I AM NOT MY HAIR – INDIA ARIE
(This spot was a toss up between this song and India Arie’s “Video Girl” which is just as worthy. We went with I Am Not My Hair but both deserve a nod and a listen. )
[youtube id=”OZH6lKxA_q0″]
LYRICS:
Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen and I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went on and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlocks all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY….I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within
What’d she do to her hair? I don’t know it look crazy
I like it. I might do that.
Umm I wouldn’t go that far. I know .. ha ha ha ha
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
Its time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what’s on your head
Its what’s underneath and say HEY….
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Oh
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity..
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY…
If I wanna shave it close
Or if I wanna rock locks
That don’t take a bit away
From the soul that I got
Dat da da dat da [4x]
If I wanna where it braided
All down my back
I don’t see what wrong with that
Dat da da dat da [4x]
This is an interesting idea! A few of the songs, I didn’t know – so it was an enjoyable tour through music appropriate to young people.
For a future compilation, you might consider Doo Be Doo by world music group Freshly Ground: https://www.rdio.com/artist/Freshlyground/album/Nomvula/track/Doo_Be_Doo/
Thanks,
Phoebe
Lift Every Voice and Sing is a song that every child should learn.
Don’t forget Mary Mary’s “Little Girl”. Lyrics excerpt: Little girl/trying to fit in/’cuz you don’t look like/all your other friends” and chorus goes “Little girl, little girl/God made you so beautiful/little girl, little girl/I just thought that you should know”
Cool list. I’d like to suggest two more songs:
1. I love my hair: sesame Street sing along
2. BabyFather: Sade
I loved the list! I would add Yolonda Adams’s “The Battle is the Lord’s”. Whenever I feel overwhelmed I listen to this song and remember.
I was surprised to not see “You Gotta Be…” By Des’ree, Lamar.
Sample lyrics:
*You gotta be
*You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
*You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
*You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
*All I know, all I know, love will save the day”
What parent doesn’t want their girl to be all these things??
Thanks for sharing Will add yours to my list for my girls
A lot of these so FS need to be heard by little black boys too. They need to learn at an early age how precious the little black girl is, as well as, instill self pride
Our children are growing so fast these days, partially because of our lack of family structure, moreover, rearing the child in the way they should go with values beyond what the t.v., internet, and peers teach them. However, I encourage each parent to evaluate the music they listen to in the car with their children or any young impressionable mind in your prescense. If the child has already reached an exposure level of hearing the degrading music our community most often promotes, and you see that they have already turned that corner, I would suggest these positive yet ‘edgeee’ life changing songs. I render this unto you, GOODIE MOB ‘BEAUTIFUL BLACK SKIN’ circa 1996, COMMON SENSE AND LAURYN HILL ‘RETROSPECT OF LIFE’ , COMMON ‘THE LIGHT’ , J. COLE ‘CROOKED SMILE’
A few of these songs are for little Black Christian girls only. I would make adaptations to allow for alternative spiritual perspectives. But the other choices were rather inspirational.
you could do a whole album i love all those songs… i have my own playlist how did you narrow it down to just 6?
What a wonderful list. Thanks for thinking of our little girls Lamar. Another song which can be added is by an artist who never had her chance to shine. “Can’t Play Me”, by Jamie Knight. It’s about respecting yourself and placing value on who you are.
Any plans on doing a list for little black boys? It seems like the more we focus on girl empowerment, the more boys are being pushed in to the background. Fair is fair.
I thought it was 6 songs – why can’t everyone just relax and embrace the songs for what they are worth…. every song has a message but the flavor of days gone by get right to the point and call a spade a spade. Stop looking for corrections and just enjoy.
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Thanks for posting. I am compiling a list of songs to sing to my little girls. This is a nice start.