India.Arie Lyrics
I am not my Hair

Da da da da da

[Akon:]
I can kinda recall a little ways
small tryin to ball
I always been black
And my hair I tried it all
I even went flat
Had a gumby, a curly top, and all that crap

See, I was tryin to be appreciated
Nappy headed brothas never had no ladies
Then I hit the barber shop real quick
Had him give me little twists
And it drove them crazy

But then I couldnt get no job
Cuz corporate wouldn't hire no dread locks
Then I thought about my dawgs on the block
Startin to understand why they chose to steal and rob

Was it the hair that got me this far?
All these girls, these cribs, these cars?
I hate to say it but it seems so flawed
cuz success didnt come till i cut it all off

[Verse 1:]
Little girl with the press and curls
Age 8 I got a jerry curl
13 and I got a relaxer
I was the source of so much laughter
15 when it all broke off
18 when I went all natural
February 2002
I went on and did what I had to do

Cuz it was time to change my life
To become the woman that I am inside
97 dread locs all grown
I looked in the mirror for
the first time and saw
that (hey)

[Chorus:]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations (no)
I am not my hair
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/a9S ]
I am not this skin
I am the soul that lives within

[Verse 2:]
Good hair means curls and waves.
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
It´s time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off like a
South African beauty
Got in on “loc” like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
like Oprah Winfrey
It’s not what’s on your head,
it’s what’s underneath (and say hey)

[Chorus:]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations (no)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am the soul that lives within

[Bridge:]
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
Expressing my creativity

[Verse 3:]
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
On national television her
diamond eyes are sparkling
Baldheaded like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole
wide world like hey

[Chorus x2:]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations (no)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am the soul that lives within

If I wanna shave it close
or I wanna rock locs
That don’t take a bit away from
this soul that I got

If I wanna wear it
braided all down my back
I don’t see nothing wrong with that