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ChrisetteMichele

Why I Cut It All Off!

Bootylious Men

DWELE

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May 2011, £3

Egocw.qxp2_Magazine design 11/05/2011 18:20 Page 1

Cover

41 Chrisette Michelle,

Why I cut it all off!

55 Hot Summer sex positions

44 Top 20 bootylicious men

68 Secrets to a successful

marriage

Fashion & Beauty

30 Summertime must haves

34 100 Hot looks for the

Summer

37Quick holiday diets

39 Flaming Hot hairstyles

Entertainment

20 What’s Happening events

22 Music & Film reviews

25 Must watch TV

27 Spotlight on... Dwele

Men & Relationships

50 Is he Father Material?

53 How to Blow his mind!

57 Falling in love

60 Do you love him?

Contents 45

35

31

27

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My “click” was mixed with a Puerto Rican, a

mixed girl with hair DOWN TO HER BACK

and beautifully tightly curled, a girl from

Africa and the most beautiful white porcelain

like girl from Spain, and me!

I was the president of the African American

club in High School and we all participated

and celebrated each other’s culture, beauty

and differences. I kept this free attitude with

my heart and hair all my life but my hair care

regiment was ALWAYS serious no matter the

style. Around 18 me and my BFF coloured

our hair mine was strawberry Red I LOVED IT

I was able to keep it soft and silky because it

was a simple wrap style (like Faith Evans at

the time).There wasn’t much heat or hair-

spray.

I wanted my kinky roots shortly after again

and wore a little TWA sometimes braiding it

up, and playing with different hair choices.

College was a challenge for my hair. I was

super busy. I was introduced to something I

thought I’d never ever do, THE WEAVE. My

manager at the time suggested it as an easy

alternative to my ritualistic hair regimens.

It was

fun

BUT I

missed

my

naps

though,

I was in

college

and did

the BC

a year

or so

later

and

walked

into Def

Jam

and got

a record deal.

IT WAS MY FRO, a Bob Marley track jacket,

ripped jeans and an audition of “Golden” and

this song called “ A Day In Your Life” both of

which I had written and was able to play on

the piano.

hen we first heard the golden

pipes of Chrisette Michele Ego she was in

the middle of a natural hair transition. Since

being signed to a record label and thrust into

the spotlight, fans have seen Chrisette’s hair

go from short and coily to long and sleek,

depending on what video she’s in or what

appearance she’s making.

So when we saw photos of Chrisette looking

stunning with her hair shorn short, we knew

we had to reach out to her to find out exactly

what inspired her to make the switch back to

natural.

Ego: So as you know we write about hair,

beauty and lifestyle and from day one we

took notice of you because you started out

natural – or at least with a natural texture.

Then you switched to relaxed hairstyles. Can

you tell me about your hair journey from the

days before you became signed to a label?

Chrisette: Wow, well I’ve always been seated

right next to my mom at the salon once a

week. She gave me freedom to experiment

with styles and ideas from maybe 12. I was

always playing in my hair and loved to re-in-

vent myself often. One thing I was never

afraid to do was CHOP my hair off to mimic

the cool styles I’d seen in magazines. Mon-

ica was always fun to play around with in the

90’s especially, I think she is incredibly styl-

ish. I also would grow my relaxer out maybe

every 3 years and cut it all off for an afro.

Growing up in a mixed school (8 black kids),

my hair was fun for ATTENTION from my

friends who all had beautiful hair.

W


and tour family that when we all landed

home in 6 weeks I would apologize to my-

self and begin a new relationship with my-

self beginning with my hair. The boys took

me to their favourite barber Manny over in

Sherman Oaks and applauded my decision

to be honest with myself and showcase

what I believe is beautiful. I’m proud of my-

self. I know that there is a place for my

beauty in this world and I plan to celebrate

who I am, beginning with my roots. I had

about a 1/2” of new growth but I wanted to

go lower like my Mother’s hair as well as

my make-up artist’s hair. The boys told the

barber “She wants a Number 2 clipper!!!

And fade it out on the edges!!! No Hard

Line!!!” and I said “No shape me up”

Ego: What are your hopes for natural hair

in the future?

Chrisette: Well for my natural hair, I wanna

be as fly as my cousin Christine who thinks

I’m cool but she is definitely super fly. Her

kinks are all over the place and I adore

them. As a community, I’d like to see natu-

ral hair in mainstream media. Kelis did it,

Lauryn Hill did it, MAXWELL, Tracy Ellis

Ross, Corrine Bailey Rae, Solange, Tyra

Banks, Beyonce, Laura Izabor, Ledisi, India

Arie, Jill, Janet, Rihanna. There’s a very

SPEACIAL beauty that only we own. We see

every other hair texture represented very

well except ours and it breaks my heart. I’m

excited to be a part of the natural girls. It’s

my intention to be this way for a while.

Ego: Where can your fans see you next –

are you touring for the summer? What’s

coming up next for your music?

Chrisette: I just finished a most wonderful

tour around the country with so many sold

out dates and even more beautiful people. I

must say thank you to everyone who joined

me and my band New Genesis. I feel amaz-

ingly blessed to still be here. I must say that

I am so grateful to Ego for being ever so

kind towards me for so long. I’m truly grate-

ful. God bless you.

Ego: Is there pressure in the industry on

female artists of colour to conform to a

certain standard of beauty?

Chrisette: There’s definitely pressure, I

try not to admit it sometimes because I

hate the

appearance of insecurity. The honest

truth is you wonder if you’ll get the same

attention if you don’t look like everyone

else. I’ve been able to tear down the

issue of CURVY GIRLS in the industry.

I’ve been able to have successful al-

bums and Grammy attention as well as

an award, Billboard chart attention and

television, and magazine attention.

There’s still more work and stereo types

to be smacked down, but with grace and

honesty and an understanding tongue, I

believe that people will begin to see

beauty comes in many more forms then

what we expose to the public. I am beau-

tiful and I believe that there are many

beautiful women to which I can give a

voice.

Ego: Talk to us about the decision

you’ve made recently. we saw photos of

you with your hair cut really really short,

but you’re wearing a hat. Did you shave

your head, or is this a big chop, to start

a fresh with your natural hair texture?

What inspired you to go natural again?

Chrisette: My hair and I had a really bad

argument. She was being sprayed with

alcohol and burnt with irons. She was

being over processed and yanked and

pulled by weave strings and suffocated

by glue. She told me if I didn’t straighten

up and fly right that she was leaving. I

was out on tour, and day after day of this

torturous regimen I began to feel like I

was hurting myself. I wasn’t being fair to

my body. I was ingesting and supporting

harsh products and literally ruining my-

self beginning with my hair. I told my

band

“The honest truth is you

wonder if you’ll get the

same attention if you don’t

look like everyone else”.

42


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