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Curly Nikki

‘Black Sheep’- A New Natural Hair Anthem?

By January 27th, 202130 Comments
'Black Sheep'- A New Natural Hair Anthem?

Zoë writes:

Hey Nikki! So my friend Hutch told me about this AWESOME duo called Milo & Otis, who I
have officially fallen in love with. Anyway, they have a song called
‘Black Sheep’ that I think very readily speaks
to the experience of many young women when they first “go natural” and
the actions of people around them. It could be an anthem of sorts…
perhaps something to share with your readers! 



Disclaimer– There is ‘some’ language 😉

BLACK SHEEP

[Chorus]
Bah bah Black Sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir

I’ve got a whole head full

(and you can’t touch it)

No You Can’t F’ing Touch My Hair

[Verse 1]
I like to keep it curly like Angela and Nikki

But stranger fingers come round, and that’s when shit gets tricky

Do I look like a petting zoo to you?

My head is not a book you can peruse

People wanna finger ride a hairline safari

People wanna trick or treat buckets of black kink

Well read my lips when I say this yeah

Read my lips when I say this

No You Can’t F’ing Touch My Hair

[Chorus]
Bah bah Black Sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir

I’ve got a whole head full

(and you can’t touch it)

No You Can’t F’ing Touch My Hair

(hey boy) I’d keep my hands to myself if I were you

(hey boy) I’d keep my hands to myself if I were

[Verse 2]
Usually I don’t have to say these things

But some folks need a reminder cause they think

My hair is an open invitation, and I can’t understand this odd infatuation

See, since I cut my perm off life ain’t been the same

I been taking long showers and long walks in the rain

I rock my pick with a fist on the daily

Cause I ain’t Rapunzel I don’t need a prince to save me

[Chorus]
Bah bah Black Sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir

I’ve got a whole head full

(and you can’t touch it, no you can’t touch it, no you can’t touch it, no you can’t touch it)

No You Can’t F’ing Touch My Hair

(Hey boy) I’d keep my hands to myself if I were you

(Hey boy) I’d keep my hands to myself if I were

[Outro]
Wash your hair put the oil on

Go to bed put the scarf on

Braid it up in the winter

Use a comb but be gentle, heyyyy

These are the waves / These are the waves

That the Lord has made / That the Lord has made

Let us rejoice / Let us rejoice

And be glad in it / And be glad in it

credits

from


The Joy
,

released 22 May 2012

Horn arrangement and performance by Nico Segal of Kids These Days

Contains a mild interpolation of “Black Swan” by Janko Nilovic

What do you think?!
What are your experiences with folks wanting to put their hands in your head? 

30 Comments

  • Teehee says:

    I almost fell over when I heard this song. I'm the only black woman in my office and when I did my BC everyone was in awe. I even had a few clients that would not stop starring at my fro. one old woman tried to "pet" me when she thought I wasn't looking. So this song was just too much when I heard it. I feel like its my work theme! ^_^

  • Anonymous says:

    The first time I did the BC I don't really remember people wanting to touch my hair. Recently I did the BC again ( I burnt my my hair after 5 months the first time) and I have had two people at my job asking to touch my hair and telling me how soft it is and how much they like it.

  • Anonymous says:

    Geesh, some of you natural people take it to the far extreme! This is so corny, I can't believe this song was even posted.

  • Laurie P. says:

    Reading the lyrics alone, i chose not to even listen to it with the beat because the profanity really takes away from the objective, which i gathered is to raise awareness of the unwanted attention naturals receive, almost down right looks and actions that you'd see in a petting zoo. I get the point, the approach could've out cleaner, classier and been just as poignant.

  • Desert Flower ~ Tasha says:

    I not only love the lyrics of the song I love the tempo and her voice! I'll be downloading it as soon as I get a chance! This is my kind of music

  • Anonymous says:

    I'm not really a fan. I became natural so people can touch my hair. I didn't like the fact that my hair would feel greasy and dried out with a perm. I also didn't like having to hide behind weaves and braids all the time. I know this song is aimed at strangers but what if my boyfriend was to hear it. He would never touch my hair again.

  • Anonymous says:

    I'm not really a fan. I became natural so people can touch my hair. I didn't like the fact that my hair would feel greasy and dried out with a perm. I also didn't like having to hide behind weaves and braids all the time. I know this song is aimed at strangers but what if my boyfriend was to hear it. He would never touch my hair again.

  • Anonymous says:

    This is true but I would like a "cleaner" song to represent natural hair love. This is just saying you cant f****** touch my hair which I want to really say to people who just touch my hair without asking. This song is too aggressive and not a good example for a young children who are natural or become natural. Natural hair is beautiful, a song about embracing and loving your natural curls would be appropriate.

    Megan Montgomery

  • Annie L. says:

    The lyrics are cute, being in entertainment maybe the artists gets this quiet a bit and thought to compose an off-the-cuff song.

  • Anonymous says:

    I love it!!!!!!!!

  • Kinkikw says:

    This song is amusing, I must say. But all the White and Asian folks around me know unless they ask me, they can NOT touch my hair! It takes too long to style it, why mess it up with your dirty fingers in it? Everyone ALWAYS asks before they touch, but they're usually too afraid of my hair to do more than stare 😉

  • hairscapades says:

    I can appreciate the motivation for the song and the reality of this "phenomena," but I like the Sesame Street, "I love my hair" song as a natural hair anthem better;). I would want a natural hair anthem to evoke thoughts of the positive things about natural hair instead of the negative (i.e. people with no apparent home training … just like the one's that will touch the belly of a pregnant stranger … WTH is that about?!?!?). But, anywho, you know, that's just me;).

    Shelli

  • NikNak says:

    It's music; I appreciate that we have it to express ourselves. I appreciate her expressions, but honestly, I don't find hair interesting enough that I want to really hear a song about it. And she uses autotune, so I'm going to pass on this song.

  • NikNak says:

    Nobody asks to touch my hair. lol. I'm sad.

  • Chereace says:

    wouldn't say it's an anthem. I mean, the song is just "aight" but whatev
    I've been wearing my hair out for over a year and so far no one (that I DON'T know) has tried to touch my hair. I DID have some guy smell it and say he was checkin to see if any weed was in there, but he's just silly and dumb 😛 Never really caught anyone staring either but that's cuz I'm just an oblivious person in general…always in my own world… 😀
    Hopefully no stranger will ever try to touch it though!

  • Anonymous says:

    Overkill.

  • Anonymous says:

    This sure is an anthem! Was she shouting you out Nikki? I like this song a lot!!! Very catchy.

  • Neesha.Chérie says:

    Comes off a bit natural militant to me, with all the swear words and whatnot…but I guess I can't really relate because I don't have to fight off people wanting to touch my hair on a daily basis. Everyone's experience is different.

  • Erratic Assassin says:

    I saw her perform this song live & nearly died with laughter because it is too true! I was like this is definitely anthem of the year. I relax my hair and still have to deal with this hair touching BS so I would appreciate it if we can recognize that this is not just a natural [hair] experience but seems to a black girl experience. I'm sure we all know at least 1 person who has even had their weaves and wigs felt up in a similar sentiment, too.

  • Anonymous says:

    I love my hair. It's so soft and cushy. No one has ever asked me to touch it, not even my mom. I wish they would so I could tell them, "YES!" and then hear them say how soft and cushy it feels. Touching w/out asking . . . that's another story.

  • Anonymous says:

    I'm glad I've yet to have this problem. Like someone else said nobody but family or friends has ever touched my hair without asking. Maybe because I usually wear it in a ponytail and that looks too familiar to be interesting to strangers?

  • Anonymous says:

    *In my Madea voice*– "Halleluyurrrrr"!

  • JMartinez516 says:

    My mother is the main culprit. She's ALWAYS touching my hair (WOMAN…can you at least wait until it's dry). Mostly I just get staring.

  • Anonymous says:

    I've had kids wanting to touch my hair because they didn't think it would be soft or they thought it would be greasy, smh. Then they wondered how a black girl could have curls. Love the lyrics to this song, very catchy.

    Brooke B.

  • The Curly Oenophile says:

    Ha Ha Ha, I I love it! Since going natural I've had a few random women and even one white man who's a coworker, try to touch my hair! No one made contact and I just simply backed away and asked them what they were doing. It was all in good spririts but I think it's weird to want to touch a virtual stranger's hair, regardless of how "cool" it looks.

  • bspycee says:

    I like the song very catchy! nobody touches my hair except me and my man!

  • Anonymous says:

    "These are the waves…these are the waves..that the Lord has made"! Love that – I'ma be singing that all day. Thanks for posting this, Nik!

    Yvi 🙂

  • questlove says:

    I like the song btw but i grew up in a mostly white town and a lot of people that black hair was beautiful and because you can do so many things to it.

  • Anonymous says:

    And I've been natural for about 2 years now with a bit over 6 inches of hair lol

  • Anonymous says:

    I've never experienced anyone wanting to touch my hair apart from my own family. My mom can't keep her hands out of it usually. My cousins touch it and compliment it all the time. As for strangers and friends, no on reaches for my hair, and no one asks. They do compliment it though. I probably have a standoffish attitude though, maybe.

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