for making good music as it should be."
**
20. The Verbal Architect
"Keep it nappy! y'all will always be crankin out hits!"
**
21. draztik
"Nappy Roots are real music.. I don't even wanna say hip-hop because they're bigger than that.. they always had something really genuine about their music that crosses all genres and different kinds of people"
**
22. c walker
"it aint about black or white. its bout po. the tie that binds."
**
23. donbrasco81
"This song is great. I'm proud to be country raised on fish and grits. NC...."
**
24. Shawn Haines
"Nappy Roots FOREVER! Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, Buffalo Stille, & Ron Clutch! <3"
**
25. DaVido Vose
"wat a true good joint from the Nappy Roots crew. this a throwback when music was real unlike wat we hear today..."
**
26. Chogono G
"KEEP IT NAPPY!"
****
This concludes Part IV of this four part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part IV of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy". Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Nappy Roots for their musical legacy. Thanks to all who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this showcased video.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE HIP HOP GROUP "NAPPY ROOTS"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nappy_Roots
"Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap quartet that originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002.[1] The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch.
In 2006, Oakland, California native R. Prophet left the group, and in 2012 Kentucky native Big V aka Vito Banga also left. Both former members are pursuing solo careers.[2][3]
Biography
The group formed when the members were students at Western Kentucky University.[4] Nappy Roots' debut independent album Country Fried Cess was released in 1998, which led to the group being signed by Atlantic Records. Their first album on Atlantic Records was 2002's best selling hip-hop album, "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". The multi-platinum album featured the hit-singles "Headz Up", "Awnaw", and "Po' Folks". The "Awnaw (Remix)" featuring Marcos of P.O.D. appeared on Madden 2003. In their home state, Paul E. Patton the governor of Kentucky, sanctioned September 16 as "Nappy Roots Day".[5]...
Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with their highly anticipated new album, "The Pursuit of Nappyness", released June 15, 2010.
In 2011, Nappy has teamed up with hip hop producers Organized Noize to create "Nappy Dot Org". The first single "Congratulations" made its way into cyberspace on July 13, 2011 by way of XXL Magazine and 2DopeBoyz. On October 11, 2011 Nappy Roots released their new album "Nappy Dot Org" that was entirely produced by Organized Noize.
The "Nappy Roots Presents Sh!ts Beautiful"* album/mixtape that was released on June 27, 2012 through AllHipHop.[10]"...
-snip-
*This is the spelling of that word that is given in that article.
One website that I found whose name I can't recall indicates that the name of the Hip Hop group "Nappy Roots" is "slang for hair".
It would be more accurate say that one American English definition of the word "nappy" is "a referent for afro-textured, tightly curled, kinky hair". Furthermore, the statement that the name of the Hip Hop group "Nappy Roots" only refers to hair is incomplete. The words "nappy roots" in that Hip Hop group's name also refer to being "for real", being natural, being true to yourself, and remaining true to your country [rural, down home] upbringing.
For more on this subject, read the information section below and particularly note the sentences that are given in italics.
****
Note that "Nappy Roots" isn't the same group as the Hip Hop group "The Roots" that is the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The group "Nappy Roots" also shouldn't be confused with the Hip Hop group "Nappy Headz" or the Fugees' song "Nappy Heads".
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE NAPPY ROOTS ALBUM "WATERMELON, CHICKEN & GRITZ" AND THE SONG "PO' FOLKS"
From http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nappy-roots
..."The title they chose for the album ["Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz"] reflected these ideas. "That's what our music is," DeVille told Rolling Stone in January of 2002. "It's refreshing, it's food for thought and it's going to stick to you for a while."*
MTV.com noted that the band's cause was helped when the record company "began touting them as the south's answer to New York's Wu-Tang Clan."Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz" was certified gold (for sales of 500,000 copies) only seven weeks after its release. It went platinum (with sales of 1,000,000 copies) on the success of the singles "Awnaw" and "Po' Folks." (with sales of 1,000,000 copies) on the success of the singles "Awnaw" and "Po' Folks." MTV. com called the album "[o]ne of the better records to emerge from the new wave of southern rap."
Discussing the meaning of "Po' Folks," R. Prophet told MTV.com that the lyrics did not only speak of being poor as an economic issue. "[I]t's a state of mind. It's not so bad being poor when you've got your family and God in your life and you have different values that, when it comes down to it, matter. A lot of other things really don't matter when God is knocking at your door. That's basically keeping it Nappy."
-snip-
*Given that watermelon, (fried) chicken, and grits are often negatively considered stereotypical Southern (and in particular Black Southern) foods, the Nappy Roots' choice of that title further reflects the homage that the group pays to their Southern roots. That album title -like the group's name- is another example of the group turning what some consider to be negative into something positive.
****
From http://globalgrind.com/1731589/nappy-roots/ Nappy Roots: “To This Day, Kentucky Has Never Gotten Over What We Brought…” by Brittany Lewis, published 2011
..."How has being from Kentucky affected the band’s music?
B. Stille: I think that it was a conscious effort because we didn’t want to be looked at as ‘they’re trying to be somebody from Atlanta or they’re trying to be like somebody from New Orleans.’ We had to establish our own identity. It came natural. We had our own swag. When you’re looking at Nappy Roots, it was thirty deep when I first came to college. I couldn’t even tell you how many people were in Nappy Roots. We were just the rappers, the frontmen of it. We started a cult following. To this day, Kentucky has not gotten over what we brought to the campus.We just took that and translated that to our music and now our whole thing about just doing you and being yourself … you don’t have to fake a front. I think that’s what our whole goal is – to spread that message.
Vito: We’re very proud of Kentucky and that really shows in our music. It’s what we do. We’ve maintained our identity and our culture is the sole reason why we’re still here right now.
...How did you come up with the name Nappy Roots?
It started with me and Clutch walking to class one day in our Goodie Mob phase, it just came out. It was very real, organic music. When we came up with the idea to do Nappy Roots, not the name, but the group, me and Clutch started writing and writing. We had our own record store founded by Black college students and we put Nappy Roots on some shirts first. As we began selling music, we sold Nappy Roots shirts in the front."...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight those sentences.
****
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%27_Folks
" "Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) is the three time grammy-nominated second hit single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots. The beat was produced by Trackboyz. The song's signature concept, verse, and chorus was written by R. Prophet, a prolific member of Nappy Roots. Discussing the meaning of "Po' Folks," Prophet told MTV.com that the lyrics did not only speak of being poor as an economic issue. "It's a state of mind. It's not so bad being poor when you've got your family and God in your life and you have different values that, when it comes down to it, matter. A lot of other things really don't matter when God is knocking at your door." Po' Folks was released in 2002 and taken from Nappy Roots's debut album, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. It peaked at number 21 in the U.S. and features vocals by Anthony Hamilton who sung the soulful hook.
Anthony Hamilton's performance, as well as the success of the song, is credited for launching Anthony Hamilton's career in mainstream music .[1][2]"
****
PARTIAL LYRICS FOR THE SONG "PO' FOLKS"
(R. Prophet; Nappy Roots)
Awwww....
Mmmmm, awww..
[Chorus]
All my life been po'
But it really don't matter no mo'
And they wonder why we act this way
Nappy Boys gon' be okay
All my life been po'
But it really don't matter no mo'
And they wonder why we act this way
Nappy Roots gon' be okay, "okay
[Big V]
We came in the game, plain ya see
Average man when the rest was ashamed to be
Nappy head and all, ain't no changin me
Ooooh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh...
So rough it was, downright wrong I tell ya
Nobody never gave us nothin but tough time and made us somethin
Different stretch of road, new somethin to see
Every state on the map, a different somethin to eat
Daps and handshakes, it meant nuttin for real
Everybody makin a killin man, showin no feelins
Walkin off collectin pay, it's the way of the world
Can't change it, so I guess I'm gon' pray for the world
Sometimes I ask myself, was I made for the world?
I scream this to you, and I say it to the world
Nappy then, Nappy now - Nappy for a bit
Knee-deep, head over heels in this country sh&t!*
...
Front po'ch, chillin broke, country folk, I'm Nappy with my ways yo..."
Click http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nappyroots/pofolks.html for the complete lyrics for this song.
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in these lyrics
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Nappy Roots - Po' Folks (Video) w/Anthony Hamilton
Atlantic Records, Uploaded on Oct 26, 2009
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, with the oldest comment given first, except for replies. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've added numbers for referencing purposes only.
2010
1. T Alexander
"I dont have nappy hair, but im nappy for life"
**
2. Cali Joe Turner
"CHILLIN BROKE, COUNTRY FOLK, MAN IM NAPPY IN MY WAYS!!!!"
-snip-
"Chillin" is African American Vernacular English for "relaxing". "Broke" here means "having no money".
**
3. fatdan172501
"this video is awesome i love seeing the blacks and whites together loving each other and chillin. there's only one homie i would trust my life with and hes a black man and i wouldn't have it any other way. and the black cowboys was hella cool lol. straight country boys. we need more rappers to show this unity instead of the resentment and hate."
****
2011
4. whool803
"the realest of the real..."
**
5. pholmes6975
"This video was filmed in my hometown of taylorsville ky, just southeast of louisville. It really doesnt get any better than small town america.... every place you go from mt. eden to elk creek, wakefield doesnt matter if people know you or not, they wave.... its a different world, and i love it!"
**
6. SoggyHotDoggy
"This song just gives you such a great feeling no matter where you come from. I've always loved it, and I'm not all that country (Kinda, but not really)"
**
7. John Moss
"these are the first rappers ever thats actually rap about stuff worth rapping"
**
Reply
8. 90piggs
"@jmossUM6 tupac- dear mama
nas - dance
nas - just a moment
biggie- everyday struggle
tupac - letter to my unborn child
tupac- unconditional love
listen to them bro , they are what rap is all about :)"
**
9. vince lance
"what makes these guys great is that are genuine, they rap from their heart not their wallet."
****
2012
10. samboy1288
"hip hop is capable of having a lot of soul and passion, and here's a perfect example."
**
11. PhatLarkin
"Nappy Roots refers to the collective of musicians. Also, Nappy generally refers to unruly african american hair, here in the states. The tight curly kind thats hard to take care of."
**
12. michael frye
"Hell yeah, thats KENTUCKY, now home of the 2012 NCAA CHAMPS. I dig Nappy Roots, and the pride they have in their ROOTS, down home KENTUCKY BOYS."
**
13. Marqus Davis
"You know its country...
how you say?
black people, overalls, and cowboy hats"
**
14. SiLenTuce808
"Living poor does give you a strong sense of character... and morals. When you struggle your whole life makes you a very conscious person. This song i knew was a hit when first heard it back in 06. Now hip hop is slipping away..."
**
15. MastaBlasta
"my folks are on food stamps, this song ain't about color except green. not having cash, just hanging in there, grinding man. great song."
-snip-
"Food stamps" is a colloquial name for a United States federal nutrition program that helps income eligibe people buy certain food.
The comment that "this song ain't about color except green" means that the blogger feels that this song isn't only about or only for Black people. Paper money (the dollar) in the United States is green.
****
2013
16. Wolfpack87063 years ago
R.I.P to the old southern Hip Hop
**
Reply
17. heatmopwho
"Exactly right my brah. I miss this time in Hip Hop. When if you were a rapper or a group with substance to your music you didn't have to be underground. I remember coming home after school and seeing this video on 106 and Park or hearing it on the radio in the car. Now a days, anybody with a message or meaning to their music gets no mainstream media airtime. It's like they put a ban on good music that spread hope and positivity and only wanna promote garbage. Damn shame."
**
18. Miguel San Martin
"Found them by looking up "Country rap" of Wikipedia. Glad curiosity got the best of me because this song is DOPE!"
-snip-
"Dope" is African American Vernacular English for "great".
**
19. DnlalorNedrob2012
"Even a city dude like myself understand perfectly how it is to struggle songs like this is so inspiring no matter how you was brought up to truly appreciate life counting all the blessing that been given to you. Thank you Nappy Roots for making good music as it should be."
**
20. The Verbal Architect
"Keep it nappy! y'all will always be crankin out hits!"
**
21. draztik
"Nappy Roots are real music.. I don't even wanna say hip-hop because they're bigger than that.. they always had something really genuine about their music that crosses all genres and different kinds of people"
**
22. c walker
"it aint about black or white. its bout po. the tie that binds."
**
23. donbrasco81
"This song is great. I'm proud to be country raised on fish and grits. NC...."
**
24. Shawn Haines
"Nappy Roots FOREVER! Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, Buffalo Stille, & Ron Clutch! <3"
**
25. DaVido Vose
"wat a true good joint from the Nappy Roots crew. this a throwback when music was real unlike wat we hear today..."
**
26. Chogono G
"KEEP IT NAPPY!"
****
This concludes Part IV of this four part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Videos Of Black Natural Hairstyles In Ivory Coast, Kenya, Brazil, & The United States
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a four part series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere. Selected comments from these video's discussion threads are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.
Thanks to those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these embedded videos.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Happy Nappy [Ivory Coast, West Africa]
Mariam Diaby, Published on Apr 19, 2014
-snip-
Here are selected videos from this video's discussion thread:
2015
Darrin Jackson
"I love the natural hair. Keep on Keeping on!"
**
Pretti Uneekhair
"Awesome I Just read your article on CNN! Sooo glad to hear about your group! I subed and hope to experience "natural hair across the world" from you and the group!"
**
Kamau Kirikou Re'Xi
"Love and honor to you all who embrace, love and honor your natural beauty."
****
Example #2: Natural Hair [Kenya, East Africa]
Kenya CitizenTV, Published on Aug 3, 2014
Beauty they say is in the eyes of the beholder but for some it appears, a woman’s beauty is in her hair. And it is because of that the hair styling and beauty industry is a multibillion dollar enterprise worldwide. And whilst debate continues on just what makes hair beautiful and whether women should wear artificial hair or apply chemicals on their hair, there appears to be a growing trend among women to go natural, or in their words to return to one’s roots. Just what do the men think of this trend? Evelyn Wambui sort to find out that as well as several other perspectives that inform the natural hair debate.
-snip-
Here are two comments from that video's discussion thread:
NydiaSimone TV, 2016
"I couldn't understand what the men said! Someone please translate for me!"
**
Reply
originalathenah, 2016
"+NydiaSimone TV--- One of them said that if they get their hair cut, they will look like them (like men), the last one said that he loves a woman with natural hair, her own hair. Leave the wigs alone, because every time she cooks for you she´s removing hair from her mouth all the time, and every weekend it´s the salon. Natural hair!"
****
Example #2: Afro Hair Pride March Brazil - Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil [Brazil, South America]
Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil, Published on Oct 30, 2015
The purpose of the 1st Afro Hair Pride March is to celebrate our natural hair texture as being part of the black identity, especially for women as a means of empowerment. It was organized by Blog das Cabeludas and Hot Pente, took about one thousand people to the streets of São Paulo to celebrate natural hair beauty as a symbol of resistance and to protest against racism. The event happened in July, 26.
FOLLOW Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil on Facebook: ttps://goo.gl/thrjGT
E-mail: orgulhocrespo@gmail.com
Instagram: @orgulhocrespobr
Twitter: @orgulhocrespo
-snip-
Here are a complete sub-thread (as of the date of this post's publication) from this video's discussion thread. All of these comments are from 2016. I've added numbers for referencing purposes only:
1. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"NOW ONLY IF THIS MOVEMENT COULD SPREAD UP TO THE U.S."
**
Reply
2. Alexander Black
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin Do you live or have even been to the US this movement has been happening here....black men and women everywhere are embracing their hair. I live in the south and I see more black people wearing their natural hair than any other form."
**
Reply
3. watchulla
"Where have you been or moment was in the 70's"
-snip-
That blogger's comment probably means "Where have you been? Our [the United State's Black natural hair] movement [began] in the 1970s.
**
Reply
4. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"ALEXANDER AND WATCHULLA YES I LIVE IN THE SOUTH.THE WEAVE INDUSTRY IS THRIVING WELL OFF THE MONEY FROM THESE SISTAHS.CANT PULL THE WOOL OVER MY EYES."
**
Reply
5. MisMupp
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin Do me a favor and type in natural hair in the YouTube search and see tons of videos pop up from US women. I live in the South too near NOLA. I've been natural nearly a decade. Most of my family is natural and it's extremely common in my area. where I live they even have natural hair events where they have stylists doing tutorials, vendors selling products, people swapping products etc. Not to mention if you go to Target, Walgreens, Sally's there are tons of brands geared to natural hair like Shea Moisture, Kinky Curly, talia Waajid, Curls, Mixed Chicks, Jane Carter. Even traditionallyrelaxed brands like Dark and Lovely are making natural lines because relaxer sales have tanked. So to say it hasn't taken off in US is untrue. maybe you need to get out more."
**
Reply
6. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"I AGREE THERE ARE PLENTY OF VIDEOS UP SHOWING NATURAL HAIR.NOW DO MII A FAVOR.LOOK UP THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BLACK WOMEN SPEND ON WEAVES EACH YEAR.THEN YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY I SAID WHAT I SAID."
**
Reply
7. MisMupp
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin You said you wished the movement would spread to the US. The overwhelming majority of natural hair bloggers and vloggers are from the US. Most natural hair products made in US. If there weren't that many US women with natural hair they wouldn't have the huge following and sales like they do. It's called supply and demand. As someone who speaks more than one language I can tell you the on slot of black women stopping with relaxers mostly started in the US and spread to other areas. Not the other way around. I watch videos in Portuguese and Spanish and I watch English speaking people from the U.K., Caribbean and Africa. I have heard many of them talk about how they were inspired by US black women to embrace their texture and big chop. SO DON'T GIVE ME THERE IS NO MOVEMENT HERE. While I don't buy hair, looking up weave sales is comparing apples to oranges. being natural means you don't use chemicals in your hair. Just because you see someone in extensions or a sewin doesn't mean they relax their hair or that they always wear fake hair. Natural is no texture altering chemicals. As I said where I live I see black women every day who are wearing their natural hair out. When I first went natural nearly a decade ago it was not like that and I had to order stuff on line that I can now buy in the store.
**
8. MsSweetMolasses
"Natural Hair movement started in America first then it went global."
****
Example #4: 20 Natural Hairstyles for Teens and College Students [United States of America]
Cassidy Dixon, Published on Jul 30, 2016
Music:
www.soundcloud.com/workthatcassmusic
-snip-
Here are a few comments from that video's discussion thread.
2016
Skye Stewart
"Was your hair blown out when you did these hair styles?"
**
Reply
Cassidy Dixon
"+Skye Stewart No, Twist Out"
-snip-
blown out = wet hair dried with an electric blow dryer
twist out- the hair is twisted (plaited/braided) at night and then the plaits/braids are taken out and the hair is worn uncombed.
**
Tiana Jackson
"GIRL ya melanin and hair is POPPIN!"
-snip-
"Melanin" here means skin color (complexion). "Poppin" (:popping") means it is "hot" (great).
**
Connected One
"Gotta love it! ! Black Women Loving the Skin their in...#BlackGirlsRock"
**
Albus Dumbledore
"You hair pattern is amazing!!! Did u twist it or anything?"
**
Reply
megagymnast676
"She said it was a worn out twist out"
-snip-
Hair pattern = hair texture; hair type . This used to be called the “grade of hair”. I'm glad that term is no longer used. I remember hearing that (most) Black people had a "bad grade" of hair.
**
Cristle
"how many years post relaxer are you, and is this your curl pattern?"
**
Reply
Cassidy Dixon
"+Cristle I never had a relaxer"
-snip-
relaxer= chemical treatment to temporarily “relax” ("straighten") the natural hair curls/kinks
**
Reply
PhanShipperWithFro
"she said that she was 3c/4a on another comment."
-snip-
Information about this numbered/letter Black hair classification system is given in Part II of this series.
****
Example #5: 6 Cute Ways to Style Your natural TWA 3c 4a 4b & 4c friendly [United States of America]
Markia Daily, Published on Jul 6, 2016
DISCLAIMER: The small white buds in my hair is the build up of both products used( gel and leave in conditioner). When 2 products don't have the same base they don't mix well.
DETAILS
Hi Guys, So today i decided to show you 6 styles I do with my TWA. [Teeny weeny afro] For everyone who has a Teenie Weenie Afro knows its difficult to style it, because its so short and you don't know what to do with it. Been there Done that. I got sick of the regular curly fro after a week so I started to play around and experiment with my hair and came up with these 6 styles. They're different and easy to achieve. I hope this video helps.
1.) The Wash N Go Revival is reviving my 4 day old wash n go. I do [t]his by applying water to reactivate the product already in my hair.
2.) The Side Part is pretty self Explanatory, lol.
3.)The Afro is my curls and kinks being picked out.
4.)The half up is like wearing back fro but instead I sleek the sides down and pin the top half up.
5.) The back Fro is my edges sleeked back but the back of hair is in an Afro.
6.) The Sleek Slick Back is brushing ALL of hair down and to the back. xoxo Markia Daily
Products Used:
Spray bottle ( filled with water)
Cantu Shea Leave In Conditioner
Detangler comb
Soft Bristle Brush
Hard Bristle Brush
Olive Oil ECO Styler Gel
-snip-
Click http://www.curlynikki.com/2015/08/curly-only-while-wet-type-4-wash-and-go.html for suggestions about wash n go hairstyles for the above listed hair textures.
-snip-
Descriptions for the numbered and letter hair classification system are given in Part II of this series.
To briefly summarize, a lot of the online articles that I've read indicate that most African Americans' hair pattern is either #3 or #4. Those numbers are divided into sub-categories. However, a person can naturally have more than one hair pattern.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2016
Jahna Trapp
"hi when did you big chop? I did mine June 2nd 2016 and I just want someone I can keep progress with and my hair is 4a like yours so it's perfect lol."
-snip-
"The big chop" is a term that refers to getting all of your permed (chemically straightened) hair cut off. Everyone who "goes natural" (or returns their hair to its natural condition) doesn't do a big chop, but might cut some of their hair, and/or wait until the perm gets out of (the rest of) their hair.
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"Hi! I did my big Chop in April but I colored it and cut it shorter in June."
-snip-
Notice that people who "go natural" may still color (dye) their hair.
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"+Jahna Trapp I'm a 3c/4a"
**
Reply
Jahna Trapp
"+Markia Daily aight got it thanks."
**
Geraldine Ezeokeke
"this will not work on 4c hair"
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"Geraldine Ezeokeke tried it out on a friend, it definitely will."
**
Kelly D
"I'm so glad I found this video today. I big chopped a couple days ago and needed to get some inspiration for styles. :)"
****
This concludes Part III of this four part series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Example #5:
This is Part III of a four part series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere. Selected comments from these video's discussion threads are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.
Thanks to those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these embedded videos.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Happy Nappy [Ivory Coast, West Africa]
Mariam Diaby, Published on Apr 19, 2014
-snip-
Here are selected videos from this video's discussion thread:
2015
Darrin Jackson
"I love the natural hair. Keep on Keeping on!"
**
Pretti Uneekhair
"Awesome I Just read your article on CNN! Sooo glad to hear about your group! I subed and hope to experience "natural hair across the world" from you and the group!"
**
Kamau Kirikou Re'Xi
"Love and honor to you all who embrace, love and honor your natural beauty."
****
Example #2: Natural Hair [Kenya, East Africa]
Kenya CitizenTV, Published on Aug 3, 2014
Beauty they say is in the eyes of the beholder but for some it appears, a woman’s beauty is in her hair. And it is because of that the hair styling and beauty industry is a multibillion dollar enterprise worldwide. And whilst debate continues on just what makes hair beautiful and whether women should wear artificial hair or apply chemicals on their hair, there appears to be a growing trend among women to go natural, or in their words to return to one’s roots. Just what do the men think of this trend? Evelyn Wambui sort to find out that as well as several other perspectives that inform the natural hair debate.
-snip-
Here are two comments from that video's discussion thread:
NydiaSimone TV, 2016
"I couldn't understand what the men said! Someone please translate for me!"
**
Reply
originalathenah, 2016
"+NydiaSimone TV--- One of them said that if they get their hair cut, they will look like them (like men), the last one said that he loves a woman with natural hair, her own hair. Leave the wigs alone, because every time she cooks for you she´s removing hair from her mouth all the time, and every weekend it´s the salon. Natural hair!"
****
Example #2: Afro Hair Pride March Brazil - Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil [Brazil, South America]
Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil, Published on Oct 30, 2015
The purpose of the 1st Afro Hair Pride March is to celebrate our natural hair texture as being part of the black identity, especially for women as a means of empowerment. It was organized by Blog das Cabeludas and Hot Pente, took about one thousand people to the streets of São Paulo to celebrate natural hair beauty as a symbol of resistance and to protest against racism. The event happened in July, 26.
FOLLOW Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil on Facebook: ttps://goo.gl/thrjGT
E-mail: orgulhocrespo@gmail.com
Instagram: @orgulhocrespobr
Twitter: @orgulhocrespo
-snip-
Here are a complete sub-thread (as of the date of this post's publication) from this video's discussion thread. All of these comments are from 2016. I've added numbers for referencing purposes only:
1. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"NOW ONLY IF THIS MOVEMENT COULD SPREAD UP TO THE U.S."
**
Reply
2. Alexander Black
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin Do you live or have even been to the US this movement has been happening here....black men and women everywhere are embracing their hair. I live in the south and I see more black people wearing their natural hair than any other form."
**
Reply
3. watchulla
"Where have you been or moment was in the 70's"
-snip-
That blogger's comment probably means "Where have you been? Our [the United State's Black natural hair] movement [began] in the 1970s.
**
Reply
4. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"ALEXANDER AND WATCHULLA YES I LIVE IN THE SOUTH.THE WEAVE INDUSTRY IS THRIVING WELL OFF THE MONEY FROM THESE SISTAHS.CANT PULL THE WOOL OVER MY EYES."
**
Reply
5. MisMupp
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin Do me a favor and type in natural hair in the YouTube search and see tons of videos pop up from US women. I live in the South too near NOLA. I've been natural nearly a decade. Most of my family is natural and it's extremely common in my area. where I live they even have natural hair events where they have stylists doing tutorials, vendors selling products, people swapping products etc. Not to mention if you go to Target, Walgreens, Sally's there are tons of brands geared to natural hair like Shea Moisture, Kinky Curly, talia Waajid, Curls, Mixed Chicks, Jane Carter. Even traditionallyrelaxed brands like Dark and Lovely are making natural lines because relaxer sales have tanked. So to say it hasn't taken off in US is untrue. maybe you need to get out more."
**
Reply
6. DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin
"I AGREE THERE ARE PLENTY OF VIDEOS UP SHOWING NATURAL HAIR.NOW DO MII A FAVOR.LOOK UP THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BLACK WOMEN SPEND ON WEAVES EACH YEAR.THEN YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY I SAID WHAT I SAID."
**
Reply
7. MisMupp
"DerekDaCadillacQadafi Ficklin You said you wished the movement would spread to the US. The overwhelming majority of natural hair bloggers and vloggers are from the US. Most natural hair products made in US. If there weren't that many US women with natural hair they wouldn't have the huge following and sales like they do. It's called supply and demand. As someone who speaks more than one language I can tell you the on slot of black women stopping with relaxers mostly started in the US and spread to other areas. Not the other way around. I watch videos in Portuguese and Spanish and I watch English speaking people from the U.K., Caribbean and Africa. I have heard many of them talk about how they were inspired by US black women to embrace their texture and big chop. SO DON'T GIVE ME THERE IS NO MOVEMENT HERE. While I don't buy hair, looking up weave sales is comparing apples to oranges. being natural means you don't use chemicals in your hair. Just because you see someone in extensions or a sewin doesn't mean they relax their hair or that they always wear fake hair. Natural is no texture altering chemicals. As I said where I live I see black women every day who are wearing their natural hair out. When I first went natural nearly a decade ago it was not like that and I had to order stuff on line that I can now buy in the store.
**
8. MsSweetMolasses
"Natural Hair movement started in America first then it went global."
****
Example #4: 20 Natural Hairstyles for Teens and College Students [United States of America]
Cassidy Dixon, Published on Jul 30, 2016
Music:
www.soundcloud.com/workthatcassmusic
-snip-
Here are a few comments from that video's discussion thread.
2016
Skye Stewart
"Was your hair blown out when you did these hair styles?"
**
Reply
Cassidy Dixon
"+Skye Stewart No, Twist Out"
-snip-
blown out = wet hair dried with an electric blow dryer
twist out- the hair is twisted (plaited/braided) at night and then the plaits/braids are taken out and the hair is worn uncombed.
**
Tiana Jackson
"GIRL ya melanin and hair is POPPIN!"
-snip-
"Melanin" here means skin color (complexion). "Poppin" (:popping") means it is "hot" (great).
**
Connected One
"Gotta love it! ! Black Women Loving the Skin their in...#BlackGirlsRock"
**
Albus Dumbledore
"You hair pattern is amazing!!! Did u twist it or anything?"
**
Reply
megagymnast676
"She said it was a worn out twist out"
-snip-
Hair pattern = hair texture; hair type . This used to be called the “grade of hair”. I'm glad that term is no longer used. I remember hearing that (most) Black people had a "bad grade" of hair.
**
Cristle
"how many years post relaxer are you, and is this your curl pattern?"
**
Reply
Cassidy Dixon
"+Cristle I never had a relaxer"
-snip-
relaxer= chemical treatment to temporarily “relax” ("straighten") the natural hair curls/kinks
**
Reply
PhanShipperWithFro
"she said that she was 3c/4a on another comment."
-snip-
Information about this numbered/letter Black hair classification system is given in Part II of this series.
****
Example #5: 6 Cute Ways to Style Your natural TWA 3c 4a 4b & 4c friendly [United States of America]
Markia Daily, Published on Jul 6, 2016
DISCLAIMER: The small white buds in my hair is the build up of both products used( gel and leave in conditioner). When 2 products don't have the same base they don't mix well.
DETAILS
Hi Guys, So today i decided to show you 6 styles I do with my TWA. [Teeny weeny afro] For everyone who has a Teenie Weenie Afro knows its difficult to style it, because its so short and you don't know what to do with it. Been there Done that. I got sick of the regular curly fro after a week so I started to play around and experiment with my hair and came up with these 6 styles. They're different and easy to achieve. I hope this video helps.
1.) The Wash N Go Revival is reviving my 4 day old wash n go. I do [t]his by applying water to reactivate the product already in my hair.
2.) The Side Part is pretty self Explanatory, lol.
3.)The Afro is my curls and kinks being picked out.
4.)The half up is like wearing back fro but instead I sleek the sides down and pin the top half up.
5.) The back Fro is my edges sleeked back but the back of hair is in an Afro.
6.) The Sleek Slick Back is brushing ALL of hair down and to the back. xoxo Markia Daily
Products Used:
Spray bottle ( filled with water)
Cantu Shea Leave In Conditioner
Detangler comb
Soft Bristle Brush
Hard Bristle Brush
Olive Oil ECO Styler Gel
-snip-
Click http://www.curlynikki.com/2015/08/curly-only-while-wet-type-4-wash-and-go.html for suggestions about wash n go hairstyles for the above listed hair textures.
-snip-
Descriptions for the numbered and letter hair classification system are given in Part II of this series.
To briefly summarize, a lot of the online articles that I've read indicate that most African Americans' hair pattern is either #3 or #4. Those numbers are divided into sub-categories. However, a person can naturally have more than one hair pattern.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2016
Jahna Trapp
"hi when did you big chop? I did mine June 2nd 2016 and I just want someone I can keep progress with and my hair is 4a like yours so it's perfect lol."
-snip-
"The big chop" is a term that refers to getting all of your permed (chemically straightened) hair cut off. Everyone who "goes natural" (or returns their hair to its natural condition) doesn't do a big chop, but might cut some of their hair, and/or wait until the perm gets out of (the rest of) their hair.
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"Hi! I did my big Chop in April but I colored it and cut it shorter in June."
-snip-
Notice that people who "go natural" may still color (dye) their hair.
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"+Jahna Trapp I'm a 3c/4a"
**
Reply
Jahna Trapp
"+Markia Daily aight got it thanks."
**
Geraldine Ezeokeke
"this will not work on 4c hair"
**
Reply
Markia Daily
"Geraldine Ezeokeke tried it out on a friend, it definitely will."
**
Kelly D
"I'm so glad I found this video today. I big chopped a couple days ago and needed to get some inspiration for styles. :)"
****
This concludes Part III of this four part series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Example #5:
Articles About The Black Natural Hair Movements In USA, Brazil, France, Ivory Coast, & South Africa
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, Brazil and South Africa. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
In addition, Part II includes a bonus article about a protest in South Africa against regulations that prohibit high school students from wearing natural hairstyles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
FEATURED ARTICLES
These articles are just a sample of online articles about the Black natural hair movement throughout the world. I've numbered these articles for referencing purposes only.
Article Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_hair_movement
"The natural hair movement is a movement which encourages women of African descent to keep their natural afro-textured hair. Born in the USA during the 2000s,[1][2] this movement is named "mouvement nappy" in French-speaking countries.[3][4][5][6]
....The word "nappy" has been subjected to denigration since the Atlantic slave trade. Thereafter, some Afrodescendants have positively taken the word back, considered in francophone countries as a backronym made up of "natural" and "happy."[3][7][8][9]
These women, called "nappy girls" or "nappies," give "relaxing"* up and let their hair grow in its natural texture. Their hairstyles can be simple or more sophisticated, by the adoption of hair twists, braids or even locks.**[3][10] Not everyone who wears their natural hair chooses to forgo all (non-chemical) forms of straightening or styling. Additionally, "being natural" does not necessarily indicate a strict adherence to any particular type of product or styling regimen; nor should it be tied exclusively with certain social or political beliefs. Women (and men) choose, or are forced into, being natural for a wide variety of reasons. Some may even not like the term "nappy/nappies."
Nappy hair: History of Afro-descendants
...Around 2005 an underground documentary film hit the independent film circuit called "My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey through Black Hairitage". The highly acclaimed film won multiple awards and played on the college circuit. With years of research, the film historically looked at the word "Nappy"; "My Nappy ROOTS" chronicled over 400 years (and 200 hours of footage) of Afro hair culture starting in Africa through the middle passage, reconstruction the creation of the Black hair industry to current day 2008. It became the definitive film on the history, culture and economics on Black hair. The urban story postulated the word 'Nappy' came from the cotton plant, the small cotton ball inside the plant was called a 'nap'. The word nappy was born because it resembled the texture of unkempt Afro textured hair. In an effort to be more acceptable socially, it was more desirable to have straight hair like the dominant culture....
Branding "Ethnic" Hair
With the popularity of "going natural," hair care suppliers have seen a rapid decrease in the purchase of relaxers, the harsh chemical hair straightener. An industry that was once worth an estimated $774 million, relaxer sales have gone down 26% over the last five years, 2013 numbers report.[82] Sales are estimated to decrease to 45% by 2019.[82]
Natural women are now spending more money on products that will achieve the best result for their hair, and hair care suppliers and markets are taking note. Black consumers represent a lucrative market for hair care suppliers, so the brands now have to adjust for the new hair movement.[82] Brands have greatly lowered their production of relaxers and instead now produce more natural-friendly products. In choosing what products to consume, black consumers rely heavily on social media to gauge results from others who have gone natural. They have done this by the use of YouTube videos as tutorials on how to use products efficiently and create reviews for potential consumers to watch. Popular brands and products include Shea Moisture, Deva Curl, and Carol's Daughter.[83]"....
-snip-
*In the context of this article, "relaxing" means to apply a chemical product to temporarily straighten hair that is not naturally straight. "Getting a permanent" is another way of saying the same thing. "Relaxers" = "perms".
**"Locks" (usually spelled "locs") = dreadlocks
****
Article Excerpt #2:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-textured_hair
....
Rise of Black pride
"In the 1800s and early 1900s, nappy, kinky, curly hair was deemed inferior, ugly and unkempt in comparison to the flowing, bouncy hair of people from other cultures," says Marcia Wade Talbert in Black Enterprise.[20] Chemical relaxers increased in demand throughout the 1800s and 1900s. These relaxers often contained sodium hydroxide (lye) or guanidine hydroxide which result in hair breakage, thinning of the hair, slowing of hair growth, scalp damage and even hair loss, according to Gheni Platenurg in the article, "Black Women Returning to Their Natural Hair Roots."[21]
In the United States, the successes of the civil rights movement, and the Black power and Black pride movements of the 1960s and 1970s, inspired African-Americans to express their political commitments by adopting more traditionally African styles. The Afro hairstyle developed as an affirmation of Black African heritage, expressed by the phrase, "Black is beautiful." Angela Davis wore her Afro as a political statement and started a movement toward natural hair. This movement influenced a generation, including celebrities like Diana Ross, whose Jheri curls took over the 1980s.
Since the late 20th century, Black people have experimented with a variety of styles, including cornrows, locks, braiding, hair twists and short, cropped hair, specifically designed for afro-textured hair. Natural hair blogs include Black Girl Long Hair (BGLH), Curly Nikki and Afro Hair Club. With the emergence of hip-hop culture and Jamaican influences like reggae music, more non-Black people have begun to wear these hairstyles as well. A new market has developed in such hair products as "Out of Africa" shampoo.
The popularity of natural hair has waxed and waned. In the early 21st century, a significant percentage of African-American women still straighten their hair with relaxers of some kind (either heat- or chemical-based)...
Terminology
In many post-Columbian, Western societies, adjectives such as "wooly", "kinky", "nappy", or "spiralled" have frequently been used to describe natural afro-textured hair. More recently, however, it has become common in some circles to apply numerical grading systems to human hair types. There are also natural haircare products used today for unprocessed, natural hair, such as Cantu, Shea Moisture, African Pride, and Carol's Daughter products.
One popular version of these systems classifies afro-textured hair as 'type 4' (straight hair is type 1, wavy type 2, and curly is type 3, with the letters A, B, and C used to indicate the degree of coil variation within each type), with the subcategory of type 4C being most exemplary of this hair type (Walker, 1997).
However, afro-textured hair is often difficult to categorize because of the many different variations among individuals. Those variations include pattern (mainly tight coils), pattern size (watch spring to chalk), density (sparse to dense), strand diameter (fine, medium, coarse), and feel (cottony, wooly, spongy).[2]
The hair texture chart below is the most commonly used chart to help determine hair types
[This chart begins with 1a and goes to 4c. Here's a portion of that chart]
1a - Straight (Fine) Very soft, shiny, hard to hold a curl, hair tends to be oily, hard to damage.
....
3c - Curly (Corkscrews), Tight curls in corkscrews. The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together.
4a - Kinky (Soft), Tightly coiled. Has a more defined curly pattern.
4b -Kinky (Wiry), Tightly coiled. Less defined curly pattern. Has more of a "Z"-shaped pattern.
4c -Kinky (Wiry), Tightly coiled. Almost no defined curl pattern. Has more of a "Z"-shaped pattern.[4]"
-snip-
People can have more than one natural curl pattern. For example, in some parts of my head my hair pattern is probably 4a and in other parts my hair pattern is 4b.
****
Article Excerpt #3:
From http://en.rfi.fr/france/20150406-talking-hair-and-black-identity-france-hair-salon Talking hair and black identity in France in a hair salon" by Sarah Elzas Released on 06-04-2015
"For black women a hairstyle choice can be a fraught decision: Often it becomes more than a style choice, especially in France where black hair gets into questions of identity, history and politics. These questions are the focus of the Boucles d'ébène hair salon that specialises in Afros, dreadlocks and other styles of natural black hair.
"It's more than a hair salon," says Aline Tacite, who founded the beauty salon in 2013, after starting an organisation with the same name, Boucles d'ébène (Ebony locks) with her sister in 2005 to promote natural black hair in France...
Black women (and men) face the daily question of what to do with their hair: leave it natural, curly and frizzy, or straighten it. But Tacite says hair is more than a style choice: "Hair is not just something on your head, especially black hair," she says.
"It's really charged with history, culture, identity, politics. Historically, black people have been taught that the way they should wear their hair is to have it straightened."
In the 1960s, the Black Power movement in the United States turned the Afro into a political statement.
In the last few years there has been the emergence in France and elsewhere of the "nappy" (natural and happy) movement, which celebrates natural black hair: Afros, dreadlocks and other styles that do not use chemical relaxers.
But it is not mainstream, and Tacite says most hair salons pressure black women to use relaxers, whose chemicals - strong alkalis or lye - can burn the skin and damage hair...
"Some would say, hair is an accessory," she says. But she questions women's choices.
"Why do you always change your hair to straight hair? What message do you send to the world, and first of all to yourself? I believe that some women accept their black identity - African, Caribbean, French, whatever - and still weave* or straighten their hair. But I also believe that loads of women deeply do not accept who they are."...
-snip-
"weave" here means "wear a weave"= i.e. attach synthetic or real hair to their hair by braiding (plaiting) or sewing, or by glue
****
Article Excerpt #4:
From http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/africa/ivory-coast-natural-hair-movement/
Ivory Coast's natural hair movement is turning heads
By Daisy Carrington, for CNN, February 17, 2015
"(CNN)In Abidjan, hair can be a contentious topic. Many Ivorians are persuaded to eschew their natural hair in favor of chemical straighteners, wigs and extensions. Afros and dreadlocks are rarely depicted on local television, and those that wear their hair naturally can be shunned from their offices....
The tide is slowly starting to turn, however, thanks in part to the efforts of a community movement, Nappys de Babi.
The group currently hosts bi-monthly meet-ups where participants exchange stories and tips on how best to care for natural hair.
My hair was breaking and one day I just decided to clip it. It was something I just did for myself with no motivation to start a movement," says Mariam Diaby, the group's founder.
"When I started the group, I just started with three or five friends who were wearing their hair natural. We added another friend, and another, and in three months we were about 200. Today we are a group of 8,500."
Since then, the movement has become mainly one of encouragement (Daiby has reappropriated the word "nappy" to be a mash-up of "natural" and "happy", while Babi is shorthand for Abidjan). Earlier this year, members around the world sent in clips of themselves dancing to Pharrell Williams' "Happy."*
....
"It's strange, because in Africa, people are supposed to know their own hair, but we don't most of the time," notes Oyourou, who says that girls start using relaxer as early as three-years old.
[Blogger Bibi] Gnagno ** says reasons for this could be myriad. The media could play a role, as could the colonial legacy (the Ivory Coast was a French colony from 1843 to 1960).
"Under colonization a lot of things happen. You want to get closer to the colonizer because that's the person that holds the power, so you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture," she surmises.
As to why the time is suddenly ripe for a natural hair movement, Oyourou ties it to a larger trend of national pride.
Under colonization a lot of things happen... you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture.
[quoting] Bibi Gnagno
"In the past few years, more people want to know about their traditions and what they have," she says.
"I think hair and self esteem are linked. I know my own self-worth as a black woman has been linked to my hair and I developed more self-confidence when I started wearing it natural," she says."...
-snip-
* Here's the link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X3h_IKOaMU. It is also featured in Part IV of this pancocojams series.
** The article gives a link for Bibi Gnagno's natural hair blog. That link leads to a page that indicates that that blog is coming soon.
****
Article Excerpt #5:
From https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/04/brazilian-women-natural-hair-techniques
'Black beauty has a place here': Brazilian women embrace hair's curls and kinks by Zoe Sullivan and Ana Terra Athayde in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4 August 2016
...."Brazil, the last country in the western world to abolish slavery, still struggles with racial inequality. In 2011, the census showed that over half of Brazil’s population identified as black or mixed race, but in 2012, only 6.3% of young Afro-Brazilians were enrolled in higher education. Amnesty International reported that of the 30,000 young people who are killed each year in Brazil, 77% are black. But in the last decade, the black movement for justice and equality has gathered force. Demonstrations at shopping malls across the country in 2014 testified to lower-income Brazilians’ new purchasing power. For black Brazilian women, the natural hair trend is part of this fight to reclaim their identity.
“To construct one’s black identity in Brazil, the first step is accepting your characteristics,” said Luana da Costa Fonseca, a 25-year-old student. Fonseca moved to Rio to attend the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC), and started questioning her hair-straightening habit after joining a student group for black Brazilians. “The women who have natural hair, who have gone through a transition, who have stopped straightening, I think this is the first step for facing racism.”
On the streets of Rio, Brazilian women flaunt their natural hair in a variety of styles – from rasta braids, which weave colored fibers into the hair, to dreadlocks and afros. Another common style features tight curls with golden highlights on the tips...
The natural hair trend also presents a business opportunity for Brazilian women. Leila Velez co-founded Beleza Natural, a natural hair product company, in 1993. Today, Beleza Natural has 45 salons in five different states.
Renata Morais, 31, also aims to promote black beauty. She launched Crespinhos SA to create photo books for black Brazilian children to help them enter modeling. Morais stopped straightening her hair when she was pregnant with her second child. “We were always taught that we had to have straight hair because society said that was cool,” Morais said. “But we looked for references on TV, and we didn’t see any. We only saw women with straight hair. So we thought that was right.”
As for Marinho, the fact that so many Brazilian women are embracing their natural hair only affirms what she’s known along along: “Black beauty has a place here,” she said."
****
Article Excerpt #6
From http://blackgirllonghair.com/2015/03/the-budding-natural-hair-movement-in-south-africa/ True Life: I Went to South Africa to Experience the Budding Natural Hair Movement, by Classy Kinks, March 29, 2015
"There have been a few spotlights on natural hair’s rise in popularity in different African countries, such as the Ivory Coast, but rarely do we get accounts of the movement from the perspective of folks who are familiar with the movement here. Luckily, I had the opportunity to visit Johannesburg, South Africa a few weeks ago and get an inside look into the up and coming natural hair movement at the Johannesburg Natural Hair Meetup.
Although the natural hair movement is only a few years old and has yet to gain traction amongst college-aged youth, there were a variety of natural hairstyles that I observed both on the streets and at the event. In the streets of Joburg, the most popular natural hairstyle was a cropped Caesar haircut, about a half an inch off the scalp. A good number of both men and women had dreadlocks, a higher percentage even in natural hair meccas like New York City and cornrows and braids were also very popular. Longer loose natural hairstyles past TWA length were few and far between, and I saw maybe four women with crochet braids, but most were worn undefined, not dipped and curled like we’re fond of doing here in the US. Surprisingly, unlike in West Africa, very few women wore head coverings, both in the downtown business district and in the more hip neighborhood of Braamfontein.
At the event, there was a mix of fros, twistouts, locks, cornrows and a few braids. "...
-snip-
That article includes some photographs from that event.
****
BONUS EXCERPT
This excerpt provides information about a protest against regulations prohibiting Black natural hairstyles at a South African high school.
From http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/06/492417635/a-ban-on-black-hairstyles-raises-deeper-issues-about-race
Decrying Hair Rule, South African Students Demand To Be 'Naturally Who We Are'
by Alan Greenblatt, September 6, 2016
...."Last month, black students at the prestigious Pretoria High School for Girls protested a clause in the school's code of conduct that banned wide cornrows, braids and dreadlocks. It wasn't a new policy, and many South African schools have enforced similar rules before. But this time, girls pushed back — and their complaints touched a nerve.
The school, which was an all-white institution until the mid-1990s, dropped the restrictions a few days later — but not before triggering a debate across the country.
"They make it out to be about grooming, but it is about race," says Lesley Chandata, a black woman from Zimbabwe who waits tables at a pizza parlor outside Cape Town.
The crux of the complaints from students and their supporters is that black South Africans are singled out for punishment or derision because of their appearance or speech....
The Pretoria High policy singled out "cornrows, natural dreadlocks and singles/braids," limiting them to "a maximum of 10 millimeters [about a third of an inch] in diameter." Violators were told to cut their hair or they'd be given demerits that can lead to suspension and expulsion. Afros were not specifically mentioned but the hair code does state that "all styles should be conservative, neat."
Tiisetso Phetla, who graduated from Pretoria High last year, told NPR's Rachel Martin that people at school would call her natural hair "barbaric" and that it looked "like a dog's breakfast" and was told to "remove that nest off your head."
"Your mood would completely change for the entire day," she said. "You'd be de-motivated for the day because they tell you that you don't look as if you belong in the school."
As is often the case in such codes, however, straight hair was not limited in such specific detail. It could be worn long if pulled back in a ponytail.
Under pressure from students and parents, provincial education minister Panyaza Lesufi suspended Pretoria High's hair clause last week. He also appointed an independent investigation into charges of racism at the school.
Still, student protests continue across the country. On Monday, about 300 current and former pupils of San Souci Girls' High School in Newlands, outside of Cape Town, met with the provincial education minister, demanding systemic changes to school policies and personnel.
Thousands of people have tweeted with the hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh on Twitter, calling the code of conduct "offensive" and "absurd."
And as of Tuesday morning, nearly 32,000 people had signed an online petition calling for an end to discrimination at Pretoria High, which includes "disciplinary action" for teachers who enforced the policy and "protection" for the students who protested.
Black girls at schools around the nation complained not just about hair but being referred to as "monkeys" or "kaffirs" (South Africa's rough equivalent of the N-word) or being told by teachers to stop making "funny noises" when they speak in African languages among themselves....
"I wasn't surprised at all that this protest struck a chord with so many women," says journalist Milisuthando Bongela, who is working on a documentary about hair and black identity that will be released next year. "It is something that has been waiting to explode for a very long time in South Africa."
****
This concludes Part II of this four part series
This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, Brazil and South Africa. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
In addition, Part II includes a bonus article about a protest in South Africa against regulations that prohibit high school students from wearing natural hairstyles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of this series. Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
FEATURED ARTICLES
These articles are just a sample of online articles about the Black natural hair movement throughout the world. I've numbered these articles for referencing purposes only.
Article Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_hair_movement
"The natural hair movement is a movement which encourages women of African descent to keep their natural afro-textured hair. Born in the USA during the 2000s,[1][2] this movement is named "mouvement nappy" in French-speaking countries.[3][4][5][6]
....The word "nappy" has been subjected to denigration since the Atlantic slave trade. Thereafter, some Afrodescendants have positively taken the word back, considered in francophone countries as a backronym made up of "natural" and "happy."[3][7][8][9]
These women, called "nappy girls" or "nappies," give "relaxing"* up and let their hair grow in its natural texture. Their hairstyles can be simple or more sophisticated, by the adoption of hair twists, braids or even locks.**[3][10] Not everyone who wears their natural hair chooses to forgo all (non-chemical) forms of straightening or styling. Additionally, "being natural" does not necessarily indicate a strict adherence to any particular type of product or styling regimen; nor should it be tied exclusively with certain social or political beliefs. Women (and men) choose, or are forced into, being natural for a wide variety of reasons. Some may even not like the term "nappy/nappies."
Nappy hair: History of Afro-descendants
...Around 2005 an underground documentary film hit the independent film circuit called "My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey through Black Hairitage". The highly acclaimed film won multiple awards and played on the college circuit. With years of research, the film historically looked at the word "Nappy"; "My Nappy ROOTS" chronicled over 400 years (and 200 hours of footage) of Afro hair culture starting in Africa through the middle passage, reconstruction the creation of the Black hair industry to current day 2008. It became the definitive film on the history, culture and economics on Black hair. The urban story postulated the word 'Nappy' came from the cotton plant, the small cotton ball inside the plant was called a 'nap'. The word nappy was born because it resembled the texture of unkempt Afro textured hair. In an effort to be more acceptable socially, it was more desirable to have straight hair like the dominant culture....
Branding "Ethnic" Hair
With the popularity of "going natural," hair care suppliers have seen a rapid decrease in the purchase of relaxers, the harsh chemical hair straightener. An industry that was once worth an estimated $774 million, relaxer sales have gone down 26% over the last five years, 2013 numbers report.[82] Sales are estimated to decrease to 45% by 2019.[82]
Natural women are now spending more money on products that will achieve the best result for their hair, and hair care suppliers and markets are taking note. Black consumers represent a lucrative market for hair care suppliers, so the brands now have to adjust for the new hair movement.[82] Brands have greatly lowered their production of relaxers and instead now produce more natural-friendly products. In choosing what products to consume, black consumers rely heavily on social media to gauge results from others who have gone natural. They have done this by the use of YouTube videos as tutorials on how to use products efficiently and create reviews for potential consumers to watch. Popular brands and products include Shea Moisture, Deva Curl, and Carol's Daughter.[83]"....
-snip-
*In the context of this article, "relaxing" means to apply a chemical product to temporarily straighten hair that is not naturally straight. "Getting a permanent" is another way of saying the same thing. "Relaxers" = "perms".
**"Locks" (usually spelled "locs") = dreadlocks
****
Article Excerpt #2:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-textured_hair
....
Rise of Black pride
"In the 1800s and early 1900s, nappy, kinky, curly hair was deemed inferior, ugly and unkempt in comparison to the flowing, bouncy hair of people from other cultures," says Marcia Wade Talbert in Black Enterprise.[20] Chemical relaxers increased in demand throughout the 1800s and 1900s. These relaxers often contained sodium hydroxide (lye) or guanidine hydroxide which result in hair breakage, thinning of the hair, slowing of hair growth, scalp damage and even hair loss, according to Gheni Platenurg in the article, "Black Women Returning to Their Natural Hair Roots."[21]
In the United States, the successes of the civil rights movement, and the Black power and Black pride movements of the 1960s and 1970s, inspired African-Americans to express their political commitments by adopting more traditionally African styles. The Afro hairstyle developed as an affirmation of Black African heritage, expressed by the phrase, "Black is beautiful." Angela Davis wore her Afro as a political statement and started a movement toward natural hair. This movement influenced a generation, including celebrities like Diana Ross, whose Jheri curls took over the 1980s.
Since the late 20th century, Black people have experimented with a variety of styles, including cornrows, locks, braiding, hair twists and short, cropped hair, specifically designed for afro-textured hair. Natural hair blogs include Black Girl Long Hair (BGLH), Curly Nikki and Afro Hair Club. With the emergence of hip-hop culture and Jamaican influences like reggae music, more non-Black people have begun to wear these hairstyles as well. A new market has developed in such hair products as "Out of Africa" shampoo.
The popularity of natural hair has waxed and waned. In the early 21st century, a significant percentage of African-American women still straighten their hair with relaxers of some kind (either heat- or chemical-based)...
Terminology
In many post-Columbian, Western societies, adjectives such as "wooly", "kinky", "nappy", or "spiralled" have frequently been used to describe natural afro-textured hair. More recently, however, it has become common in some circles to apply numerical grading systems to human hair types. There are also natural haircare products used today for unprocessed, natural hair, such as Cantu, Shea Moisture, African Pride, and Carol's Daughter products.
One popular version of these systems classifies afro-textured hair as 'type 4' (straight hair is type 1, wavy type 2, and curly is type 3, with the letters A, B, and C used to indicate the degree of coil variation within each type), with the subcategory of type 4C being most exemplary of this hair type (Walker, 1997).
However, afro-textured hair is often difficult to categorize because of the many different variations among individuals. Those variations include pattern (mainly tight coils), pattern size (watch spring to chalk), density (sparse to dense), strand diameter (fine, medium, coarse), and feel (cottony, wooly, spongy).[2]
The hair texture chart below is the most commonly used chart to help determine hair types
[This chart begins with 1a and goes to 4c. Here's a portion of that chart]
1a - Straight (Fine) Very soft, shiny, hard to hold a curl, hair tends to be oily, hard to damage.
....
3c - Curly (Corkscrews), Tight curls in corkscrews. The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together.
4a - Kinky (Soft), Tightly coiled. Has a more defined curly pattern.
4b -Kinky (Wiry), Tightly coiled. Less defined curly pattern. Has more of a "Z"-shaped pattern.
4c -Kinky (Wiry), Tightly coiled. Almost no defined curl pattern. Has more of a "Z"-shaped pattern.[4]"
-snip-
People can have more than one natural curl pattern. For example, in some parts of my head my hair pattern is probably 4a and in other parts my hair pattern is 4b.
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Article Excerpt #3:
From http://en.rfi.fr/france/20150406-talking-hair-and-black-identity-france-hair-salon Talking hair and black identity in France in a hair salon" by Sarah Elzas Released on 06-04-2015
"For black women a hairstyle choice can be a fraught decision: Often it becomes more than a style choice, especially in France where black hair gets into questions of identity, history and politics. These questions are the focus of the Boucles d'ébène hair salon that specialises in Afros, dreadlocks and other styles of natural black hair.
"It's more than a hair salon," says Aline Tacite, who founded the beauty salon in 2013, after starting an organisation with the same name, Boucles d'ébène (Ebony locks) with her sister in 2005 to promote natural black hair in France...
Black women (and men) face the daily question of what to do with their hair: leave it natural, curly and frizzy, or straighten it. But Tacite says hair is more than a style choice: "Hair is not just something on your head, especially black hair," she says.
"It's really charged with history, culture, identity, politics. Historically, black people have been taught that the way they should wear their hair is to have it straightened."
In the 1960s, the Black Power movement in the United States turned the Afro into a political statement.
In the last few years there has been the emergence in France and elsewhere of the "nappy" (natural and happy) movement, which celebrates natural black hair: Afros, dreadlocks and other styles that do not use chemical relaxers.
But it is not mainstream, and Tacite says most hair salons pressure black women to use relaxers, whose chemicals - strong alkalis or lye - can burn the skin and damage hair...
"Some would say, hair is an accessory," she says. But she questions women's choices.
"Why do you always change your hair to straight hair? What message do you send to the world, and first of all to yourself? I believe that some women accept their black identity - African, Caribbean, French, whatever - and still weave* or straighten their hair. But I also believe that loads of women deeply do not accept who they are."...
-snip-
"weave" here means "wear a weave"= i.e. attach synthetic or real hair to their hair by braiding (plaiting) or sewing, or by glue
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Article Excerpt #4:
From http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/africa/ivory-coast-natural-hair-movement/
Ivory Coast's natural hair movement is turning heads
By Daisy Carrington, for CNN, February 17, 2015
"(CNN)In Abidjan, hair can be a contentious topic. Many Ivorians are persuaded to eschew their natural hair in favor of chemical straighteners, wigs and extensions. Afros and dreadlocks are rarely depicted on local television, and those that wear their hair naturally can be shunned from their offices....
The tide is slowly starting to turn, however, thanks in part to the efforts of a community movement, Nappys de Babi.
The group currently hosts bi-monthly meet-ups where participants exchange stories and tips on how best to care for natural hair.
My hair was breaking and one day I just decided to clip it. It was something I just did for myself with no motivation to start a movement," says Mariam Diaby, the group's founder.
"When I started the group, I just started with three or five friends who were wearing their hair natural. We added another friend, and another, and in three months we were about 200. Today we are a group of 8,500."
Since then, the movement has become mainly one of encouragement (Daiby has reappropriated the word "nappy" to be a mash-up of "natural" and "happy", while Babi is shorthand for Abidjan). Earlier this year, members around the world sent in clips of themselves dancing to Pharrell Williams' "Happy."*
....
"It's strange, because in Africa, people are supposed to know their own hair, but we don't most of the time," notes Oyourou, who says that girls start using relaxer as early as three-years old.
[Blogger Bibi] Gnagno ** says reasons for this could be myriad. The media could play a role, as could the colonial legacy (the Ivory Coast was a French colony from 1843 to 1960).
"Under colonization a lot of things happen. You want to get closer to the colonizer because that's the person that holds the power, so you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture," she surmises.
As to why the time is suddenly ripe for a natural hair movement, Oyourou ties it to a larger trend of national pride.
Under colonization a lot of things happen... you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture.
[quoting] Bibi Gnagno
"In the past few years, more people want to know about their traditions and what they have," she says.
"I think hair and self esteem are linked. I know my own self-worth as a black woman has been linked to my hair and I developed more self-confidence when I started wearing it natural," she says."...
-snip-
* Here's the link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X3h_IKOaMU. It is also featured in Part IV of this pancocojams series.
** The article gives a link for Bibi Gnagno's natural hair blog. That link leads to a page that indicates that that blog is coming soon.
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Article Excerpt #5:
From https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/04/brazilian-women-natural-hair-techniques
'Black beauty has a place here': Brazilian women embrace hair's curls and kinks by Zoe Sullivan and Ana Terra Athayde in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4 August 2016
...."Brazil, the last country in the western world to abolish slavery, still struggles with racial inequality. In 2011, the census showed that over half of Brazil’s population identified as black or mixed race, but in 2012, only 6.3% of young Afro-Brazilians were enrolled in higher education. Amnesty International reported that of the 30,000 young people who are killed each year in Brazil, 77% are black. But in the last decade, the black movement for justice and equality has gathered force. Demonstrations at shopping malls across the country in 2014 testified to lower-income Brazilians’ new purchasing power. For black Brazilian women, the natural hair trend is part of this fight to reclaim their identity.
“To construct one’s black identity in Brazil, the first step is accepting your characteristics,” said Luana da Costa Fonseca, a 25-year-old student. Fonseca moved to Rio to attend the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC), and started questioning her hair-straightening habit after joining a student group for black Brazilians. “The women who have natural hair, who have gone through a transition, who have stopped straightening, I think this is the first step for facing racism.”
On the streets of Rio, Brazilian women flaunt their natural hair in a variety of styles – from rasta braids, which weave colored fibers into the hair, to dreadlocks and afros. Another common style features tight curls with golden highlights on the tips...
The natural hair trend also presents a business opportunity for Brazilian women. Leila Velez co-founded Beleza Natural, a natural hair product company, in 1993. Today, Beleza Natural has 45 salons in five different states.
Renata Morais, 31, also aims to promote black beauty. She launched Crespinhos SA to create photo books for black Brazilian children to help them enter modeling. Morais stopped straightening her hair when she was pregnant with her second child. “We were always taught that we had to have straight hair because society said that was cool,” Morais said. “But we looked for references on TV, and we didn’t see any. We only saw women with straight hair. So we thought that was right.”
As for Marinho, the fact that so many Brazilian women are embracing their natural hair only affirms what she’s known along along: “Black beauty has a place here,” she said."
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Article Excerpt #6
From http://blackgirllonghair.com/2015/03/the-budding-natural-hair-movement-in-south-africa/ True Life: I Went to South Africa to Experience the Budding Natural Hair Movement, by Classy Kinks, March 29, 2015
"There have been a few spotlights on natural hair’s rise in popularity in different African countries, such as the Ivory Coast, but rarely do we get accounts of the movement from the perspective of folks who are familiar with the movement here. Luckily, I had the opportunity to visit Johannesburg, South Africa a few weeks ago and get an inside look into the up and coming natural hair movement at the Johannesburg Natural Hair Meetup.
Although the natural hair movement is only a few years old and has yet to gain traction amongst college-aged youth, there were a variety of natural hairstyles that I observed both on the streets and at the event. In the streets of Joburg, the most popular natural hairstyle was a cropped Caesar haircut, about a half an inch off the scalp. A good number of both men and women had dreadlocks, a higher percentage even in natural hair meccas like New York City and cornrows and braids were also very popular. Longer loose natural hairstyles past TWA length were few and far between, and I saw maybe four women with crochet braids, but most were worn undefined, not dipped and curled like we’re fond of doing here in the US. Surprisingly, unlike in West Africa, very few women wore head coverings, both in the downtown business district and in the more hip neighborhood of Braamfontein.
At the event, there was a mix of fros, twistouts, locks, cornrows and a few braids. "...
-snip-
That article includes some photographs from that event.
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BONUS EXCERPT
This excerpt provides information about a protest against regulations prohibiting Black natural hairstyles at a South African high school.
From http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/06/492417635/a-ban-on-black-hairstyles-raises-deeper-issues-about-race
Decrying Hair Rule, South African Students Demand To Be 'Naturally Who We Are'
by Alan Greenblatt, September 6, 2016
...."Last month, black students at the prestigious Pretoria High School for Girls protested a clause in the school's code of conduct that banned wide cornrows, braids and dreadlocks. It wasn't a new policy, and many South African schools have enforced similar rules before. But this time, girls pushed back — and their complaints touched a nerve.
The school, which was an all-white institution until the mid-1990s, dropped the restrictions a few days later — but not before triggering a debate across the country.
"They make it out to be about grooming, but it is about race," says Lesley Chandata, a black woman from Zimbabwe who waits tables at a pizza parlor outside Cape Town.
The crux of the complaints from students and their supporters is that black South Africans are singled out for punishment or derision because of their appearance or speech....
The Pretoria High policy singled out "cornrows, natural dreadlocks and singles/braids," limiting them to "a maximum of 10 millimeters [about a third of an inch] in diameter." Violators were told to cut their hair or they'd be given demerits that can lead to suspension and expulsion. Afros were not specifically mentioned but the hair code does state that "all styles should be conservative, neat."
Tiisetso Phetla, who graduated from Pretoria High last year, told NPR's Rachel Martin that people at school would call her natural hair "barbaric" and that it looked "like a dog's breakfast" and was told to "remove that nest off your head."
"Your mood would completely change for the entire day," she said. "You'd be de-motivated for the day because they tell you that you don't look as if you belong in the school."
As is often the case in such codes, however, straight hair was not limited in such specific detail. It could be worn long if pulled back in a ponytail.
Under pressure from students and parents, provincial education minister Panyaza Lesufi suspended Pretoria High's hair clause last week. He also appointed an independent investigation into charges of racism at the school.
Still, student protests continue across the country. On Monday, about 300 current and former pupils of San Souci Girls' High School in Newlands, outside of Cape Town, met with the provincial education minister, demanding systemic changes to school policies and personnel.
Thousands of people have tweeted with the hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh on Twitter, calling the code of conduct "offensive" and "absurd."
And as of Tuesday morning, nearly 32,000 people had signed an online petition calling for an end to discrimination at Pretoria High, which includes "disciplinary action" for teachers who enforced the policy and "protection" for the students who protested.
Black girls at schools around the nation complained not just about hair but being referred to as "monkeys" or "kaffirs" (South Africa's rough equivalent of the N-word) or being told by teachers to stop making "funny noises" when they speak in African languages among themselves....
"I wasn't surprised at all that this protest struck a chord with so many women," says journalist Milisuthando Bongela, who is working on a documentary about hair and black identity that will be released next year. "It is something that has been waiting to explode for a very long time in South Africa."
****
This concludes Part II of this four part series
Changing Attitudes Among African Americans About Natural Hair & About The Word "Nappy"- Part I
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision: July 2, 2019
This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
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The content of this post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this embedded video.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT [late October 2016]
In February 2013 I published a pancocojams post about "Good Hair & Bad Hair (Black Attitudes About Our Hair) http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/good-hair-bad-hair-black-attitudes.html in which I shared my memories about the terms "good and bad" hair as used by Black people in New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. I also commented in that post that few children and teenagers in my adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wore their hair in natural hairstyles.
Writing this in late October 2016, I definitely would say that there's been a large increase in the number of Black females wearing natural hairstyles. Wearing long natural (looking) braid extensions and curly/twist natural styles (where the non-straightened hair is braided at night, and the braids are eventually taken out [as early as the next morning, but usually days later] and the hair is worn that way without combing), and other natural hair styles have become the norm for a considerable number of African American females - particularly girls ages about six years old to women under fifty years of age - not just in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but apparently throughout the United States. Many of these styles are made by adding braids or twists made from synthetic hair to females's own hair. Dreadlocks (locs) and certain other natural hairstyles have also become relatively common for African American males (particularly teens and young adults). As noted by those different age ranges, it seems to me that natural hairstyles (including extensions) are worn more often by African American females than by African American males.
My interest in natural hairstyles in general and in the African American meaning of the word "nappy" was revived in October 2016 when I published a post on the latest Hip Hop dance craze "Juju On The Beat" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-does-juju-on-that-beat-and-tm.html. In that record, the rapper talks about how he "Walked in this party/And these girls lookin' at me/Skinny jeans on and you know my hair nappy".
Those lyrics motivated me to find out when and how "nappy hair" become a part of African American young folk's urban swag. I therefore thank the singers/composers of "Juju On The Beat" Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall for inspiring this four part pancocojams post.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Sheryl Underwood goes natural & Apologizes For Calling Natural Hair "Nasty"
lovelyti2002 Published on Sep 20, 2015
On Monday’s premiere episode of the new season of The Talk, comedian Sheryl Underwood revealed her natural hair and apologized for disparaging comments she made regarding kinky hair.
-snip-
I'm highlighting this vlog because of the discussion about Black people's hair that it prompted and not to focus on the 2012 statements that Sheryl Underwood is apologizing for. However, to briefly summarize those statements, during a show featuring celebrity Heidi Klum as a guest, Ms. Klum (a White women who has adopted two mixed racial children who have some Black ancestry) shared that when she cut her children's hair for the first time, she saved their hair as mementos. Sheryl Underwood made disparaging comments about nappy hair, negatively comparing those hair textures with naturally straight hair.
As a correction that was made by several commenters, The Talk series on which Sheyrl Underwood is a co-host is on CBS and not ABC as the vlogger stated.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THAT VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These videos are given in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest comments by year given first, except for replies. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order.
I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only. Brief explanatory comments are included after some of these quoted comments.
As per my policy on this blog, profanity (except for the word "damn") is given in amended form only.
2015
1. AshleyMorgan
"Some of these people forget the way they felt about their hair before they accepted their self whole heartedly. I know how much ignorant statements I made about black hair before I fell in love with it. So don't forget how you once were. Good for her!"
-snip-
"Some of these people" refers to those who are critical of the statements that Sheryl Underwood made about (most) Black people's natural hair. In the statement "Good for her!", "her" refers to Sheryl Underwood for apologizing and deciding to wear her hair natural (Note that Ms. Underwood indicated that she would also wear wigs because she likes to "change up" how she wears her hair.)
**
Reply
2. TheGanation
"right! a lot of us weren't raised to love our natural hair."
**
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3. ronniemonnie
"Not me! I always loved black natural hair."
**
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4. AshleyMorgan
"+ronniemonnie You are one in a million. Thats awesome that it was like that for you but for many we were taught to use a perm because our hair isn't manageable. It was a process for many but fortunately for me it was a quick one when I began to see the acceptance. I will tell you this, going through the phases like the big chop and watching your hair grow, taking the time out to treat it, style it, and rock it, it helps you build your confidence and also makes you appreciate and love your hair. I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee my hair now and you can not tell me anything about it especially when the fro is picked out!!!!! MANNNNNNN LISTEN LMAOO"
-snip-
"Big chop"- "Big chop is the process of cutting off the relaxed or permed ends of one's hair when [a female] is transitioning from chemically processed hair to natural hair." http://www.naturallycurly.com/topics/view/big-chop-transitioning
'fro = afro (also called a "natural" in the USA since the 1960s). An afro ('fro) can be a hair style, or a number of natural hairstyles. But, people with afros can style their hair or have their hair styled in different ways that have their own names. Click http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/kinky-hair-type-4a/21-popular-natural-hairstyles/ for the article "21 Most Popular Natural Hair Styles"
**
Reply
5. Chanda Chansa
"+AshleyMorgan
Am African and I don't understand some things: Why is black hair a sensitive topic for black Americans?"
**
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6. Chanda Chansa
"+Tiffany Williams
A lot of African women wear weaves as-well but black hair is not an issue there. Thanks for your explanation."
-snip-
Given the comments that I've read in various online YouTube (and other) discussion threads about the changing attitudes about natural hair in various African nations, I'm not sure that I agree with the blogger that
"black [people's natural] hair is not an issue" for "a lot of African women". I wish that the blogger had given the nation she was referring to.
"Weaves" = females wearing usually synthetic hair that is attached to their hair by braiding, sewing, glue or other ways
**
Reply
7. AshleyMorgan, 2016
"+Chanda Chansa I feel it is such a sensitive topic not only because of the history but in modern day america we are told on a daily basis that out hair is not professional, it looks unkept, it looks nappy, etc. There are some companies and people that will not hire you solely based on your hair. We have been told that in order to fit in we have to conform to their standard of beauty because that is the only standard. Now many of us have taken measures to embrace and whole heartedly love ourself for who we are but then you have others who still haven't fully embraced who they are. …because …not all of us grew up being told that our hair is beautiful. Many of us don't even remember having our natural hair as children. It's deeper then this but If I try to explain it we will be here all day! lol I hope you are having a great day though!"
-snip-
This comment included the ...'s.
**
Reply
8. coolingwinds, 2016
"I agree with pretty much everything you said. Back when the natural hair movement was just getting started, I was hanging on to my relaxer with both hands and all my might! Now I am happy to report that I've been natural since roughly 2007. It took me a long time to embrace it in myself let alone others because I came from that generation of relaxing, weaving, wig wearing black women. I recognize myself in her, and it's all good now that she's gone through her transition. People have to remember that's how many of us came up. As far as I'm concerned, all is forgiven. I'm just so glad that she now loves what God gave us, and she is beautiful!
-snip-
"going through her transition" = changing from wearing one's hair chemically treated or straightened (also known as "relaxed"; "permed", "done") with heat (a hot comb placed in fire or an electric iron) to wearing one's hair naturally.
**
9. Nita Carter
"Omg this make me want to cry, cause I struggle with a lot with my hair. All my life my hair was always short, I'm not ashamed of my beautiful nappy natural hair, It's just I'm a big fan of weave so much that I forgot how beautiful natural nappy black hair is. I was never a girl who say disrespectful things about my race hair, I actually love seeing black woman wearing and showing their hair out no matter how it is or look, I love my race hair, cause we can do soooooo much with it. (And for the people that think black woman hair don't grow or say disrespectful things is crazy and f&&king* stupid cause it does grow and we actually have beautiful hair it's different), my hair today is near my neck and I love it, the other day I was thinking about taking my weave out but seeing this video got me like what m'I doing. If we see more videos like this, it will courage more black woman as myself to appreciate a lot of things about black beauty. By the way we shouldn't get defended if people say our hair is nappy because we have beautiful nappy hair that's just how our hair is and I love it. so f&&k* thoses who think nappy hair is a disgrace."
-snip-
* These words were fully spelled out in this comment.
**
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10. Jada Lee, 2016
"yes! ppl dont understand why im proud to say i have nappy hair. "nappy" is only as insulting as you make it. stay strong girl!"
**
11. shortmonee 312
"Unfortunately, most (over 50%) of black American women hate their hair. I've noticed lately though a lot of sistas are going natural, and I hope the trend continues"
**
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12. imshrrj
"+shortmonee 312 This is true, but we're taught to hate our hair...By guess who??? grandma and aunties.. The things my family use to say about hair..just terrible"
-snip-
This is an excerpt of that comment.
**
13. O-Ren Ishii
...[screen name of person this comment was written in response to] "everybody can't rock every natural hairstyle but I think everybody can pull off at least one of them. Everybody can't pull off the natural baby bush like Sheryl."
-snip-
"Bush" is a term that I remember being used in the mid 1960s (in Atlantic city, N.J) for short round shaped afros that Black male and Black females had. Since at least the 1990s, a much more widely used referent for a short afro ('fro) is "TWA" ("teeny weeny afro"). Women who do the "big chop" (read above) usually end up with a TWA. A number of women who have their chemically/heat permed hair chopped off, "rock" (wear) wigs until their natural hair grows a little longer than "twa" or until they learn to do different hairstyles with their short natural.
**
14. Sharon Reid Robinson
...[screen name of person this comment was written in response to] "FREE COUTRY....NO PERSON CAN TELL ANOTHER HOW THEY SHOULD WEAR THEIR HAIR. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. SHE MADE A MISTAKE IBY SAYING WHAT SHE SAID. I AM PRESENTLY WEARING MY OWN HAIR. I WEAR PERM, WIG, WEVE BECAUSE I LIKE VARIETY. MY HAIR CAME OUT BECAUSE OF SOME MED I HAD TO TAKE...I WORE A WIG...LOVED IT!!! WILL WEAR MY HAIR AS I WISH...DON'T THINK BLACK HAIR IS NASTY...I HAVE WHAT I CALL NAPPY PRIDE NO MATTER HOW I WEAR MY HEAR."
**
15. MzVan21
"Wish more black women wear their natural hair...don't get wrong I like a sew in every now and then but Nothing like my hair that I was born with.yes I get tired of it sometimes,yes it takes a while to style etc but I wouldn't change it. its curly,thick, course.Black hair is DIFFERENT from any other texture..to me that's a great blessing. that we should embrace."
-snip-
"a sew in" - one way to attach synthetic or real hair to your hair
**
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16. Paris OfPhrance
"I'm on YouTube everyday it's not that different anymore lol follow naturallyshesdope on ig....very common"
-snip-
This is the complete comment.
"ig" = instagram (social media)
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17. Edward Lewis
"+MzVan21 Actually is getting more and more common everyday I mean literally my mom, two aunts and grandmother are natural."
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18. MzVan21
"+Edward Lewis I feel like it is definitely trending which is great,just hopes it sticks"
**
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19. NatuRealistic87 VeryKinkyCurl
"Also trending for white ppl to try to mock the afro & swear up and down that they have "black ppl hair"...but I do agree with u it is different & very unique."
**
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20. natrulyvivacious
"I don't have kinky hair but if I did I would be proud as Jesus has the same kind of hair biblically written even though they try to portray him with straight white people hair.
-snip-
"Kinky" is often used as a synonym for "nappy". However, some people in the natural hair care movement indicate that "kinky" is a different type of hair pattern than "nappy".
**
21. TheKendroShow
"sadly the negative attitude towards natural hair is active and has a lengthy history. it takes some people time to wake up and I'm glad she did. fro looks real nice on her. all is forgiven"
**
22. mashonda Knight
"As a black women I'm so tired about the whole hair debate people need to stop shaming people for how and what they do to their hair if they want to wear their natural, perm,weave, braids, fine I wish everyone would stop telling everyone what to do with their hair I say as long as it looks great so what I don't wear wigs, braids or weave and those things are nice I've seen people look nice in them and that's their choice but I do perm my hair and I like it ,I just think when it comes to hair that topic should be off limits! !"
**
23. AmethystUniverse
"She looks gorgeous with her TWA :) and she seems really sincere this time around and I forgive her as well! #naturalhairrocks"
-snip-
Sheryl Underwood had apologized for her remarks disparaging Black natural hair in 2012 shortly after she made those remarks. This second apology was given during the nationally televised talk show where she is co-hosts with four other women.
**
Reply
24. Africa Love
"I agree she seems more sincere "this time""
**
25. Jamaican Diaspora
"I am happy to be nappy! No Korean is going to feed and cloth their children with my money from those nasty beauty supply stores in Black communities.
-snip-
Throughout the USA, for some reason/s, Koreans a have monopoly on Black hair care salons.
"I'm happy to be nappy" is a rather widely used saying, particularly among "naturalistas" (Black natural hair adherents). That saying was coined by bell hooks in her 1999 children's book with that title.
**
26. patricia pritchett
"It's so crazy to me how 'my people' (not all, but many) think our hair is 'nappy', 'nasty', 'ugly', ect... I cant tell you HOW MUCH other races think that it's beautiful! Can't tell you how many times in a day they want to touch it, and compliment its beauty. I love mine!!! Hope that she is really embracing its UNIQUENESS..."
**
Reply
27. Morris Pitts
"When did it become" brave" for Black women to wear they're natural hair ? I think you have to be brave to wear some of these F&&ked* Up wigs and weaves I see everyday."...
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this post. This is an excerpt of that comment.
**
Reply
28. Dark Witch
"+Morris Pitts Not all wigs and weaves look f&&ked up, unless you can not afford better or your ghetto as all out doors! I wear my hair natural but I like variety too. I would prefer that all black women go natural but they do not need to be limited, especially when many jobs frown on natural hair. We have to be versatile and wear many faces in this society. But yes, underneath it all a women hair should be natural and we should feel just as comfortable wearing it that way too."
-snip-
*This word was fully spelled out in that comment.
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Reply
29. Summers Journey
"+Morris Pitts I have natural hair, but why must a woman keep the same hairstyle? I find that boring. Part of the reason why I like natural hair is because it's so versatile. Sometimes I like to wear my hair in a fro, at other times I prefer more defined curls, and sometime I like to wear it straight. If I'm not in the mood to do my hair, I may throw on a wig, or get braids/twists."
**
30. 827honey1
"She looks 100% prettier than she ever did wearing a weave or wig."
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Reply
31. sharp-jagger
"+827honey1 agreed. I did not criticize her in the past for VOLUNTARILY choosing to rock wigs, but I was shocked at her comments regarding natural hair. It seemed that there was this universal agreement that natural hair was synonymous with nappy and unkept. I think it took her some time to overcome the disparaging pre-programmed mindset of natural hair. She looks comfortable now."
**
32. y tyler
"Thank you for uploading this video of Sheryl apologizing. As for her natural hair (the way she has it styled) looks uneven, some parts looks as if she tried twist it, some parts looks like she picked it out. This is not a TWA (teeny weeny afro), this is a mess.
Afros were in style when I (and Sheryl) was growing up and I never saw anyone at school, church, work, the supermarket or walking down the street, with an afro that wasn't perfect. Men would go to the barber shop and sit in that chair (for what seemed like an eternity) while the barber cut and snipped until the hair was in a perfect circle. Finally, he would spray the Afro Sheen on, and you knew you were ready for anything.
The girls, would plait their hair in four big plaits (or more if their hair was shorter) at night and then would take it out in the morning, tease it with a comb and then pick it out with a pick or pack it down into an even circular shape. Afro Sheen was sprayed on, and a thin layer of hair spray if needed. We looked so well-groomed. We even wore the pick in our hair so, if it got messed up, we could pick it back out to perfection. We took so much pride in our Afros, that non-black people wore their hair in afros, too.
I have never seen Sheryl wearing a wig that was cut, as uneven as her real hair is. So, she should come to the conclusion, that an even cut will make her natural hair look much better."...
-snip-
This is an excerpt of that comment. The blogger continued with off topic criticism about Sheryl’s weight and how the blogger thinks she acts on air.
"picked [her natural hair] out= used a wide tooth comb called an "afro pic" to comb out her natural
While I don't agree with the blogger's assessment that Sheryl Underwood's afro looks a mess, the blogger's comments about how people wore afros back in the day and plaited (braided) their hair at night etc. completely matches my memories of how African American females and males wore afros in the mid to late 1960s.
It seems to me that one of the greatest differences between afro hair styles in the late 1960s/1970s and afro styles in the 2000s is that it's considered stylish nowadays to wear afros out in public without combing the natural hair out while back in the day Black women (like me) who wore our hair in 'fros would always braid it at night so that the fro could be fuller, and not matted and then we'd take the braids out and "pic" (comb out) our hair before being seen in public- either outdoors or inside.
**
33. Deborah Atkins-Denmark
"I forgive her, wholeheartedly. For a lot of us, the natural hair decision is a process, especially for us older sisters who were, from birth, taught to hate our hair. I believe she was both sincere and courageous. We should forgive her and embrace a new naturalista!!!"
**
34. infinite1
"Why is everyone acting like we didn't go through hundreds of years of conditioning first? Our ancestors in this country had to adapt and conform to get us to a place today where we are alive and breathing. I never hated myself when I had a perm, it was what I knew because it was passed down from the former generations. I loved weave because it offered variety. As an older woman, it is the young who have really brought the natural hair forth and it is beautiful. Older woman like myself are still on a learning curve taking care of natural hair. Just 10 years ago, black men and women still shunned women with natural hair just like white people, so why in the hell, now that it is accepted everyone want to jumpn up and say you hate yourself for wearing your hair the only way you've known how for ages?"...
-snip-
This is an excerpt of this comment. The blogger continues by writing about how Black men need to stop hating each other and stop killing each other.
**
35. kittenhoodie
"to be honest, a lot of African American women had the same negative views about natural hair. I can even say that I had negative views about natural hair for most of my life until about 6 years ago when I decided to transition. she was entitled to her opinion about it. I thought she was rude to Heidi Klum about her decision to hold onto her children's hair. if anything, she owed a huge apology to Heidi Klum because she was basically questioning aspects of her parenting. the women on "the talk" are very abrasive, and I wasn't interested in their views or that show way before underwood's natural hair controversy. the show is about differing views on current topics. we just aren't gonna agree with each other completely, and why would should we? some people question why it took her so long to basically come around to seeing how amazing our natural beauty is, and I think we should just appreciate that she in fact changed how she felt on the subject and move on. hell, raven-Symone says stuff on the view that it way more offensive and ignorant."
**
36. kai kai
"i think her apology was full of sh&t!* saying black people hair is nasty is not a joke! i think she really felt that way why do you think black women wear tons of artificial white woman hair today...grown ass black woman all ways tell they children "yo hair so nappy! go flat earn it! ya head lookin a hot ass mess" for example blue ivy! black woman are dragging blue ivy through the mud just because they think her natural beautiful hair is "nappy". also why do 98.9% of black people think if a you have long curly hair that your mixed? why do i have to be mixed in order to have long hair? this also stems to why black people think mixed or "redbone" look best. all of this stuff have a deeper meaning!
-snip-
*This word was fully spelled out in this comment.
“flat earn it” = flat iron it” [iron hair= straighten [press] hair with a hot comb; a flat iron is a type of hot comb
"Blue Ivy" = Pop star Beyonce & Hip Hop star Jay Z's daughter
redbone = Black people who have a reddish hue to their light brown or "medium" brown skin color, usually because of racial mixture at some point in their ancestry
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37. Dark Witch
"+kai kai People need to forgive her because we all make mistakes, let's be f&&king* real! Blacks (with the exception of those who have always been natural)act as if they have always worn there hair natural knowing damn well that it is a self reflective process. Like you said, we should give our own people a chance to redeem themselves and forgive! The point is to lift our people up not tear them down ESPECIALLY if they are on the road to success. As a natural women, I can not stand when people tear down women who do wear weaves, and wigs or chemicals. We can be so unforgiving to our own people yet get made when other races are the same. That is called HYPOCRISY PEOPLE"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
**
38. LuvJezula
"I forgive her, I think she's sincere. I see a lot of black women nowadays are embracing their natural hair or buying afro kinky textured weave. I hope that trend continues. yeah you are right when it comes to apologies. black people are quick to forgive white people when they say or do something racist but will be quick call a black person an uncle tom or coon, not forgive them and hold a grudge. personally I believe she hadn't made those comments and went natural anyways people would've made fun of her natural hair and say she looks like a slave, then these same black people would get mad at a non black person for trying to mimick natural hair and scream appropriation"
**
39. Morgan :)
"didn't know she even said something bad about Natural hair and I forgive her. I do find it surprising because her Sorors and other ladies of the NPHC are natural so it was pretty shocking when she said that but as I digress I forgive her, she's my favorite comedian 💋💋 #TeamNatural #3YearsStrong"
-snip-
Sorors = a term used by members of historically Black Greek lettered sororities to mean "a sorority sister; a member of your sorority; members of other [historically Black Greek lettered] sororities; Note this term isn't used by historically predominately White sororities
NPHC= National Pan Hellenic Council - the governing body for the nine historically Black Greek lettered fraternities and sororities which are colloquially known as "the divine nine".
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2016
40. honey bebe
"I don't understand why people are trippin over the fact that it took her two years to apologize. Do they not understand that most people don't fall in love with their natural hair as soon as they do the 'big chop'? My mother went natural seven years ago. For the first four years she wore wigs. It took her a long time to accept her hair. After learning how to care for and style it, she came to ADORE it! Appreciate the fact that she was big enough to apologize in public. Most wouldn't even do it in private -let alone at all."
-snip-
"trippin" = African American Vernacular English term meaning "getting upset about", "going crazy about"
**
41. Kay-Marie
"Why is it cool when some of us wearing natural but it's not cool when we wear relaxed or weaved hair?"
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42. Shon Hubble
"Some people are too narrow-minded and think that weaves and relaxers contribute to some identity crisis or self esteem issue. Weaves are beautiful, natural is beautiful, everything! As long as you have love for yourself, you will always be real no matter what is altered or added on.
**
Reply
43. Kay-Marie
"+Shon Hubble Well Said! I relax my hair and I love being black."
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44. AWizardMummyandMartian ImUnique
"It's funny because black girls are buying afro texture hair now too. I thought of it but it feels so rough."
**
45. AWizardMummyandMartian ImUnique
"Please stopl calling them European textured wigs, most hair comes from Asians or Native American women."
**
46. PanamericanistaM0R3Na
"There is nothing wrong with the way our hair curls and coils.
Embrace it."
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This concludes Part I of this four part series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Latest Revision: July 2, 2019
This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series about current (as of October 2016) attitudes among African Americans about the word "nappy".
Part I highlights a 2015 vlog (video blog) about a second apology that African American comedian Sheryl Underwood made on a CBS talk show where she is co-host about comments that she had made on that show in 2012 disparaging "nappy" hair. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/articles-about-black-natural-hair.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the Black natural hair movement in the United States, France, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Information about the Black natural hair type classification system that appears to be widely used by African American natural hair care professionals and African Americans with natural hair styles is also included in one of these articles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/videos-of-black-natural-hairstyles-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III features several videos that showcase various Black natural hairstyles in the United States and elsewhere.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/hip-hop-group-nappy-roots-song-po-folks.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV highlights the Hip Hop group Nappy Roots and their 2002 hit song "Po' Folks"'. Selected comments from the discussion thread of a video of that song are included in that post.
-snip-
Other pancocojams posts on the word "nappy" will be published periodically. Click the tag "nappy" or "natural hair" for links to previous posts and new posts.
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The content of this post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this embedded video.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT [late October 2016]
In February 2013 I published a pancocojams post about "Good Hair & Bad Hair (Black Attitudes About Our Hair) http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/good-hair-bad-hair-black-attitudes.html in which I shared my memories about the terms "good and bad" hair as used by Black people in New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. I also commented in that post that few children and teenagers in my adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wore their hair in natural hairstyles.
Writing this in late October 2016, I definitely would say that there's been a large increase in the number of Black females wearing natural hairstyles. Wearing long natural (looking) braid extensions and curly/twist natural styles (where the non-straightened hair is braided at night, and the braids are eventually taken out [as early as the next morning, but usually days later] and the hair is worn that way without combing), and other natural hair styles have become the norm for a considerable number of African American females - particularly girls ages about six years old to women under fifty years of age - not just in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but apparently throughout the United States. Many of these styles are made by adding braids or twists made from synthetic hair to females's own hair. Dreadlocks (locs) and certain other natural hairstyles have also become relatively common for African American males (particularly teens and young adults). As noted by those different age ranges, it seems to me that natural hairstyles (including extensions) are worn more often by African American females than by African American males.
My interest in natural hairstyles in general and in the African American meaning of the word "nappy" was revived in October 2016 when I published a post on the latest Hip Hop dance craze "Juju On The Beat" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-does-juju-on-that-beat-and-tm.html. In that record, the rapper talks about how he "Walked in this party/And these girls lookin' at me/Skinny jeans on and you know my hair nappy".
Those lyrics motivated me to find out when and how "nappy hair" become a part of African American young folk's urban swag. I therefore thank the singers/composers of "Juju On The Beat" Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall for inspiring this four part pancocojams post.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Sheryl Underwood goes natural & Apologizes For Calling Natural Hair "Nasty"
lovelyti2002 Published on Sep 20, 2015
On Monday’s premiere episode of the new season of The Talk, comedian Sheryl Underwood revealed her natural hair and apologized for disparaging comments she made regarding kinky hair.
-snip-
I'm highlighting this vlog because of the discussion about Black people's hair that it prompted and not to focus on the 2012 statements that Sheryl Underwood is apologizing for. However, to briefly summarize those statements, during a show featuring celebrity Heidi Klum as a guest, Ms. Klum (a White women who has adopted two mixed racial children who have some Black ancestry) shared that when she cut her children's hair for the first time, she saved their hair as mementos. Sheryl Underwood made disparaging comments about nappy hair, negatively comparing those hair textures with naturally straight hair.
As a correction that was made by several commenters, The Talk series on which Sheyrl Underwood is a co-host is on CBS and not ABC as the vlogger stated.
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THAT VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These videos are given in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest comments by year given first, except for replies. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order.
I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only. Brief explanatory comments are included after some of these quoted comments.
As per my policy on this blog, profanity (except for the word "damn") is given in amended form only.
2015
1. AshleyMorgan
"Some of these people forget the way they felt about their hair before they accepted their self whole heartedly. I know how much ignorant statements I made about black hair before I fell in love with it. So don't forget how you once were. Good for her!"
-snip-
"Some of these people" refers to those who are critical of the statements that Sheryl Underwood made about (most) Black people's natural hair. In the statement "Good for her!", "her" refers to Sheryl Underwood for apologizing and deciding to wear her hair natural (Note that Ms. Underwood indicated that she would also wear wigs because she likes to "change up" how she wears her hair.)
**
Reply
2. TheGanation
"right! a lot of us weren't raised to love our natural hair."
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3. ronniemonnie
"Not me! I always loved black natural hair."
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4. AshleyMorgan
"+ronniemonnie You are one in a million. Thats awesome that it was like that for you but for many we were taught to use a perm because our hair isn't manageable. It was a process for many but fortunately for me it was a quick one when I began to see the acceptance. I will tell you this, going through the phases like the big chop and watching your hair grow, taking the time out to treat it, style it, and rock it, it helps you build your confidence and also makes you appreciate and love your hair. I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee my hair now and you can not tell me anything about it especially when the fro is picked out!!!!! MANNNNNNN LISTEN LMAOO"
-snip-
"Big chop"- "Big chop is the process of cutting off the relaxed or permed ends of one's hair when [a female] is transitioning from chemically processed hair to natural hair." http://www.naturallycurly.com/topics/view/big-chop-transitioning
'fro = afro (also called a "natural" in the USA since the 1960s). An afro ('fro) can be a hair style, or a number of natural hairstyles. But, people with afros can style their hair or have their hair styled in different ways that have their own names. Click http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/kinky-hair-type-4a/21-popular-natural-hairstyles/ for the article "21 Most Popular Natural Hair Styles"
**
Reply
5. Chanda Chansa
"+AshleyMorgan
Am African and I don't understand some things: Why is black hair a sensitive topic for black Americans?"
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6. Chanda Chansa
"+Tiffany Williams
A lot of African women wear weaves as-well but black hair is not an issue there. Thanks for your explanation."
-snip-
Given the comments that I've read in various online YouTube (and other) discussion threads about the changing attitudes about natural hair in various African nations, I'm not sure that I agree with the blogger that
"black [people's natural] hair is not an issue" for "a lot of African women". I wish that the blogger had given the nation she was referring to.
"Weaves" = females wearing usually synthetic hair that is attached to their hair by braiding, sewing, glue or other ways
**
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7. AshleyMorgan, 2016
"+Chanda Chansa I feel it is such a sensitive topic not only because of the history but in modern day america we are told on a daily basis that out hair is not professional, it looks unkept, it looks nappy, etc. There are some companies and people that will not hire you solely based on your hair. We have been told that in order to fit in we have to conform to their standard of beauty because that is the only standard. Now many of us have taken measures to embrace and whole heartedly love ourself for who we are but then you have others who still haven't fully embraced who they are. …because …not all of us grew up being told that our hair is beautiful. Many of us don't even remember having our natural hair as children. It's deeper then this but If I try to explain it we will be here all day! lol I hope you are having a great day though!"
-snip-
This comment included the ...'s.
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8. coolingwinds, 2016
"I agree with pretty much everything you said. Back when the natural hair movement was just getting started, I was hanging on to my relaxer with both hands and all my might! Now I am happy to report that I've been natural since roughly 2007. It took me a long time to embrace it in myself let alone others because I came from that generation of relaxing, weaving, wig wearing black women. I recognize myself in her, and it's all good now that she's gone through her transition. People have to remember that's how many of us came up. As far as I'm concerned, all is forgiven. I'm just so glad that she now loves what God gave us, and she is beautiful!
-snip-
"going through her transition" = changing from wearing one's hair chemically treated or straightened (also known as "relaxed"; "permed", "done") with heat (a hot comb placed in fire or an electric iron) to wearing one's hair naturally.
**
9. Nita Carter
"Omg this make me want to cry, cause I struggle with a lot with my hair. All my life my hair was always short, I'm not ashamed of my beautiful nappy natural hair, It's just I'm a big fan of weave so much that I forgot how beautiful natural nappy black hair is. I was never a girl who say disrespectful things about my race hair, I actually love seeing black woman wearing and showing their hair out no matter how it is or look, I love my race hair, cause we can do soooooo much with it. (And for the people that think black woman hair don't grow or say disrespectful things is crazy and f&&king* stupid cause it does grow and we actually have beautiful hair it's different), my hair today is near my neck and I love it, the other day I was thinking about taking my weave out but seeing this video got me like what m'I doing. If we see more videos like this, it will courage more black woman as myself to appreciate a lot of things about black beauty. By the way we shouldn't get defended if people say our hair is nappy because we have beautiful nappy hair that's just how our hair is and I love it. so f&&k* thoses who think nappy hair is a disgrace."
-snip-
* These words were fully spelled out in this comment.
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10. Jada Lee, 2016
"yes! ppl dont understand why im proud to say i have nappy hair. "nappy" is only as insulting as you make it. stay strong girl!"
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11. shortmonee 312
"Unfortunately, most (over 50%) of black American women hate their hair. I've noticed lately though a lot of sistas are going natural, and I hope the trend continues"
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12. imshrrj
"+shortmonee 312 This is true, but we're taught to hate our hair...By guess who??? grandma and aunties.. The things my family use to say about hair..just terrible"
-snip-
This is an excerpt of that comment.
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13. O-Ren Ishii
...[screen name of person this comment was written in response to] "everybody can't rock every natural hairstyle but I think everybody can pull off at least one of them. Everybody can't pull off the natural baby bush like Sheryl."
-snip-
"Bush" is a term that I remember being used in the mid 1960s (in Atlantic city, N.J) for short round shaped afros that Black male and Black females had. Since at least the 1990s, a much more widely used referent for a short afro ('fro) is "TWA" ("teeny weeny afro"). Women who do the "big chop" (read above) usually end up with a TWA. A number of women who have their chemically/heat permed hair chopped off, "rock" (wear) wigs until their natural hair grows a little longer than "twa" or until they learn to do different hairstyles with their short natural.
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14. Sharon Reid Robinson
...[screen name of person this comment was written in response to] "FREE COUTRY....NO PERSON CAN TELL ANOTHER HOW THEY SHOULD WEAR THEIR HAIR. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. SHE MADE A MISTAKE IBY SAYING WHAT SHE SAID. I AM PRESENTLY WEARING MY OWN HAIR. I WEAR PERM, WIG, WEVE BECAUSE I LIKE VARIETY. MY HAIR CAME OUT BECAUSE OF SOME MED I HAD TO TAKE...I WORE A WIG...LOVED IT!!! WILL WEAR MY HAIR AS I WISH...DON'T THINK BLACK HAIR IS NASTY...I HAVE WHAT I CALL NAPPY PRIDE NO MATTER HOW I WEAR MY HEAR."
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15. MzVan21
"Wish more black women wear their natural hair...don't get wrong I like a sew in every now and then but Nothing like my hair that I was born with.yes I get tired of it sometimes,yes it takes a while to style etc but I wouldn't change it. its curly,thick, course.Black hair is DIFFERENT from any other texture..to me that's a great blessing. that we should embrace."
-snip-
"a sew in" - one way to attach synthetic or real hair to your hair
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Reply
16. Paris OfPhrance
"I'm on YouTube everyday it's not that different anymore lol follow naturallyshesdope on ig....very common"
-snip-
This is the complete comment.
"ig" = instagram (social media)
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17. Edward Lewis
"+MzVan21 Actually is getting more and more common everyday I mean literally my mom, two aunts and grandmother are natural."
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18. MzVan21
"+Edward Lewis I feel like it is definitely trending which is great,just hopes it sticks"
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19. NatuRealistic87 VeryKinkyCurl
"Also trending for white ppl to try to mock the afro & swear up and down that they have "black ppl hair"...but I do agree with u it is different & very unique."
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20. natrulyvivacious
"I don't have kinky hair but if I did I would be proud as Jesus has the same kind of hair biblically written even though they try to portray him with straight white people hair.
-snip-
"Kinky" is often used as a synonym for "nappy". However, some people in the natural hair care movement indicate that "kinky" is a different type of hair pattern than "nappy".
**
21. TheKendroShow
"sadly the negative attitude towards natural hair is active and has a lengthy history. it takes some people time to wake up and I'm glad she did. fro looks real nice on her. all is forgiven"
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22. mashonda Knight
"As a black women I'm so tired about the whole hair debate people need to stop shaming people for how and what they do to their hair if they want to wear their natural, perm,weave, braids, fine I wish everyone would stop telling everyone what to do with their hair I say as long as it looks great so what I don't wear wigs, braids or weave and those things are nice I've seen people look nice in them and that's their choice but I do perm my hair and I like it ,I just think when it comes to hair that topic should be off limits! !"
**
23. AmethystUniverse
"She looks gorgeous with her TWA :) and she seems really sincere this time around and I forgive her as well! #naturalhairrocks"
-snip-
Sheryl Underwood had apologized for her remarks disparaging Black natural hair in 2012 shortly after she made those remarks. This second apology was given during the nationally televised talk show where she is co-hosts with four other women.
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Reply
24. Africa Love
"I agree she seems more sincere "this time""
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25. Jamaican Diaspora
"I am happy to be nappy! No Korean is going to feed and cloth their children with my money from those nasty beauty supply stores in Black communities.
-snip-
Throughout the USA, for some reason/s, Koreans a have monopoly on Black hair care salons.
"I'm happy to be nappy" is a rather widely used saying, particularly among "naturalistas" (Black natural hair adherents). That saying was coined by bell hooks in her 1999 children's book with that title.
**
26. patricia pritchett
"It's so crazy to me how 'my people' (not all, but many) think our hair is 'nappy', 'nasty', 'ugly', ect... I cant tell you HOW MUCH other races think that it's beautiful! Can't tell you how many times in a day they want to touch it, and compliment its beauty. I love mine!!! Hope that she is really embracing its UNIQUENESS..."
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27. Morris Pitts
"When did it become" brave" for Black women to wear they're natural hair ? I think you have to be brave to wear some of these F&&ked* Up wigs and weaves I see everyday."...
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this post. This is an excerpt of that comment.
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Reply
28. Dark Witch
"+Morris Pitts Not all wigs and weaves look f&&ked up, unless you can not afford better or your ghetto as all out doors! I wear my hair natural but I like variety too. I would prefer that all black women go natural but they do not need to be limited, especially when many jobs frown on natural hair. We have to be versatile and wear many faces in this society. But yes, underneath it all a women hair should be natural and we should feel just as comfortable wearing it that way too."
-snip-
*This word was fully spelled out in that comment.
**
Reply
29. Summers Journey
"+Morris Pitts I have natural hair, but why must a woman keep the same hairstyle? I find that boring. Part of the reason why I like natural hair is because it's so versatile. Sometimes I like to wear my hair in a fro, at other times I prefer more defined curls, and sometime I like to wear it straight. If I'm not in the mood to do my hair, I may throw on a wig, or get braids/twists."
**
30. 827honey1
"She looks 100% prettier than she ever did wearing a weave or wig."
**
Reply
31. sharp-jagger
"+827honey1 agreed. I did not criticize her in the past for VOLUNTARILY choosing to rock wigs, but I was shocked at her comments regarding natural hair. It seemed that there was this universal agreement that natural hair was synonymous with nappy and unkept. I think it took her some time to overcome the disparaging pre-programmed mindset of natural hair. She looks comfortable now."
**
32. y tyler
"Thank you for uploading this video of Sheryl apologizing. As for her natural hair (the way she has it styled) looks uneven, some parts looks as if she tried twist it, some parts looks like she picked it out. This is not a TWA (teeny weeny afro), this is a mess.
Afros were in style when I (and Sheryl) was growing up and I never saw anyone at school, church, work, the supermarket or walking down the street, with an afro that wasn't perfect. Men would go to the barber shop and sit in that chair (for what seemed like an eternity) while the barber cut and snipped until the hair was in a perfect circle. Finally, he would spray the Afro Sheen on, and you knew you were ready for anything.
The girls, would plait their hair in four big plaits (or more if their hair was shorter) at night and then would take it out in the morning, tease it with a comb and then pick it out with a pick or pack it down into an even circular shape. Afro Sheen was sprayed on, and a thin layer of hair spray if needed. We looked so well-groomed. We even wore the pick in our hair so, if it got messed up, we could pick it back out to perfection. We took so much pride in our Afros, that non-black people wore their hair in afros, too.
I have never seen Sheryl wearing a wig that was cut, as uneven as her real hair is. So, she should come to the conclusion, that an even cut will make her natural hair look much better."...
-snip-
This is an excerpt of that comment. The blogger continued with off topic criticism about Sheryl’s weight and how the blogger thinks she acts on air.
"picked [her natural hair] out= used a wide tooth comb called an "afro pic" to comb out her natural
While I don't agree with the blogger's assessment that Sheryl Underwood's afro looks a mess, the blogger's comments about how people wore afros back in the day and plaited (braided) their hair at night etc. completely matches my memories of how African American females and males wore afros in the mid to late 1960s.
It seems to me that one of the greatest differences between afro hair styles in the late 1960s/1970s and afro styles in the 2000s is that it's considered stylish nowadays to wear afros out in public without combing the natural hair out while back in the day Black women (like me) who wore our hair in 'fros would always braid it at night so that the fro could be fuller, and not matted and then we'd take the braids out and "pic" (comb out) our hair before being seen in public- either outdoors or inside.
**
33. Deborah Atkins-Denmark
"I forgive her, wholeheartedly. For a lot of us, the natural hair decision is a process, especially for us older sisters who were, from birth, taught to hate our hair. I believe she was both sincere and courageous. We should forgive her and embrace a new naturalista!!!"
**
34. infinite1
"Why is everyone acting like we didn't go through hundreds of years of conditioning first? Our ancestors in this country had to adapt and conform to get us to a place today where we are alive and breathing. I never hated myself when I had a perm, it was what I knew because it was passed down from the former generations. I loved weave because it offered variety. As an older woman, it is the young who have really brought the natural hair forth and it is beautiful. Older woman like myself are still on a learning curve taking care of natural hair. Just 10 years ago, black men and women still shunned women with natural hair just like white people, so why in the hell, now that it is accepted everyone want to jumpn up and say you hate yourself for wearing your hair the only way you've known how for ages?"...
-snip-
This is an excerpt of this comment. The blogger continues by writing about how Black men need to stop hating each other and stop killing each other.
**
35. kittenhoodie
"to be honest, a lot of African American women had the same negative views about natural hair. I can even say that I had negative views about natural hair for most of my life until about 6 years ago when I decided to transition. she was entitled to her opinion about it. I thought she was rude to Heidi Klum about her decision to hold onto her children's hair. if anything, she owed a huge apology to Heidi Klum because she was basically questioning aspects of her parenting. the women on "the talk" are very abrasive, and I wasn't interested in their views or that show way before underwood's natural hair controversy. the show is about differing views on current topics. we just aren't gonna agree with each other completely, and why would should we? some people question why it took her so long to basically come around to seeing how amazing our natural beauty is, and I think we should just appreciate that she in fact changed how she felt on the subject and move on. hell, raven-Symone says stuff on the view that it way more offensive and ignorant."
**
36. kai kai
"i think her apology was full of sh&t!* saying black people hair is nasty is not a joke! i think she really felt that way why do you think black women wear tons of artificial white woman hair today...grown ass black woman all ways tell they children "yo hair so nappy! go flat earn it! ya head lookin a hot ass mess" for example blue ivy! black woman are dragging blue ivy through the mud just because they think her natural beautiful hair is "nappy". also why do 98.9% of black people think if a you have long curly hair that your mixed? why do i have to be mixed in order to have long hair? this also stems to why black people think mixed or "redbone" look best. all of this stuff have a deeper meaning!
-snip-
*This word was fully spelled out in this comment.
“flat earn it” = flat iron it” [iron hair= straighten [press] hair with a hot comb; a flat iron is a type of hot comb
"Blue Ivy" = Pop star Beyonce & Hip Hop star Jay Z's daughter
redbone = Black people who have a reddish hue to their light brown or "medium" brown skin color, usually because of racial mixture at some point in their ancestry
**
Reply
37. Dark Witch
"+kai kai People need to forgive her because we all make mistakes, let's be f&&king* real! Blacks (with the exception of those who have always been natural)act as if they have always worn there hair natural knowing damn well that it is a self reflective process. Like you said, we should give our own people a chance to redeem themselves and forgive! The point is to lift our people up not tear them down ESPECIALLY if they are on the road to success. As a natural women, I can not stand when people tear down women who do wear weaves, and wigs or chemicals. We can be so unforgiving to our own people yet get made when other races are the same. That is called HYPOCRISY PEOPLE"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
**
38. LuvJezula
"I forgive her, I think she's sincere. I see a lot of black women nowadays are embracing their natural hair or buying afro kinky textured weave. I hope that trend continues. yeah you are right when it comes to apologies. black people are quick to forgive white people when they say or do something racist but will be quick call a black person an uncle tom or coon, not forgive them and hold a grudge. personally I believe she hadn't made those comments and went natural anyways people would've made fun of her natural hair and say she looks like a slave, then these same black people would get mad at a non black person for trying to mimick natural hair and scream appropriation"
**
39. Morgan :)
"didn't know she even said something bad about Natural hair and I forgive her. I do find it surprising because her Sorors and other ladies of the NPHC are natural so it was pretty shocking when she said that but as I digress I forgive her, she's my favorite comedian 💋💋 #TeamNatural #3YearsStrong"
-snip-
Sorors = a term used by members of historically Black Greek lettered sororities to mean "a sorority sister; a member of your sorority; members of other [historically Black Greek lettered] sororities; Note this term isn't used by historically predominately White sororities
NPHC= National Pan Hellenic Council - the governing body for the nine historically Black Greek lettered fraternities and sororities which are colloquially known as "the divine nine".
****
2016
40. honey bebe
"I don't understand why people are trippin over the fact that it took her two years to apologize. Do they not understand that most people don't fall in love with their natural hair as soon as they do the 'big chop'? My mother went natural seven years ago. For the first four years she wore wigs. It took her a long time to accept her hair. After learning how to care for and style it, she came to ADORE it! Appreciate the fact that she was big enough to apologize in public. Most wouldn't even do it in private -let alone at all."
-snip-
"trippin" = African American Vernacular English term meaning "getting upset about", "going crazy about"
**
41. Kay-Marie
"Why is it cool when some of us wearing natural but it's not cool when we wear relaxed or weaved hair?"
**
Reply
42. Shon Hubble
"Some people are too narrow-minded and think that weaves and relaxers contribute to some identity crisis or self esteem issue. Weaves are beautiful, natural is beautiful, everything! As long as you have love for yourself, you will always be real no matter what is altered or added on.
**
Reply
43. Kay-Marie
"+Shon Hubble Well Said! I relax my hair and I love being black."
**
44. AWizardMummyandMartian ImUnique
"It's funny because black girls are buying afro texture hair now too. I thought of it but it feels so rough."
**
45. AWizardMummyandMartian ImUnique
"Please stopl calling them European textured wigs, most hair comes from Asians or Native American women."
**
46. PanamericanistaM0R3Na
"There is nothing wrong with the way our hair curls and coils.
Embrace it."
****
This concludes Part I of this four part series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
What Do "Juju On That Beat" And "TZ Anthem" Mean? (information, comments, videos)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides information about the latest viral Hip Hop dance record "Juju On The Beat" (also known as TZ Anthem), with special emphasis on what the term "juju on the beat" means.
The content of this post is presented for etymological, cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall, the creators of the song "Juju On The Beat". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and those who are featured in these embedded videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE RECORD "JUJU ON THE BEAT"
"Juju On That Beat" (TZ Anthem) is the currently viral Hip Hop dance routine (from August 2016 to date). Like "Hit The Quan", dancers pantomime what the rapper says and perform certain Hip Hop dance moves that the rapper calls out. (In this post, I refer to these dance moves as "calls"). For example, when the rapper says "walked in this party", the dancers imitate walking and when the rapper says "you know my hair nappy", the dancers gesture to their hair -regardless of whether their hair is nappy or not.* Also, for example, the dancers do their version of the old school (1986/1987) Hip Hop dance "The Running Man" when the rapper calls out that dance in that record.
-snip-
*The lyrics "you know my hair nappy" are part of the rapper's "getting his swag on" (bragging about how good he looks) at a party. That comment inspired me to do some online research about African Americans 9and other Black people's) changing attitudes about the word "nappy". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of a four part pancocojams post about this subject. The other links to those posts will be included in each post in that series.
****
WHAT DOES "JUJU ON THE BEAT" MEAN? [Revised July 10, 2017]
In the context of this Hip Hop record, I believe that there are two possible definitions for the term "juju on the beat":
1. "Juju on the beat" means to do a certain Hip Hop dance move (or do certain Hip Hop dance moves) on the beat (to the record's beat)
I'm not sure whether there's any firm agreement on what dance move or moves are called "the juju" (or "juju on the beat").
Just as there's a specific dance that is done when the rapper says "Do the Running Man" - there may be a specific dance move or series of dance moves that dancers are supposed to do when the rapper says "juju on the beat".
2. Juju on the beat means to "be or act "turnt up" (i.e. to really give something all you’ve got, to go “all in”, to really go all out, to really get down, to "go wild" with just a few or with no inhibitions).
****
EXPLANATIONS FOR DEFINITION #1 AND DEFINITION #2
From watching a number of those videos and from reading many of the comments in those video's discussion threads, it seems to me that many of the dancers who post challenge dance videos for "Juju On The Beat (TZ Anthem) base their dance moves on those performed by the Fresh The Clown duo*. But those dancers and others still tend to substitute their own pantomime and dance moves for some of those that the Fresh The Clown duo perform. In the beginning of the routine for the command" (call to) "juju on the beat", the duo leaned forward and then leaned back while moving their shoulders up and down to the beat.
However, Zay Hilfiger's comment (given in Excerpt #3 below) indicates that he "started saying “JuJu” in 2014. Also read my transcription of Zay Hilfiger's response to television host Kelly Ripa's question "What does Juju On The Beat mean?". Zay said that ["juju on the beat" is] "my arch ego. It’s like I’m the height... turned up...I don’t care." That transcription is found after the video given as Example #5.
I believe those comments support the second definition that is given in this post for the term "juju on the beat". However, I think that this is an earlier meaning that Zay Hilfiger had for "juju" and not most often used definition for that word in the context of that Hip Hop record.
-snip-
If Fresh The Clown's video actually is the prototype for "juju on the beat" routines, the way that dance move appears to be performed isn't the say way that Zay Hilfiger, the primary creator of this record, performed it in a video that he published on YouTube on August 15, 2016. That video shows him and a female friend performing a dance routine to his record.
**
More comments about Definition #2
Here are two definitions for the African American Vernacular English term "turnt up" ("turned up):
WARNING: urbandictionary.com pages often include profanity, sexually explicit content, forms of the n word, and racist content.
From http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Turnt+Up&page=2
"Turnt Up
ADJ.
1. A state of euphoria brought about by having an extremely good time
2. the act of dancing excitedly to popular music
3. an energetic feeling brought on by upbeat music, highly felt emotions, or positive events
When Young Thug's new song came on, the crowd became turnt up!
by Writeordiechick May 07, 2016
**
"turnt up
phrase coined by Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa that basically means to go HAM at a party, usually while intoxicated.
Brian: "What's up? Did you go to Dave's party last night?"
Zack: "Hell yeah, man I was so turnt up!"
#turnt #up #turn #party #go #ham"
by mr1o3 June 23, 2013
-snip-
Note that there are other-much older meanings- for the word "juju". Here's a brief excerpt of that Wikipedia article:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B9j%C3%BA_music
"Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from a Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown." Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which "is a form of magic and the use of magic objects or witchcraft common in West Africa, Haiti, Cuba and other South American nations."....
-snip-
It's possible that Zay Hilfiger came up with the term "juju" to refer to being "turnt on" or having a heighten sense of himself from the definition that "juju" means a fetish, or an amulet for magic.
*Read the transcription for the portion of the video of Zay and Zayion on the American television show Live With Kelly (given as Example #5 below).
****
WHAT DOES "TZ ANTHEM" MEAN?
My guess is that "TZ Anthem" means two Z's ("Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall)'s anthem. Or "t" might stand for "the" Z's (Zay and Zayion) anthem.
****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT "JUJU ON THE BEAT" (TZ ANTHEM)
These two excerpts are given in no particular order. The excerpts are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juju_on_that_Beat_(TZ_Anthem)
" "Juju on that Beat (TZ Anthem)" (also known simply as "Juju on that Beat",[1] "Juju on the Beat"[2] and "Juju on dat Beat"[3]) is a song by American rappers Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall. The song and the music video on McCall's YouTube channel* went viral and has attracted more than 17 million views and resulted in a number of fan-made versions of the music video.[2][3] The song is a freestyle over the beat of the song "Knuck If You Buck" by American hip hop group Crime Mob featuring Lil' Scrappy.[4]
The single charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 11.[5]
The duo appeared on Live with Kelly on October 19, 2016, performing the song and giving an instruction of its dance moves.[2]...
Single by Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall from the album Why So Serious? Released September 30, 2016"...
-snip-
The "Juju on the Beat" sound file was posted to Zayion McCall's YouTube channel on August 11, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSMpXARQYbg. That sound file has 21,203,173 total views as of 10/25/2016 at 2:41 PM.
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/09/what-is-the-tz-anthem-dance-challenge.html
"Everything You Need to Know About the TZ Anthem Challenge and the 15-Year-Old Who Created the Viral Dance That Took Over the Teenage Internet" by Madison Malone Kircher, September 12, 2016 6:31 p.m.
"Zay Hilfiger....[is the] 15-year-old .... behind the #TZAnthemChallenge, in which participants undertake the entire sequence of dance moves performed by Hilfiger in the official video. Dance challenges are the frequent and popular subject of YouTube videos, but TZ Anthem seems to have some particularly limber legs: It’s currently taking over living rooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, high-school parking lots — which means it’s also taken over Vine, Snapchat, and Twitter. Just ask the nearest teenager you can find.”...
Hilfiger’s song has taken off online over the past month, but the Detroit teen explains the song’s origins date back a few years. “I made the song during summer 2014, but it wasn’t even a real song then,” Hilfiger told me. “I was just with my friends playing around, you know. This is when dances like the Nae Nae and the Whip were hot, so we just started saying ‘juju,’” (The Juju is one of several moves in the corresponding dance to “TZ Anthem.”) “As the summer [2016] went over, I came up and was like, I want to make this a real song,” Hilfiger said. “I didn’t really expect it to do what it did.”
He posted the track to SoundCloud, but says since he didn’t promote the song, he wasn’t anticipating a wide audience. “I just made it, put it out there, and it was alright,” Hilfiger explained. “People would say, This is a good song, and take it to their friends.” But when a performing group he belongs to, called Fresh the Clowns, shared a choreographed dance to the song to their over 100,000 Instagram followers, the viral lift began.”....
-snip-
Italics are added here to highlight this sentence.
****
Excerpt #3:
From http://genius.com/Zay-hilfigerrr-juju-on-that-beat-tz-anthem-lyrics verified Commentary by Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall
"About Juju On That Beat - Created by WriteNProppa September 2016
A breakout hit for Detroit rappers Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall, “TZ Anthem” is a viral song in the same vein of previous tracks like “Hit The Quan,” with lyrics centering around various dance moves.
Zay and Zayion rap over the beat to Crime Mob’s 2004 classic “Knuck If You Buck,” and interpolate a portion of that record.
“TZ Anthem,” or “JuJu on That Beat,” went viral after the dance troupe Fresh the Clowns posted their #TZAnthemChallenge video. That led others to make their own clips, and the dance craze blew up.
Why is this song popular?
The success of “TZ Anthem” is largely a product of social media. Dance videos synced to the song were virally shared on Twitter, causing the song to sky-rocket in popularity.
What inspired them to make the song
ZAY HILFIGERRR :
It actually started when I came to Zayion’s house and I was just playing around. I kind of made the song in 2014, I started saying “JuJu” in 2014. I didn’t have no lyrics, it was just a thing.
And then I just wanted to do it and I went to Zayion house and told him to turn on the “Knuck If You Buck” beat and I just freestyled.
All of this was random.”…
How did the #TZAnthemChallenge take off?
ZAY HILFIGERRR :
The Co-CEO of Fresh the Clowns called me like “Zay your track hot, I saw the dance and I want to start a trend.”
At the moment the song wasn’t poppin’, but we shot a video and the next day it blew up. It had like 18,000 views in one day and then it hit 100,000 and it was on all these dance pages. After a week it was popular.
As far as the #TZAnthemChallenge that came from everybody doing it, Fresh the Clowns, little kids.
The main three people were Fresh the Clowns, Hannah and then this 9-year-old little caucasian girl.
Then we started seeing cheerleaders doing it, then IG celebrities and then actors. After LeBron’s son did it, we knew we had something."
-snip-
"Hannah" may be the young woman who is dancing with Zay Hilfiger in the video given as Example #2 below.
"The 9 year old Caucasian girl" may be the girl that is dancing in the video given as Example #3 below.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube, with the oldest dated video given first.
Example #1: Fresh the clowns tzanthem 🔥🔥🔥
DAEDAY Fresh Published on Aug 7, 2016
Follow our ig pages @freshboyira
@daedayfresh_ @zayhilfigerrr
-snip-
The flames icon means that the video publisher considers this video to be "fire" ("on fire", "hot", "very very good".)
-snip-
Here's the portion of this record's lyrics that is usually used for the dance challenges:
...
"[Verse 1: Zay Hilfiger]
Walked in this party
And these girls lookin' at me
Skinny jeans on and you know my hair nappy
Hey, hey, hey
Okay, okay
I want y'all do it, do this dance now
[Hook: Zay Hilfiger]
JuJu on the beat
JuJu on that beat
JuJu on that, JuJu on that, JuJu on that beat
Now slide, drop
Hit dem folks, don't stop, aye
Don't stop, aye
Don't stop, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat
Now do your dance, do your dance, do your dance, aye
You ugly
You your daddy's son"...
Source: http://genius.com/Zay-hilfigerrr-juju-on-that-beat-tz-anthem-lyrics Zay Hilfigerrr, Featuring Zayion McCall, Produced By Lil Jay (Crime Mob), Album Why So Serious?
****
Example #2: The Creator : JuJu On Dat Beat : #TZAnthemChallenge ( Official Dance Video ) @ZayHillfigerrr
Zay Hilfiger, Published on Aug 15, 2016
Download JuJu On That Beat - http://smarturl.it/DownloadJuJu
Stream JuJu On That Beat - http://smarturl.it/StreamJuJu
****
Example #3: little white Girl dances on juju on that beat song, black dance moves :D
3896841, views Published on Aug 23, 2016
amazing
****
Example #4: Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge [TZ Athem] #jujuonthatbeat #tzathem
One Challenge, Published on Sep 24, 2016
Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge [TZ Athem] #jujuonthatbeat #tzathem #tzathemchallenge
Best musical.ly, dubsmash, instagram and flipagram Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge Compilation or TZ Athem, urban dance, hip hop dance and lit dance.
****
Example #5: "Juju on That Beat" Dance Lesson
LIVE with Kelly Published on Oct 19, 2016
Hip hop duo Zay teach Kelly and Ciara how to do the "Juju on The Beat" dance.
-snip-
Here's the transcription when Kelly asks Zay Hilfiger what "juju on the beat" means: (.045-.054 of this video)
Kelly- “What does it mean? Is it dirty? Are we…[Zay interrupts her and she says] okay…
Zay- No Juju is like me.
Kelly – Okay
Zay -It’s my....it’s my arch ego. It’s like I’m the height (said while repeatedly mimicking lifting something up with both hands], turned up...I don’t care...
Kelly – Oh okay.
Zay – That’s the type. It’s like my beads. That’s me.
-snip-
I wrote these words in italic font to indicated that I’m not sure of this transcription. “It’s like my beads” refers to the fact that Zay is wearing his short natural hair in a hairstyle that isn’t worn by other males – i.e. braids with pink beads at the end. This hairstyle signifies (represents) his uniqueness.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides information about the latest viral Hip Hop dance record "Juju On The Beat" (also known as TZ Anthem), with special emphasis on what the term "juju on the beat" means.
The content of this post is presented for etymological, cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall, the creators of the song "Juju On The Beat". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and those who are featured in these embedded videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE RECORD "JUJU ON THE BEAT"
"Juju On That Beat" (TZ Anthem) is the currently viral Hip Hop dance routine (from August 2016 to date). Like "Hit The Quan", dancers pantomime what the rapper says and perform certain Hip Hop dance moves that the rapper calls out. (In this post, I refer to these dance moves as "calls"). For example, when the rapper says "walked in this party", the dancers imitate walking and when the rapper says "you know my hair nappy", the dancers gesture to their hair -regardless of whether their hair is nappy or not.* Also, for example, the dancers do their version of the old school (1986/1987) Hip Hop dance "The Running Man" when the rapper calls out that dance in that record.
-snip-
*The lyrics "you know my hair nappy" are part of the rapper's "getting his swag on" (bragging about how good he looks) at a party. That comment inspired me to do some online research about African Americans 9and other Black people's) changing attitudes about the word "nappy". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/changing-attitudes-among-african.html for Part I of a four part pancocojams post about this subject. The other links to those posts will be included in each post in that series.
****
WHAT DOES "JUJU ON THE BEAT" MEAN? [Revised July 10, 2017]
In the context of this Hip Hop record, I believe that there are two possible definitions for the term "juju on the beat":
1. "Juju on the beat" means to do a certain Hip Hop dance move (or do certain Hip Hop dance moves) on the beat (to the record's beat)
I'm not sure whether there's any firm agreement on what dance move or moves are called "the juju" (or "juju on the beat").
Just as there's a specific dance that is done when the rapper says "Do the Running Man" - there may be a specific dance move or series of dance moves that dancers are supposed to do when the rapper says "juju on the beat".
2. Juju on the beat means to "be or act "turnt up" (i.e. to really give something all you’ve got, to go “all in”, to really go all out, to really get down, to "go wild" with just a few or with no inhibitions).
****
EXPLANATIONS FOR DEFINITION #1 AND DEFINITION #2
From watching a number of those videos and from reading many of the comments in those video's discussion threads, it seems to me that many of the dancers who post challenge dance videos for "Juju On The Beat (TZ Anthem) base their dance moves on those performed by the Fresh The Clown duo*. But those dancers and others still tend to substitute their own pantomime and dance moves for some of those that the Fresh The Clown duo perform. In the beginning of the routine for the command" (call to) "juju on the beat", the duo leaned forward and then leaned back while moving their shoulders up and down to the beat.
However, Zay Hilfiger's comment (given in Excerpt #3 below) indicates that he "started saying “JuJu” in 2014. Also read my transcription of Zay Hilfiger's response to television host Kelly Ripa's question "What does Juju On The Beat mean?". Zay said that ["juju on the beat" is] "my arch ego. It’s like I’m the height... turned up...I don’t care." That transcription is found after the video given as Example #5.
I believe those comments support the second definition that is given in this post for the term "juju on the beat". However, I think that this is an earlier meaning that Zay Hilfiger had for "juju" and not most often used definition for that word in the context of that Hip Hop record.
-snip-
If Fresh The Clown's video actually is the prototype for "juju on the beat" routines, the way that dance move appears to be performed isn't the say way that Zay Hilfiger, the primary creator of this record, performed it in a video that he published on YouTube on August 15, 2016. That video shows him and a female friend performing a dance routine to his record.
**
More comments about Definition #2
Here are two definitions for the African American Vernacular English term "turnt up" ("turned up):
WARNING: urbandictionary.com pages often include profanity, sexually explicit content, forms of the n word, and racist content.
From http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Turnt+Up&page=2
"Turnt Up
ADJ.
1. A state of euphoria brought about by having an extremely good time
2. the act of dancing excitedly to popular music
3. an energetic feeling brought on by upbeat music, highly felt emotions, or positive events
When Young Thug's new song came on, the crowd became turnt up!
by Writeordiechick May 07, 2016
**
"turnt up
phrase coined by Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa that basically means to go HAM at a party, usually while intoxicated.
Brian: "What's up? Did you go to Dave's party last night?"
Zack: "Hell yeah, man I was so turnt up!"
#turnt #up #turn #party #go #ham"
by mr1o3 June 23, 2013
-snip-
Note that there are other-much older meanings- for the word "juju". Here's a brief excerpt of that Wikipedia article:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B9j%C3%BA_music
"Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from a Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown." Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which "is a form of magic and the use of magic objects or witchcraft common in West Africa, Haiti, Cuba and other South American nations."....
-snip-
It's possible that Zay Hilfiger came up with the term "juju" to refer to being "turnt on" or having a heighten sense of himself from the definition that "juju" means a fetish, or an amulet for magic.
*Read the transcription for the portion of the video of Zay and Zayion on the American television show Live With Kelly (given as Example #5 below).
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WHAT DOES "TZ ANTHEM" MEAN?
My guess is that "TZ Anthem" means two Z's ("Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall)'s anthem. Or "t" might stand for "the" Z's (Zay and Zayion) anthem.
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ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT "JUJU ON THE BEAT" (TZ ANTHEM)
These two excerpts are given in no particular order. The excerpts are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juju_on_that_Beat_(TZ_Anthem)
" "Juju on that Beat (TZ Anthem)" (also known simply as "Juju on that Beat",[1] "Juju on the Beat"[2] and "Juju on dat Beat"[3]) is a song by American rappers Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall. The song and the music video on McCall's YouTube channel* went viral and has attracted more than 17 million views and resulted in a number of fan-made versions of the music video.[2][3] The song is a freestyle over the beat of the song "Knuck If You Buck" by American hip hop group Crime Mob featuring Lil' Scrappy.[4]
The single charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 11.[5]
The duo appeared on Live with Kelly on October 19, 2016, performing the song and giving an instruction of its dance moves.[2]...
Single by Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall from the album Why So Serious? Released September 30, 2016"...
-snip-
The "Juju on the Beat" sound file was posted to Zayion McCall's YouTube channel on August 11, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSMpXARQYbg. That sound file has 21,203,173 total views as of 10/25/2016 at 2:41 PM.
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/09/what-is-the-tz-anthem-dance-challenge.html
"Everything You Need to Know About the TZ Anthem Challenge and the 15-Year-Old Who Created the Viral Dance That Took Over the Teenage Internet" by Madison Malone Kircher, September 12, 2016 6:31 p.m.
"Zay Hilfiger....[is the] 15-year-old .... behind the #TZAnthemChallenge, in which participants undertake the entire sequence of dance moves performed by Hilfiger in the official video. Dance challenges are the frequent and popular subject of YouTube videos, but TZ Anthem seems to have some particularly limber legs: It’s currently taking over living rooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, high-school parking lots — which means it’s also taken over Vine, Snapchat, and Twitter. Just ask the nearest teenager you can find.”...
Hilfiger’s song has taken off online over the past month, but the Detroit teen explains the song’s origins date back a few years. “I made the song during summer 2014, but it wasn’t even a real song then,” Hilfiger told me. “I was just with my friends playing around, you know. This is when dances like the Nae Nae and the Whip were hot, so we just started saying ‘juju,’” (The Juju is one of several moves in the corresponding dance to “TZ Anthem.”) “As the summer [2016] went over, I came up and was like, I want to make this a real song,” Hilfiger said. “I didn’t really expect it to do what it did.”
He posted the track to SoundCloud, but says since he didn’t promote the song, he wasn’t anticipating a wide audience. “I just made it, put it out there, and it was alright,” Hilfiger explained. “People would say, This is a good song, and take it to their friends.” But when a performing group he belongs to, called Fresh the Clowns, shared a choreographed dance to the song to their over 100,000 Instagram followers, the viral lift began.”....
-snip-
Italics are added here to highlight this sentence.
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Excerpt #3:
From http://genius.com/Zay-hilfigerrr-juju-on-that-beat-tz-anthem-lyrics verified Commentary by Zay Hilfiger and Zayion McCall
"About Juju On That Beat - Created by WriteNProppa September 2016
A breakout hit for Detroit rappers Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall, “TZ Anthem” is a viral song in the same vein of previous tracks like “Hit The Quan,” with lyrics centering around various dance moves.
Zay and Zayion rap over the beat to Crime Mob’s 2004 classic “Knuck If You Buck,” and interpolate a portion of that record.
“TZ Anthem,” or “JuJu on That Beat,” went viral after the dance troupe Fresh the Clowns posted their #TZAnthemChallenge video. That led others to make their own clips, and the dance craze blew up.
Why is this song popular?
The success of “TZ Anthem” is largely a product of social media. Dance videos synced to the song were virally shared on Twitter, causing the song to sky-rocket in popularity.
What inspired them to make the song
ZAY HILFIGERRR :
It actually started when I came to Zayion’s house and I was just playing around. I kind of made the song in 2014, I started saying “JuJu” in 2014. I didn’t have no lyrics, it was just a thing.
And then I just wanted to do it and I went to Zayion house and told him to turn on the “Knuck If You Buck” beat and I just freestyled.
All of this was random.”…
How did the #TZAnthemChallenge take off?
ZAY HILFIGERRR :
The Co-CEO of Fresh the Clowns called me like “Zay your track hot, I saw the dance and I want to start a trend.”
At the moment the song wasn’t poppin’, but we shot a video and the next day it blew up. It had like 18,000 views in one day and then it hit 100,000 and it was on all these dance pages. After a week it was popular.
As far as the #TZAnthemChallenge that came from everybody doing it, Fresh the Clowns, little kids.
The main three people were Fresh the Clowns, Hannah and then this 9-year-old little caucasian girl.
Then we started seeing cheerleaders doing it, then IG celebrities and then actors. After LeBron’s son did it, we knew we had something."
-snip-
"Hannah" may be the young woman who is dancing with Zay Hilfiger in the video given as Example #2 below.
"The 9 year old Caucasian girl" may be the girl that is dancing in the video given as Example #3 below.
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube, with the oldest dated video given first.
Example #1: Fresh the clowns tzanthem 🔥🔥🔥
DAEDAY Fresh Published on Aug 7, 2016
Follow our ig pages @freshboyira
@daedayfresh_ @zayhilfigerrr
-snip-
The flames icon means that the video publisher considers this video to be "fire" ("on fire", "hot", "very very good".)
-snip-
Here's the portion of this record's lyrics that is usually used for the dance challenges:
...
"[Verse 1: Zay Hilfiger]
Walked in this party
And these girls lookin' at me
Skinny jeans on and you know my hair nappy
Hey, hey, hey
Okay, okay
I want y'all do it, do this dance now
[Hook: Zay Hilfiger]
JuJu on the beat
JuJu on that beat
JuJu on that, JuJu on that, JuJu on that beat
Now slide, drop
Hit dem folks, don't stop, aye
Don't stop, aye
Don't stop, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat, aye
Running man on that beat
Now do your dance, do your dance, do your dance, aye
You ugly
You your daddy's son"...
Source: http://genius.com/Zay-hilfigerrr-juju-on-that-beat-tz-anthem-lyrics Zay Hilfigerrr, Featuring Zayion McCall, Produced By Lil Jay (Crime Mob), Album Why So Serious?
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Example #2: The Creator : JuJu On Dat Beat : #TZAnthemChallenge ( Official Dance Video ) @ZayHillfigerrr
Zay Hilfiger, Published on Aug 15, 2016
Download JuJu On That Beat - http://smarturl.it/DownloadJuJu
Stream JuJu On That Beat - http://smarturl.it/StreamJuJu
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Example #3: little white Girl dances on juju on that beat song, black dance moves :D
3896841, views Published on Aug 23, 2016
amazing
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Example #4: Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge [TZ Athem] #jujuonthatbeat #tzathem
One Challenge, Published on Sep 24, 2016
Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge [TZ Athem] #jujuonthatbeat #tzathem #tzathemchallenge
Best musical.ly, dubsmash, instagram and flipagram Juju On That Beat Dance Challenge Compilation or TZ Athem, urban dance, hip hop dance and lit dance.
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Example #5: "Juju on That Beat" Dance Lesson
LIVE with Kelly Published on Oct 19, 2016
Hip hop duo Zay teach Kelly and Ciara how to do the "Juju on The Beat" dance.
-snip-
Here's the transcription when Kelly asks Zay Hilfiger what "juju on the beat" means: (.045-.054 of this video)
Kelly- “What does it mean? Is it dirty? Are we…[Zay interrupts her and she says] okay…
Zay- No Juju is like me.
Kelly – Okay
Zay -It’s my....it’s my arch ego. It’s like I’m the height (said while repeatedly mimicking lifting something up with both hands], turned up...I don’t care...
Kelly – Oh okay.
Zay – That’s the type. It’s like my beads. That’s me.
-snip-
I wrote these words in italic font to indicated that I’m not sure of this transcription. “It’s like my beads” refers to the fact that Zay is wearing his short natural hair in a hairstyle that isn’t worn by other males – i.e. braids with pink beads at the end. This hairstyle signifies (represents) his uniqueness.
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