Analysis Of I Am Not My Hair By Ninaa Arie

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inundated with this idea of what “good hair” is, to the point that it seemed natural to force that same ideal upon me.
For India Arie, writing these songs during this time period, was extremely paramount. By going against the norm, she put out music that encouraged women to love who they are naturally, and understand that they do not have to fit societal beauty standards in order to be considered beautiful. In I Am Not My Hair, hair becomes a signifier of Blackness, that India looks to step away from. Hair, has always been a focal point of Black culture, and plays a role in shaping our identities, but India wants to argue the contrary. We are not bound by these material characteristics, instead we are so much more.
In contrast to this, Nina …show more content…

She used her music to speak out on the injustices that she saw black people face as a community. Eventually, within her music career there would be a shift in the use of her music for individual gain to community advancement, which signaled her deliberate entrance into the movement . As she became more politicized in her musical career, she made sure that she reflected this change on an aesthetic level as well. She replaced her wigs with Afros and wore African garb during her performances . She explicitly made it clear with whom her alliance lied. One of the prevalent arguments around Nina Simone, is that her involvement in the Civil Rights and Black Power movement, ultimately led to the decline and eventual end of her career. During her career, after aligning with both movements, would make controversial statements during her performances. These statements such as, “certain songs [are] for all you black folk out there” was seen as controversial considering the fact that the majority of her audience was white . As she began to fully embrace her blackness and advocate for the black community, she was also at the same time creating distance between herself and the white community that used to regularly consume her

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