Singer & Actress Kelly Rowland speaks about her song 'Crown' and her hair journey during Essence Beauty Con.
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 One of my favorite songs from you, and I have several, is "Crown."
00:03 - Yes! - Right?
00:05 - Yes, yes, yes.
00:06 - And I remember I was given a Crown Award last year,
00:09 and when I posted about it, that was the song that I used
00:12 because that song has been a mantra for my hair journey.
00:16 - Wow. Has it really?
00:17 - Yes, like I worked in corporate America for so long
00:20 and had every hairstyle but locs
00:22 because somebody told me I can't do it.
00:24 And when I changed it, I thought I was going to get fired
00:27 for changing my hair, and so that song became the mantra
00:31 of my courageous decision to rock it anyway.
00:34 - Wow. - Right?
00:35 - Yeah. - But we also don't talk enough about hair
00:38 in the conversation about beauty.
00:40 - We don't. - So what was that song about,
00:42 and what is hair care to you?
00:43 What does that mean to you in the context of beauty?
00:46 - I mean, as far as hair care is concerned for me,
00:50 you gotta remember Tina was the one I grew up with.
00:53 - Do y'all know who Tina-- - Sorry, Tina--
00:55 - Tina knows. - Just checking.
00:57 - She's mom, absolutely.
00:59 You know, I was raised in a hair salon with her.
01:02 I saw so many different beautiful brown women
01:06 coming into this hair salon, rocking different hair colors
01:10 and textures and this and that,
01:12 and they made me feel like hairstyles was, like, limitless.
01:17 You know, like I could do anything.
01:19 Like, I remember Tina cut my hair, and I was like,
01:21 "Ooh, she's flash. We'll keep this short haircut."
01:24 Then it was okay.
01:26 I had the little, like, red hair with the flips.
01:28 That was definitely a phase.
01:29 - Oh, I remember that. I love that look.
01:31 - Oh, I love that, too. I'm trying to--
01:32 - I tried, but it didn't work on me, but--
01:34 - I'm just--I'm trying to cut me a new one,
01:37 a wig that looks like that, so y'all might see that pop up.
01:40 - No, I don't want to work for your girl.
01:41 I'll send you a video. - But I feel like
01:43 my hair journey was fun,
01:46 because Tina made it fun for me,
01:48 and she made it feel like--
01:50 No, she's like, "You can do whatever you want."
01:52 She was like, "Now you're, like, in this different space.
01:55 As an artist, you can be creative.
01:57 Like, have fun with your hair."
01:58 And that's exactly what I did.
02:00 - Yeah. - Yeah.
02:02 - Do you feel there's consequence for having fun
02:03 with your hair in your industry?
02:05 - I think that sometimes, you know,
02:06 it's a lot of people who have something to say.
02:08 I don't really care about what they say anymore.
02:10 - Can you say that again for the people in the back?
02:12 - I don't really give a...
02:15 about what anybody says.
02:16 I have a good time with hair.
02:18 And I'm sorry, you asked me about Crown.
02:20 Crown actually came around through another brand,
02:22 actually through Dove, and I remember...
02:24 - Yeah. - We did the song,
02:26 but I had this conversation with those young girls
02:28 in the Crown video. - Really?
02:30 - And each of them had their own personal story
02:32 of their hair journey and what that was like,
02:35 from being called different names at school,
02:37 and there were different racial backgrounds
02:39 of these young ladies. - Yeah.
02:41 - And I loved that the most,
02:42 because they were so open about their story
02:44 and so young to be so bold to talk about their story.
02:47 - Yeah. Yes.
02:48 - And they made me so proud to be a part of that campaign.
02:51 So I'm grateful when brands do that too.
02:53 - Yes. - It's so important,
02:54 because young girls need to see themselves reflected
02:57 and their stories reflected so that they know
02:59 they're not the only ones going through that.
03:01 - And I also think we don't talk enough
03:03 about what is the mental health consequence
03:05 of brands pushing an ideal of beauty that's unattainable.
03:08 I've said it before.
03:09 I think that what's happening
03:11 with these unattainable, manipulated pictures of beauty
03:13 is creating a health crisis,
03:15 where people are taking their lives
03:16 because they can't go after it.
03:18 And we got to start saving souls out here.
03:20 [upbeat music]
03:23 (upbeat music)