Loc Spotlight: Guy loc rocker-Jermaine McGhee

If there's one thing us loc rockin' ladies love, it's a loc rockin' fella. I had the honor of interviewing Jermaine McGhee. Hit the jump to learn more about him and how he maintains his beautiful locs.

Loc Spotlight: Young boys with locs....

Just how adorable is Lil' Jon's son, Nathan?

Yeaaahhhhh!!

Sorry. Y'all know I had to do it. Don't act like you weren't jammin' to Lil' Jon back in the day. ;)

I adore locs on young boys. Speaking of boys with locs...remember my nephew with the enormous afro? His Mom has decided to loc his hair. He's been growing locs now for a good month or so. When I finally take a trip down to Miami to visit them, I'l be sure to take pictures.


(photo source) 

Loc rockin' little ladies: Chloe and Halle Bailey

A friend of mine sent me a video of these two beauty loc rockin' beauties and I was blown away. They can sang!!! They are also actresses. Soooo cute!






Check out their website here. Wishing these gals tons of success!

Kim Coles' Natural Hair Journey (video)

Y'all already know how much I love Kim Coles. I posted about her here and here. She's back with another video of her transitioning to rocking her beautiful natural hair. I don't know if it was the music (that song was dope) or what but I got a wee bit emotional. I love how she has embraced, supported and shouted out the natural hair community. Has this ever been done before by a celebrity? Maybe. Not on this level.






And I'd love her just the same if a few months or years down the road she decides to rock another hairstyle.

Stay beautiful, Kim Coles. We love you!! And uhhh...if you decide to rock the Maxine Shaw circa '95 locs, you know the Loc Rockin' crew has yo back!

A rap song about natural hair. Seriously!

Back in the day I used to be in LOVE with Dead Prez. Now that I think about it, I started loving them around the time I went natural. I was going through that pro-Black everything stage and their music fit the stage of my life. Haven't heard much about them in awhile but I am LOVING this song.

Dead Prez "The Beauty Within" from kinetikcinematix on Vimeo.

I'm pretty sure it won't be played on the radio. You know because...

Well...you know.

What do y'all think?

Are you a product junkie?

But first...watch this vid.





Kim Coles cracks me up so much. I love her. Where are my product junkies at?

Time to check in!!

Oh...and if you know me well enough, you know that I am far too cheap to be a product junkie. Unless it is given to me, I'm not buying a new product until I hit bottom, yo.

Raise your hand if you have WAY too many products.


Loves Ya,

Kim Coles goes natural!

Actress and comedienne Kim Coles revealed her beautiful natural hair a few days ago on Afrobella. A few months ago while listening to Afrobella Radio, I remember her saying that she wanted to go natural. We encouraged her and I didn't think she would do it so soon but she did! And it looks stunning on her.

Tell me she doesn't look beautiful! And yes, those earrings are by Rachel Stewart. And that funky tee is by Minoritees. I'm so proud of her. So much that I tweeted my love!

And she tweeted back!

Chrisette Michelle's TWA

As if this needs many words. She is just gorgeous.

Weave and Black Women with Blonde Hair: Your View

I saw this video over at The Kitchen Salon and just had to share it with the Loc Rocker fam. I've never watched a complete episode of The View. Only excerpts from controversial episodes. But I've always been an enormous fan of Whoopi Goldberg. I mean, HUGE!! This is a conscious sista that thinks before she speaks and always has something thought provoking to say.

That said, check out of the following video.

Whoopi brings up good questions. While Sherri Shepard wears weave (Obviously. It looks so freakin' fake and horrendous. Sorry, but it does.), Whoopi questions why so many Black women have to wear straight and super long weave. Shoopi says, "Why isn't it an afro weave?" That's a damn good question.

And then Joy Behar (thanks Google) answers that question with "Well, because when your hair is straighter, you can do more with it."

*crickets*

Really?

Jill Scott, you are out of the natural club!

By now I'm sure most of y'all have heard about Jill Scott "supposedly" rocking a relaxed do at an event that she went to. I say "supposedly" because how in the world are we supposed to know what's going up in her head? Who's to say she didn't straighten it? Or blow it out?

Honestly, the whole online uproar really bothers me. A lot of times us naturals claim to represent freedom and self-expression but we are quick to judge someone who decided to relax their natural hair, or go with THIS loc'ing method instead of THAT one. We feel "sad" if a former loc rocker has decided to comb out or cut off their locs. I wonder why as naturals, we feel so attached to the roots of other naturals'.

I say "we" because I remember wanting to shed a tear when my locspiration and friend Shawnta combed out her locs. I felt the same way when Fauryn78 on YouTube did the exact same thing. But why? I didn't know what was going on the personal lives of these ladies. As with anything in life, sometimes you just want change. And if it happens to be your crown, who are we to judge? Or more importantly, care?

I wish that us naturals would stop it with the superiority complex. Y'all know what I'm talking about! As much as I take pride in natural hair, oftentimes, we can be downright clique-ish. I've heard of ladies only wanting natural heads in their bridal parties to hearing comments from friends who dog out sistas wearing relaxed hair. It's ridiculously over the top and deepens that division that Black women can have.

I'm over it. I will ALWAYS rock natural hair but I could care less who doesn't. We are not a cult of diehard members. We are not a separate and exclusive group of Black femininity. We are simply a group of women who wear our hair naturally. And that's it. Let's take pride in it but let's not judge those who do not do the same. While at times, I like to think that natural hair can be a lifestyle, it's times like this when I think it is just...hair.

So Jill Scott, I don't really care how you wear your hair. I just know that you are one of the most talented artists ever. And your hair did not make or break it for you.








To my afro wearing ladies, you are beautiful.
To my loc'd divas, you are beautiful.
To my straight hair naturals, you are beautiful.
To my curly heads, you are beautiful.
To my naturally straight haired chicks, you are beautiful.
To my relaxed mamas, you are beautiful.
To my weave/wig wearin' sistas, you are beautiful.
To my transitioners, you are beautiful.
To my "I don't know what's going on with my hair" chicas, you are beautiful.

Brown babies with locs...

Okay seriously, how cute are they?

I was strolling on BlackCelebrityKids.com and came across an article about these actresses. Yep, they are loc rockin' movie and TV stars. I love how in an industry that is predominately straight haired, the parents of these chicas have decided to keep their daughters' natural hair. And locs.

So beautiful.



(photo source)

Afro puffs and my baby Breeze..

Because I love little girls with afro puffs....

That's British model Jamelia with her gorgeous daughters Tiani (3) and Teja (8). How adorable are they?

Did I ever tell y'all that I want to name one of my daughters' Breeze? Every time I tell people that, they laugh. Haters, I say. That's the coolest name ever!

Have a great weekend, y'all!!

(photos credit)

Purple/lavender locs?

I've been wanting them forever. Not all over....just 3-5 locs that pop out. These locs will probably be covered by other locs. I still want to go to work, church and social functions without people going,

"OMG, she's got purple locs!!!!! Does she smoke meth with her rocker boyfriend? Oh wait...is she a lesbian goth? Does she know she can't have a professional job with purple locs? OMG!!!!!"

And I ain't hardly exaggerating. Y'all know people think crazy things about a) people with locs and b) Black people with crazy hair color. Not that I care but I don't want to have to pop off on anyone and end up in jail. HA!!

Anywhoovers....I kinda want to do this after I go to my loctician next week. I just know she'll discourage me from doing it. She'll scare me with horror stories. Wait....how do you even bleach hair? I'm soooo afraid to do that. Never mind that I was using developer like I took a cosmetology class on hair color. Technically, I shouldn't even be afraid.

But still....I don't want to be running on the treadmill one day and one of my locs go sliding. Wouldn't that be hilariously awful? So yeah. I gotta call my professional hair friend and see if this is even possible.

I blame Chescaleigh. I was finally over the hair color obsession and then she had to go and post this.






Granted she posted it several moons ago but still. I blame her for being so fabulous and awesome and making me not feel out of place for wanted purple locs. And did she really have to respond to my tweet with suggestions? I hope I don't find any "How to bleach your locs" tutorials on YouTube. Because if I do....

I don't know', y'all...I'm kinda hoping this idea goes away. Or maybe I should just do one loc. Or the tips of one loc. What's the worst that could happen?

Dun dun duuuuun!!

Pipe cleaner curls, part deux?

So remember that time I tried to curl my locs with pipe cleaners here? I sooo didn't like the outcome.

But then I watched her video.





First of all, I LOVE her. Her personality is all over the place and I loves it. I learned a lot from this vid. She removes the pipe cleaners by pulling them straight through the curl. I didn't do that! I would unravel mine. Ah ha! If I'm in town this weekend (y'all know me) I think I'm going to try this again.

And do you see how gorgeous her locs are? Forget sisterlocks for my next set of locs. I am definitely going bigger. Hers are just absolutely beautiful. Actually the longer I look at them the more loc envy I get. Must.look.away.

Oh and um....check out her blog here. Ms. Franchesca is doin' big thangs! How many loc'd ladies do you see on the red carpet? Um....yeah. She is awesome and beautiful!


Oh, I was featured on Naturelle Chic's blog here.

Locs Spotlight: Morgan Heritage

I loooooove reggae. I wasn't really introduced to authentic reggae music until I went to college. Between my Caribbean and Rastafarian roommates and friends, I developed a serious love affair.

Morgan Heritage has always been one of my favorite groups. They are a family of 5 that produce feel good reggae music. And they are all loc rockers!


Everyone's locs look different. Una's (la chica) are all curly. Brotha with that gray streak is a freeformer. I just....*sigh*. I love them!

They recently released a new album entitled "The Journey Thus Far". It is a MUST have for any music lover. I'm not even kidding, y'all. It has been out for less than a week and I've played it 13 times already.

Loc rockin', music makin' fam that makes positive music?

I love.


photos sources: here and here.

Another Natural Head Rockstar!

Whooooa!! Brown girls are blowin' up rock stages all over the world. I LOVE this! Check out Shingai from The Noisettes out of UK. She is gorgeous. And look at the fro!

She almost makes me want my loose hair again.

Nah I'm kidding--she's fly though. And after seeing so many brown girls rockin' out on stage, I think it's time that I invest in an electronic guitar and really be the rockstar I know I am.

I'm fo real, y'all...

Watch the vid!

You can find more about this group at this post from Holistic Locs.


ETA:
I've been jammin' out to The Noisettes all weekend!

Loc Spotlight: Simone

This past weekend I spent a lot of time listening to jazz music.

As much as I love gospel, classical, soul, funk, disco, jungle, rock, R&B (circa 50's-90's) etc, my soul is with jazz music. If I could marry it, I would.

I love big bang New Orleans jazz. And I love smooth jazz (Wayman Tisdale and Euge Groove). I love jazz infused with hip-hop (Hidden Beach). I just love. jazz.

Simone, the daughter of the late and great Nina Simone, is amazing! I have been playing her album for almost a year now. Her sultry voice is different from her Mother's but the girl can bloooow.

Here's an interview with her:

And what do you know? She is also a loc rocker!

Her daughter 9-year old daughter is even loc rockin'!

Rock on Nina! Legacy passing is such a beautiful thing to me.

Peace and loc've

(photo source) (photo source) (photo source)

Natural Head Spotlight: Yara Shahidi

Ya'll know I loooove featuring little girls with natural hair styles. The beautiful Jaida has me envious of her gorgeous locs. Malia Obama had me reminiscing about the days of having braids and twists.

Check out Yara Shahidi's curls!

How beautiful is she? And look at that little pose. Soooo cute and classy. She's headed to 5th grade and still rocking her hair naturally. When I was headed to 5th grade my hair had already been permed and I had noooo idea how my hair looked in its natural state. Seeing little brown girls rockin' natural hair says a looooot to me. Rock on, Persian beauty!

You can find out more about Yara here.

Peace and loc've.

(photo source)

Locs Spotlight: Triple L Naturalness!

I was checking out one of my favorite blogs Young Black and Fabulous and saw this beautiful photo of Lalah, Lisa and Ledisi (heyyy, all L's!) at the Essence Music Festival.

(l-to-r)
Lalah Hathaway, Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter and Ledisi.

What talented and beautiful women! Two amazing singers and an entrepreneur. Gotta love it!


Don't know who Lalah Hathaway is? She is the daughter of the late and GREAT Donny Hathaway. I got hip to her music in college and haven't turned back. This is one of my favorites from her. Classic 90's vibe. And not too long ago she dropped another album called "Self Portrait". Loves it!

And then there's Ledisi. Ohmigoooooodness. Mainstream music needed her. She is incredibly talented. This is a video of her live in concert. She sounds amazing and I am feeling the crowd's energy. Damn I wish I was there!





Yep yep..I love these ladies. Rock on locs and curls!



Peace and loc've