With over 18,575,468 views on YouTube, reaching 91 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and number 14 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/HipHop Songs all in 2016, Don’t Touch My Hair is one of the golden songs from Solange’s senior album A Seat at the Table. The song was released by Saint Records and Columbia Records on September 30

I had never exactly listened to all of Solange’s music until this very album. Other songs I heard were amazing but I hadn’t given much thought until this happened. I remember I was browsing the internet and listening to music when her song came on. It was the opening beat drop and her first few words that struck me.

Don't touch my hair when it's the feelings I wear.

A feeling and statement myself and many other natural hair enthusiasts have made at some point in our lives. I stopped what I was doing to direct my attention to the words I was listening to from my phone. My attention was glued. This woman was speaking the thoughts many of us had felt. As I listened even further she had addressed her hair as her crown.

Don’t Touch My Crown
They Say the Vision I’ve Found
Where we chose to go
Where we've been to know

carry on I am going to discuss each girl’s answer to put a spotlight on each of their own personal answers. They deserve their own section because of how deeply appreciated their answers were.

The first girl I interviewed was a personal friend of mine named Courtney Chinn. We have been friends since our sophomore year of high school. Courtney from how long I have known her has rocked a natural fro for years. This song was quite familiar to her. She loved it. It expressed many feelings she had felt towards natural hair.

“This song to me is more than just what it says on the surface. Nearly every man/woman with natural hair has either experienced or heard of experiences where people with non-ethnic or textured hair have touched their hair, even without permission. It’s as if textured hair or kinky hair is an oddity or at least something that’s exotic”

I totally agreed with this. Many people I had come across had always given remarks of my hair being so big and exotic looking. Sometimes I think they do not intentionally mean it, but like many other things that shit gets old… real quick.

“Her song (Solange), in my opinion also showed that even if they touched it, they will never understand that it’s the feelings we bear. They can never have it because this hair is mine. All too often media or fashion reports praise women wearing cornrows or boxer braids, which isn’t even the right term, as trendy or summer’s hottest styles or whatever and make it seem like it is a original or new concept when it isn’t”

Courtney’s answers were a lot similar to the same struggles others feel with natural hair. With that being said I lead you into the next young women I interviewed another personal friend of mine named Doris Amouzou. I met her the same way I met Courtney Chinn. All three of us are very close friends. A little facts about Doris before I get into her responses, she has an awesome blog page where she talks about everything. I will leave a link to her page with this article. The questions were asked in the same order for Doris as well.

“The first time I heard that song, one of my friends had introduced it to me. Typically with the songs I listen to I try and listen to the melody the first couple times and then try to dissect the meaning of the words afterwards”

This is a strategy when listening to music I do as well (can’t you see why we’re friends).

“Solange hits you with the power of the words and image, and the melody just acts as an unnecessary supplement. This song gave me mixed feelings at first because I was trying to understand the audience she was addressing. Hair is a powerful symbol to many females. It gives them their title of femininity, and a quick switch up and new look can sometimes make you look like a new person. That was how it was for me growing up”

The mention of new hairstyles is something I think worth addressing as well. A lot of people could argue about what if you wear weave or wigs. Are you not pretty if you wear those things? I feel that anyone can do with their hair as they please. Sometimes those are other hairstyles are used for protective styles anyway. I am only addressing this because I don’t want someone to take a false opinion and run with it thinking weave wearing is being bashed. That is not the case at all. All hair is beautiful and embraced no matter where it comes from. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. With that being said moving on with the rest of Doris’s responses.

“I was told by some I looked better with straight hair or braids and my natural hair lost a meaning. I wanted to look better because I was never comfortable with my skin tone and if I could change my hair to fit in I would. But later in life I realized there was nothing wrong with how I looked and that society’s perception and accepting beauty was the issue.”

All though Doris and I are two different people, we were one and the same. Though we may look different in society as a whole we had the same problems.

“I can’t help but notice the division in the natural hair community. There is discrimination between people with certain hair types and how 4c is seen as less acceptable and 3c and such are prettier qualities. That bothers me a lot! I have people asking me why my hair is so curly for a person of my skin tone or they’ll envy my hair and touch it without permission.They gasp and say Oh that’s your natural hair?”

I as well sometimes see the division within the community of our hair types. I myself have 3b textured hair. I have had friends multiples of times making statements of wishing they had hair like me. That always bothered me because I questioned where and how did we get to the point in society where there was a certain status quo with hair. Hair! Freaking hair for crying out loud. . I would always tell my friends they were beautiful just the way they were. They would simply say thank you and disregard it but I seriously meant. I think half of the problem in society is that we base our standards of self-worth on comparison with other people. I think the problem will never go away until people finally realize you should be all you can be and nothing else. We were made the way God intended for us to be. As my grandmother would say God makes no mistakes, in this case.

Finally, I ended my interview with a young woman I had never met in person but who I followed on Instagram. While writing this article she had posted a picture she had posted embracing her natural hair. I got the idea to interview her. I was a little nervous to message her but I am very happy I did. Meet Courtney Huddleston everyone!

Again I proceeded with the same arrangement of questions.

“Prior to the question, I hadn’t heard the song. I knew about Solange before. Since you asked the question, however, I have heard it (and I liked it).”

I’m really happy for introducing her to this song.

“The song actually brings me relief to know that there are real natural celebrities out there since majority of them have had some body modifications and surgeries to alter their looks. It’s a bonus especially since she (Solange) is an educated, outspoken black woman and we need more positive influences like that in the POC community”

Representation is key guys.

“I don’t like my hair being touched because while it is different, it is NOT a reason to act differently towards me. When I wear my hair naturally, it exhibits my pride for my culture and who I am. It is me being a proud black individual. And this song is my anthem.

Courtney H’s experience are as well similar to some mentioned previous so by now I think you would understand the picture of what natural hair wearing individuals deal with. However I would like to mention a key part in that question’s answer she said.

“It’s funny how those same girls are trying to make their hair do all of the things that black people’s hair naturally does because it’s a trend now”

Sometimes I wonder, once the trend of natural hair fades out will we get shunned because it is no longer appropriate or cool?

Concluding the interview I asked Courtney H why she embraced her natural hair.

“I no longer face insults about my hair and now get compliments. And it’s a part of me that I now love”

I loved how all three of these beautiful young women were enjoying their natural hair journeys. I loved more that Solange’s song made them embrace it even more as well. Her song displayed our pride in our hair. We have come a long way. I want to throw out something that Courtney Chinn stated she felt that natural hair stood for and something I think all three girls stated with their answers. Our natural hair stood for more than just a style.

Our hair stands for struggle, triumph, beauty, individuality, and heritage.

Don’t Touch My Hair means all these things. Solange demonstrates all these things. I chose to write this article because in my article about stepping into 2018 and making it the year of you I address self-love. This article and topic embraces self-love. This is an anthem because Solange pushes not only for herself but for every woman to embrace their crown and have self-love.

Below I would also like to drop the three ladies' social media because they were super awesome.

Courtney Chinn Instagram: @court_tourtxvii

Doris Amouzou Instagram: @itsodoris

As well her blog page www.itsodoris.wordpress.com/

Courtney Huddleston Instagram: @cooourter

Thanks for reading this article!