Tai, I've ran across your other album. Refreshing to see another brother in these parts. In my case (the short version) I was born to Trinidadian parents in 1980 in Queens, NY, specifically in the area of Jamaica. Jamaica gets a bad rep for crime and drugs, but truly it was and is still the most affluent black section in NYC and the Queens is the only city where "minority" salaries are routinely higher than that of "whites". There-in began my pride. To grow up around doctors and lawyers, even while the husslers ran around doing their ignorant things. I was blessed to grow up on town from Q-tip and Phife and Jarobi. They would come over to Pop and Kim (a famous "40" and arcade spot) and would jus hang. I mean you really felt good to have these guys around, in addition to Run-DMC, LL, and Salt & Peppa, who could all be seen at the Green Acres Mall. Jamaica by coincidence always held a high West Indian population, as far back as the late 50-60's they tell me. Dreads were in abundance, and a friend of mine in particular, Jalani had the longest dreads and we were only like 7. We went to Tae Kwon Do together and he would wrap and wrap his head, like a lil professional dred LOL.I've been rappin since i was seven , in '87, and i just turned 27 last week. For me, its so sad that my fellow 27 yr olds only seem to know Biggie and down, or don't care. I'm the youngest old schooler you know. It pains me, while i remember beggin my older bro, who had 9 yrs over me, to buy me my 1st Black Medallion. the JB's were hot at this point (Jungle Brothers to lamens) and we would talk my moms Bead curtain and make the neck beads.
I began my locs with all this in mind. I'd wanted them in JHS but my mom, an old school Trini, despised them, said they were for the Rastas or the weed smokers. I wanted braids to. I loved things that lent to my heritage, even if it didnt mean i was actually connecting to anything. It was just for me.I 1st went to school with "non-blacks" in HS. Yeah it took me 14 yrs to see more than the 1 white student we had in the whole town, a girl named Kelly.
They would say shyt slick too like "go back to the projects", mind you Jamaica is 90% private homes. I would laugh at them and/or fight. I digress
When i was old enough to not be told what to do, lets say 21 LOL hey i'm West indian, i had my then girl braid my lil fro. Over the next 3 yrs I'd dealt with the A.I jokes @ work, the Hey you look like a rapper (When i was comin up ppl always said i DIDNT look like a rapper, until they heard me killin' it) but i still would feel shame in having braids for some reason. It's silly perhaps.In May of '05, after the voices of locdom had already been calling me since the previous year, i made the switch. I remember coming into my corporate job, and having my head held so high. I walked right into a meeting with ALL the big wigs. I saw my co-worker, the mis-understood sister with the ceasar, actually nod at me on the low, after not really speaking to me in the previous year. It felt so free, so unlike the restriction of braids. Its like a reflection of my mental at the time. One free, one trapped. This is way before i thought to move to the Dominican Republic.
Its funny, a sister here wrote that less guys would approach her, and i think that less woman who i approached were enthused to meet me after the switch, but it didnt matter. I was here.
I had went to DR earlier that year just on vacation and with my cornrows. So many women loved the hair (braids were JUST gettin very popular there). I moved back in Nov with my locs and it went to all but zero. They couldn't understand. They would ask why i want my hair to stay dirty. I would ask "dirty?", they would say that since a comb cant pass through it has to be full of dirt. I would then tell them to take off their clothes because you cant come those either but you dang sure feel like your clothes are cleaner than you after a good washing. That would shut them up LOL
To be sure, i have what is considered manicured locs, but i don't like to see my scalp, i just like them to not join together and i like uniformity and symmetry, blame the artist in me. Also blame the fact that my mom still isn't locs' biggest fan, but i keep it so neat that she finally lost her stereotypes, in fact for the last year, on my suggestion, she has her hair in single twists (the type that can form locs) and she keeps them in until the day to get them redone. My style now is a freeform hybrid. 2 or so months not twisting- just wash, then i do it myself, and let the 2 months come again.
So in a nutshell my reasons for WHY were that i needed my hair to "grow out in all directions" like my thoughts were. Something that i didn't worry about. My braids had me way to vain about fresh lookin hair and parts, etc. My locs made me confront my vanities. Unlike a female who can go to work with head wrapped up, if my locs were wild and i had to go to work, I just had to go!! Once i noticed people lookin at me, i began to have this other pride like "YES! LOOK at me" Deal with what comes naturally from me. That natural hair rooted in Africa that, left alone, will loc to its hearts content.
TRIFLEmc
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