India Arie - I Am Not My Hair feat Akon

The struggle of African American Hair...I love this song because not only does it exemplify a black women's battle with hair but the black man's battle as well. Dreads, Weaves, perms, All-natural, braids, long, short, black, blonde, red, brown, gold, blue, purple, pink, wigs, curls, straight, wavy etc are just a few examples of the way black people wear their hair. Hair is such a complexed issue for blacks because our hair is so much harder to deal with. Society itself places an emphasis on having long beautiful hair, which is great but the reality is not everyone fits this status quo.  I love this song because for one time in the history of music someone is deemphasizing that hair does not encompass a person's worth, its the soul within that matters. Worrying yourself about superficial things like hair length or skin color is absurd and does not say much about you.She mentions a women basing her pride and glory in her hair and loosing it all as a result of chemotherapy. Imagine how traumatic loosing your hair can be for anyone, however if you base your whole life, personality and self-worth on your hair your going to have nothing to live for and thats a dangerous thing.  I love when she says "Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person? Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?"This is so deep because hair does not dictate the type of person you are, the good you can do for people, the type of worker you are, the type of writer you are, the type of mother or father you are, it's the soul within you that matters, your character, your work ethic, your personality those are things we should concern ourselves with. "I am not your expectations...No" Thats another part of the song that I adore because society predisposes these expectations that we feel pressured to live up to and if you know your self and have a strong sense of identity you will be able to combat these expectations and live life for you. India Arie is someone who I admire greatly, her confidence and her strong sense of self. She addresses issues that everyone else is too afraid to vocalize and she's not afraid to be herself, I have nothing but respect for her.