I know the news about Erykah Badu's dreds being fake is old, but it's still bothering me. This is because I'm still an Erykah fan no matter what, but none of my friends are anymore. No matter what they say I'll still love her music and technically that is all I've ever really loved because I don't know her personally, but I could'nt get anyone close to me to check out her concert in Toronto. So I was a loner, and I still am in defending her, knowing that they are right.

Being that everyone on my fathers side of my family and all his friends are Rastafarians, I see how seriously they take their religion, to them it means a lot more than just a 'hair do' or a 'fashion statement'. Although I am not a Rasta myself, I agree that there is so much more to being a Rasta than just dreds. I chose to ignore what Erykah Badu did until I read in the most recent 'black hair' magazine a quote of her saying basically "What's the big deal, there are lots of people running around with fake hair, fake everything. But I'm for real, and people know that". That bothered me because there is just a certain ritiousness that comes from a true Ras, and it is not just another hair do. I respected her because I admired the fact that a Rasta could get so far, getting through the struggles they go through from both white and black people.

I know this should'nt bother me so much, but I am probably the biggest Erykah Badu fan, am I taking this too far, is there a true rastafarian out there that this does'nt bother?

from the perspective of each place i've lived

i dunno about philly, but i think in dc dreads are just another hairstyle-- of course to some it will always mean a lot more, but they're in the minority-


==**peace**==

"Words without work is not enough." Sizzla

There is more danger in the word exotic than in a sharpened machete --me

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DPP; DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

.....

"Who need fossil fuel when the sun ain't goin' nowhere"
- Amiri Baraka

http://www.okayplayer.com/guidelines

BUY MY BOOK- only $6! Inbox me for details

>i dunno about philly, but i
>think in dc dreads are
>just another hairstyle-- of course
>to some it will always
>mean a lot more, but
>they're in the minority-


Religion in general has become a fashion statement. It does not really bother me till someone has no clue what the symbol/article means and is just wearing it to be cool or instyle.

For starters take the wiccan religion. At one time if you were part of that religion you would be killed. Now I see trendy mall stores selling pentagrams to 11 year old girls who are buying it to be in. Look at tv shows like Charmed and Sabrina I think it is giving false information on a religion. If it was the christian religion would it be taken so lightly?

I really do not subscribe to one religion. I pick and choose. It bothers some but I am living life for me. Not to please others.

-K

someone in my high school used a quote from "the wiccan code" on his yearbook page! He seemed more like a warlock than a follower though.

Mesnjah

I could go on and on the full has never been told ~ Buju Banton

what do Wiccans profess to believe in?
What's their outlook on life?



"People think they make music, still/ when music is there without you or me, we just manipulate/ for better or worse, so let it situate"- Deltron

"upgrade your brain matter... 'cause one day, it may matter!"- Deltron

thats one of those issues that you just gotta decide about. erykah never claimed rastafari to my knowledge, and i know dreds are serious to rastafari but i don't think they plan on keepin em for themselves. are they just upset cuz the dreds were fake or because erykah aint bo rastafarian?

________________________________________
-knead dough?? hit us up at-www.makindatbread.com
-representin the real since tuesday
-illified illustrated.word.fresh.

*get Lewis Taylor cd's here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000006TEI/o/qid=983465806/sr=8-2/026-0085729-5341211

much cheaper than the regular amazon (they charge $30 bucks) you'll pay 12pounds here which converts to less than $15 bucks.

"flower child, rasta sytle" is a line off Mama's Gun.

And her knowing what dreads mean to that religion does make it a slap in the face. so i agree..


peace..


still does not take away from her music...

https://twitter.com/onnextlevel

MAn i get ya I' a bald rasta an dit's kinda tricky. People have put so much infesis on loxs,and weed that maybe Rasta is lost some times....

I feel ya, but who am I to judge the next women, or man faith

Maybe she had a problem

I id, thats why I ain't got no hair

Peace you'll be a Rasta soon,

Jahlife

outa wi yard! The two of we some bald Ras's! Bless up jahlife!

Mesnjah

I could go on and on the full has never been told ~ Buju Banton

And they weren't the first. Locs do not = Rastafarian religion. Locs are a style rastafarians choose to link to their spiritual beliefs....all blacks who loc didn't & don't subscribe to them

Also, across the diaspora we frequently added length & style to our locs & hair by adding wool and other forms of extensions. To make many of the elaborate braiding styles that have been around for centuries, you have to add "hair" or other materials.

Erykah didn't do anything that wasn't done by Queens in Egypt, for example.

She may have said it at one time but I don't ever remember hearing her claim to be a Rasta. I listen to *a lot* of Rasta inspired music, and very few artists who claim Rasta actually live the life 100%. Sizzla, Capleton and others do practice aspects of the religion and lifestyle but they still act in ways a true Rasta would not. Furthermore dreads are very popular for non-Rastas, as guerilla love said, and there are a lot of people for whom they are just a hairstyle. I've read a lot about dreadlocks and understand the history and symbolism behind them and I think those who wear them should be informed about what they symbolize, and the statements they may be appropriating by wearing dreads and not living as a Rasta. To me, dreads do not a Rasta mek! Even though I'm white I identify strongly with Rastafarianism, and use it as a guide in my life. I don't have dreads though nor do I smoke ganja, and these are the only elements of the faith and culture most people know of, not ital eating, not meditation, not challenging babylon, not cleansing your heart and mind, and not treating your fellow man and woman as inherently valuable. If Erykah actively said she was Rasta, and made a big deal about it, I would be bothered by her faking the locks, but since I don't remember her making such a statement it doesn't bother me. She still makes great, inspirational music and I'll continue to respect her for that regardless.

"Ain't every nigga with dreads for the cause, ain't every nigga with golds for the fall" (c) Outkast

Mesnjah

I could go on and on the full has never been told ~ Buju Banton

But as far as I'm concerned,

WHO CARES?

These people whose music we listen to are highly blessed, talented individuals, but they are only HUMAN. I'm tired of questions like this...

Granted, Ms. Badu seems to have a lot of knowledge and has obviously done some serious study in her lifetime, but still, she's human & therefore bound to make some mistakes (if you consider this to be one).

I understand that dreads have a certain significance to Rastas and others (and to myself as well)...but maybe Erykah was trying to make a point, i.e., "I wonder if they're gonna hate on me 'cause I made a bad hair choice?"

Follow your own path.

L.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"my mama said/a lady ain't what she wears/but what she knows"~~India Arie

Ignorance: The Verbal Airborne Disease" (c) my friend Ty

~~~~
http://omidele.blogspot.com/
http://rahareiki.tumblr.com/
http://seatofbliss.blogspot.com/

"Ill cold cut that ass if you dont gimme my sammich!!!" RemyMartin


Nuwb or "blackness" is supreme balance before the chaos was introduced. It was a state of sound, right reasoning. That darkness was triple darkness, which is what you would call the absence of consciousness, or the state of being awoke. In actuality, the dream state is more real and peaceful than the chaos you meet once you are awake. A form of spiritual darkness responsible for the spark that turned on the light that is the life and intellect of all who breathe and think.
When the light is turned on again, the chaos begins. The differentiation begins. The separation begins. The rights and the wrongs, the goodness and the badness; the supreme balance is broken and the ego begins to verse the "I."

what make's erykah's dread lox fake? was it the fact that they consisted primarily of hair that she did not grow? fake as an adjective is synonomous with counterfeit, but anyone and everyone knew immediately when Erykah sported the lox that they were extensions. she did not try to pass her hair off as authentic nor did she try to pass herself off as rastafaian.

hose to say rastafarianism has anything against the incorporation of othr things into one's own hair. Any true Rastafarian would not be offended by Erykah for what she did. A person in touch with their own spirit leads by example and learns to be compassionate towards those who do not understand or share their faith. The only person who would take Erykah' actions as mocking Rastafarianism would be some zealot who has culture confused with spirituality.

And thirdly, when did Rastafarians get a copyright on dread locks. The last time I checked almost every form of locks (including dread locks) (except for the sister/brother lox) pre-date Rastafarianism. I don't see how a religion has the right to appropriate a hairstyle and then dictate that the world follow that. That is almost as silly as a member of alpha phi alpha being upset by someone using the 'skaka' hand symbol (the hang loose thing they do down in hawaii) because they appropriated the same hand gesture in the form of the 'yo'. I have seen alphas make a stink over that and they know about as much about their organization as a rastafarian who makes a stink over someone who locks their hair. if its sacred to you, that is okay but if you choose to be angered by another culture that does not share your belief in what is sacred then that is your problem. When was the last time you saw some Hindus upset about the beef industry in America? Do beef eating Americans mock them? Do pork eating people mock Jewish and Muslim culture?

i can't believe i went into this kind of detail for such a trivial discussion

peace

h20

>I know the news about Erykah
>Badu's dreds being fake is
>old, but it's still bothering
>me. This is because I'm
>still an Erykah fan no
>matter what, but none of
>my friends are anymore. No
>matter what they say I'll
>still love her music and
>technically that is all I've
>ever really loved because I
>don't know her personally, but
>I could'nt get anyone close
>to me to check out
>her concert in Toronto. So
>I was a loner, and
>I still am in defending
>her, knowing that they are
>right.
>
>Being that everyone on my fathers
>side of my family and
>all his friends are Rastafarians,
>I see how seriously they
>take their religion, to them
>it means a lot more
>than just a 'hair do'
>or a 'fashion statement'. Although
>I am not a Rasta
>myself, I agree that there
>is so much more to
>being a Rasta than just
>dreds. I chose to ignore
>what Erykah Badu did until
>I read in the most
>recent 'black hair' magazine a
>quote of her saying basically
>"What's the big deal, there
>are lots of people running
>around with fake hair, fake
>everything. But I'm for real,
>and people know that". That
>bothered me because there is
>just a certain ritiousness that
>comes from a true Ras,
>and it is not just
>another hair do. I respected
>her because I admired the
>fact that a Rasta could
>get so far, getting through
>the struggles they go through
>from both white and black
>people.
>
>I know this should'nt bother me
>so much, but I am
>probably the biggest Erykah Badu
>fan, am I taking this
>too far, is there a
>true rastafarian out there that
>this does'nt bother?


Top Five Reasons Not to vote for George W. Bush

5. Foreign policy schmoreign policy. He can't even pronounce Milosovic much less denounce him.

4. His desire to be President and perform the duties his father once held is a definite indication of an Oedipus complex. G-Dub wants to replace his Daddy and sleep with his mother....Barbara Bush! Yuck! Monica Lewinsky's starting to look aight.

3. Will probably blame public perception that federal executions have skyrocketed on 'fuzzy math'.

2. Avoid nuclear war. Don't want him getting caught calling Russian President an arsehole at his inaugural address believing the microphones are off.

1. The same reason they shouldnt have sent Pookie to infiltrate the Carter in New Jack City. Coke-head in the WHITE HOUSE....yeah 100% Peruvian white house. Do you know how embarassing it could be if a big coke booger falls out at one of those head-of-state dinners? And you thought his Daddy puking all over the prime minister of Japan was bad.

h20
-------------------------------------------------
if hip hop ever dies...it will be the day that all of us who fell in love with a new sound that was like nothing we ever heard before stop wanting to be challenged. the day those of us who nurtured

Rastas did not invent, nor were they the first to wear their hair in so-called "Dred" locks. Check your history and you will see locks all over Africa, India, Asia etc. throughout history for both fashion and religious reasons. Rastafarians have brought locks more into the spotlight, but they do not own the rights to them. Just because someone wears their hair in locks does not mean that they are a Rasta, that they are concious-minded, that they are a vegetarian, etc.

We must be careful of our generalizations that they do not make us generals leading the army of ignorance.






"SO POWERFUL IS THE LIGHT OF UNITY THAT IT CAN ILLUMINATE THE WHOLE EARTH."
--Baha'u'llah

---
http://beantownbrown.blogspot.com/
http://www.itsjusthair.com/
http://twitter.com/indigginus
http://bahai.us/

>Rastas did not invent, nor were
>they the first to wear
>their hair in so-called "Dred"
>locks. Check your history
>and you will see locks
>all over Africa, India, Asia
>etc. throughout history for both
>fashion and religious reasons.
>Rastafarians have brought locks more
>into the spotlight, but they
>do not own the rights
>to them.

good point. You are right they did not invent them, just popularized them in this part of the world. And I don't think Rastas would claim the exclusive rights to locks, that would be unlike them. Our Caribbean Students Association at school had an interesting discussion on locks and rastafari this fall, and interestingly the few rastas we have were not at all opposed to others dreading their hair, but some non-Rastas insisted that it was disrespectful of what rasta stands for and amounted to appropriation (especially when non-blacks locked their hair).

One thing that is unfortunate is that in the media and popular culture it seems that locks have gotten a bad reputation, that we associate them with criminality. This reflects poorly on rastafarians, as the most prevalent group who wear locks, and are sometimes perceived to be violent criminals. There was this incident in St. Lucia earlier this year where some men with locks terrorized a church and killed two people, and when the subject came up with a teacher of mine I had to do a lot of explaining that Rastas are non-violent and that these were probably not rastas who attacked the church. I would guess that most people associate a lot of stereotypes with Rastas but have not read much about them or reasoned with them first.

Mesnjah

I could go on and on the full has never been told ~ Buju Banton

>We must be careful of our
>generalizations that they do not
>make us generals leading the
>army of ignorance.

& that might have to go in my signature

L.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"my mama said/a lady ain't what she wears/but what she knows"~~India Arie

Ignorance: The Verbal Airborne Disease" (c) my friend Ty

~~~~
http://omidele.blogspot.com/
http://rahareiki.tumblr.com/
http://seatofbliss.blogspot.com/

taleia b.k.a. abztract a.k.a. abztractthefemalelyricist now.k.a.mizzabztractsol

Well I am not a Rastafarian, but could you tell me a little bit about what the religion is based on?

One

bismillah

she never claimed to be a rasta. i think she is a 5%er or part of the nation of gods and earths. that is how she carries herself.

as far as the dreads go, there are certain members of the hindu religion that are "ascetic(sp?)" and they have dreads. and we all know the hindu reigion has been around for awile.


Allah says about Truth and Falsehood in The Qur'an:
21:18 Nay! We hurl The Truth against falsehood, and it knocks out it's brain, and behold, falsehood perishes! Ah! woe be to you for the false things you ascribe.

Allah says about Man in The Qur'an:
10:12 When trouble toucheth a man, He crieth unto Us (in all postures)- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have solved his trouble, he passeth on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him! thus do the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes!
10:19 Mankind was but one nation, but differed (later). Had it not been for a word that went forth before from thy Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.
10:22 He it is Who enableth you to traverse through land and sea; so that ye even board ships;- they sail with them with a favourable wind, and they rejoice thereat; then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think they are being overwhelmed: they cry unto Allah, sincerely offering (their) duty unto Him saying, "If thou dost deliver us from this, we shall truly show our gratitude!"
10:23 But when he delivereth them, behold! they transgress insolently through the earth in defiance of right! O mankind! your insolence is against your own souls,- an enjoyment of the life of the present: in the end, to Us is your return, and We shall show you the truth of all that ye did.

subhakallahumma wabihamdika ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta astaghfiruka wa attuubu ilaika

THANK YOU!!!

I know people convert every day but Erykah's first album was straight preaching for the 5% nation! I know that on Mama's Gun she does use the words "Rasta style" but those words in and of themself declare it as a style and not a way of life.

Thank you also to the person that acknowledged the
Judeo-Christian roots of Rastafarianism. People always view Rastafarianism as "new" and "popular" and "trendy" as if set adrift in a sea of the currently fashionable like capri pants and gold teeth. Rastafarianism is a philosophy with deep roots and many branches and deserves more respect than a fad.

No, I am not a Rastafarian but I have utmost respect for anyone seeking a personal relationship with God and truth.

Also, I have been listening to Mama's Gun and although it is all introspective and vulnerable (I FEEL her in so many ways) she kinda avoided religion here but I see a few of the 5% stuff is in there...water, orange moon, and I'm sure you can dig up more if you can find your album jacket. ANYWAYS my point is that the album is evidence that she is finding herself so why hate the search?

so I don't think she's "claiming" much of anything...

just speaking from what she knows

L.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"my mama said/a lady ain't what she wears/but what she knows"~~India Arie

Ignorance: The Verbal Airborne Disease" (c) my friend Ty

~~~~
http://omidele.blogspot.com/
http://rahareiki.tumblr.com/
http://seatofbliss.blogspot.com/

We've been doing that for centuries too...

Okay, as far as I know dreads are a religious thing, not a fashion statement. If that's so, then wearing dreads is like wearing a yarmulke (the little jewish skullcaps). If those ever became "in style" Jews would go crazy, America would go crazy. But non-rasta dread wearing is okay??? Why is that?


*****

Niggas just don't know, fuck around with me and I'll smack ya hoe!
-- Arkham Asylum *as seen on audiogalaxy*

Bitches just can't figga, fuck around with me and I'll smack ya nigga
-- Arkham Asylum groupies *as seen in our bedrooms*

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left and four lefts make a circle.

If you have Audiogalaxy and five minutes go get that Arkham Asylum ish!

-I like the ring covered in fire, thumbtacks and livewire...every match is Last Man Standing to force me to retire..

The Rastas were not the first people on earth to wear locks..Do the research and leave her the F*%K alone about that...She's an artist and that's the bottom line. I'm so tired of reading bullshit on these boards. You have a right to your to voice your feelings, but who among us is perfect? I'll tell you...................NOONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

You don't impress me!!




RIP Reggie...I love you!! http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb449/Mynewstuff2011/RegLover.jpg



https://www.instagram.com/hawkcomedy/

As a yardie I fell like this issue is a simple one. We have a movement going on at home whereby the Rasta community lead by Morgan Heritage and some members of 12 tribes, are trying to shift the focus of rasta away from locks. However to me this is the opposite the Erykah tragedy, they are saying: from your heart right locks nuh needed, while Erykah needed the locks for her image at the time but her heart was never right according Rastafarianism.

Obviously you can not denounce someone for this fairly trivial mistake. On the other hand, I am sorry she used such poor judgement here. (you too Lenny Kravitz, cutting off your covenant).

For all those who are like "whatever, look how many people just views locks as a fashion statement" I say that may be so but how does that change whether she should have worn fake locks to boost her image. Regardless of popular opinion she was highly insensitive to the Rasta population.

Lastly, for all those who rightly claim that Rastas were not the first person to sport locks....True. however you must admit that they were the first to make it a recognizable cultural symbol. Furthermore, Erykah was wearing them to sport a "rasta style" (she says this on Mama's gun) and not some other ancient east african ritual.

Blessed Love.

...when did Erykah become a rasta? Just cause a person wears a hairstyle does not automatically an afillate of 1 religion - espescially nowadays. Ain't nuttin sacred. Your arguments are vaild, unfortunatly, dreds/locks are now a popular hairstyle in todays urban culture.

To dismiss an artist b/c of his/her chioce of hairstyle is bogus. Seems to me, ppl only jocked her b/c of her appearence and not b/c of her talent. We gotta keep in mind, artist are ppl to - ppl change and artist do too.

If D decides to get a perm and he continues to hold it down, you better believe I will still be the first one @ the store buying his album(even if it takes another decade!)

go 'head...feel some type way!

Goldenlotus
*******************

i was one of the folks all over erykah when i found out her locs were fake. i wasn't coming at it from a religious point of view but as a the image making point of view. the locs were used as a marketing ploy that played into her image.

but i too can acknowledge how she has evolved. on mama's gun she beared her soul and she showed her vulnerability. she has also went bald. unlike the locs, i think she went bald for herself as part of her evolution. but then again i might be reading too much into her going bald too.

but just like the rest of the world she is not perfect and she has insecurities. hair among big women is a big thing and for some poeple they don't care what the style as long as it is long and a lot of it. when she said that she is fine with herself, i now think that she is fine with herself, baldy badu and all. which i think that she is rocking the bald head very nicely.

the first album was all about the image, it was all about five percenter knowledge and other metaphysical teachings she had learned. but this second album and the shedding of the lox, is about her. it's about her looking herself in the mirror and doing her thing. unlike the first album it's not about selling records b/c this album didn't catch on like the first album and people ain't feeling erykah on mama's gun. folks expected a tyrone type album but she came correct with herself, and musically it is tighter than baduizm could ever have been.

but just like with martin luther king jr. i can seperate the man from the mission. i can also seperate the woman from her music.

that's just my two cent......
--------sig-----------
Monthly BOOK DISCUSSION in OkayActivist
March 12th pages 1-162
March 26th pages 162-328
Conintelpro Papers by Ward Churchil and Jim Vander Wall

April 24th
The Haunting fo HipHop: a novel by Bertice Berry
GET YO READ ON .........
------------
If U WANNA ACTIVATE, contact ChicagoActivist
Email us: chicagoactivist@africana.com
Check out the website:
http://chicagoactivist.cjb.net/
Call us: 1-312-777-4001 ext 4409
NEXT MEETING TBA
~~~~~~~~~
nappiness is next to Godliness!!!!!!
Ms. Nappiness
----------
http://www.geocities.com/okay_poets/begin.html

---------------
Veronica-Precious
'Moon'

Check out my publishing company
UnSilenced Woman Press
www.unsilencedwomanpress.com


AquaMoon
Aqua Beats and Moon Verses: Volume I
http://www.spokenexistence.com/aqua_moon.html

but then again, i look at Rasta as a divine culture; religiously it's a Christian denomination. erykah just "made a wrong turn back there somewhere" as far as portryaing an image, but overall, regardless of hair i think she's a pretty good artist. i think she sacrificed her image by rooting in the first place due to the statements behind them and possibly due to pressure and other factors of stress she cut them. that has nothing to do with her as a person or an artist. you don't have to be dread to be Rasta; it's a concept of the heart, and since i don't know her personally i can't call what's in there.

This would have been SOOOO much more appropriate (aparticularly since it has been discussed before in many different ways (hair as a symbol, definitions of men/women based upon looks, whether locks or dreads -- however you choose to refer -- are religious or merely a hairstyle, and on and on, no pun intended)) on both the general and lesson boards.

once again, i snooze, i lose.

------QUOTE STARTS HERE------
BooDaah-OkayActivist Moderator
(see Candy1's sig about what that means)
** PLEASE READ THE POSTING GUIDELINES:
http://www.okayplayer.com/guidelines.html
-----------------------------
Sister SheRise's Activist Stew Recipe:
Step1:inform yourself step/Step2:inform others/Step3:discuss the problem/Step4: DISCUSS SOLUTIONS/Step5:EXECUTE SOLUTIONS/Step6:evaluate the results/Step7:start over at 1 until desired result is accomplished.
-----------------------------
"What are we as African Americans? Let's really examine how we are contributing to the projection of our own images of ourselves. What are we really willing to give up? Our integrity? The honor of our community, just for some money? "-Jada

Blessed Love,

I dont think she ever said that she was a Rasta. She likened her "style" to that of a Rasta Queen but never vowed herslf to be (unless I missed something, let me know).

I was not all that bothered. I was a little suprised but not disturbed. I think she has a clean heart. I know dreads and those claiming to be Ras(look the part) but upon getting to know them truely just turned out to be fakes. Fakes as far as truthfulness in thier being. Some people don't know who they are and are usally trying to be someone or something theyr'e not. I dont get that vibe from Badu.

I had to chop off my locks because it was time to, thats all a very personal and spiritual thing when a person does that. Any Rasta can tell you that.

Did i go all over the place? Im trying to get better with that.




______________________________________
Open Your 3rd Eye
http://www.geocities.com/kisszion/cleansing.html
~Or~
http://members.blackplanet.com/ZionzFire

"We gonna put camera's in the back, and take the rear-view out" - Fabulous

I know there is a sect of Tibetan buddhists who dreadlock their hair as well, it is not exclusive to Rastas.

res->one

Life is like Tarzan, hangin from a thin vine- the Wally Champ

-----------------------

Also, if you research African hair and practices many cultures on the continent put things like lambs wool in thier(the MASAI) hair among other things.

Also, how do Rastas look at a man who is completely bald due to natural hair loss or chemotherapy(spelling?).

Badu covered her hair, disguised it, then chopped it off. Maybe it is curiousity that is killing these kats.

it's def a delicate issue. rasta is foremost in the mind, and though locks are undeniably important, locks cannot be equated with rasta. indian sadus grew locks to manifest their spirituality before rasta was a religion. given the state of contemporary cultural mixing, locks have taken on different meanings for different people, some legitimate, and some just superficial. unless erykah was claiming to be ras with fake locks i don't think she is mocking rastafari. as long as she has legit personal beliefs grown into her locks they are real for her.

I have locks and I believe that they should be naturally formed. Every lock a sun ray eminating my light. Its bad enough that some are so vain as to twist and beauty shop their so called locs, but to first of all put fake or other human hair to your hair, then fashion it to look natural, why not just be natural.

What the hell is wrong with being natural from the inside out, outside in. The length of "locs" she had one must earn. When I look at loc's and length I envision wisdom, growth, thinking out of the BOX, so does that mean her wisdom is fake? I'm not saying it is but it makes you wonder and question what is real, what is important.

What is the message here?

What really got me was when the brother on her album said she was pure and true. Pure and true, Pure what?

ok said enough for now...

There's no love like revolutionary
love!!! I'm waiting for the Black MAN to
stand up and be the soldier he was
meant to be.....check out
http://www.soulsista.net &
http://www.illpoets.com

CHECK OUT!!!
http://welcome.to/OkayPoets
SOULSISTA BABY!!!
OkayPoets in the House!!!!

All praises to the Ansestors that light my way though the darkness

www.illpoets.com

Erykah had fake dreads, so now she isn't real! And she's got to be dissing rastafarians, because theirs are real! And of course all Rastafarians are legitimate(yeah, right) and hones about their beliefs. Oh, no! Let's boycott and not buy her album!

Please, people, it's hair, it's not that serious. There are a lot more pressing issues out there. End of reality check.

"You're here, I'm pleased" Jilly from Philly

Sites that I contribute to:

http://www.livefrommemphis.com

http://www.geeksofdoom.com

Not for nothing, but it seems like folks read into stuff too much. What if a cat just decides to NOT comb his hair? The decision doesn't have to be religious or philosophical. It can just BE. Then one day he decides to cut it...and then what? Is having an Afro today and shaving it tomorrow a dis to the Black Power movement?

I agree with anyone observing that simplicity. The same can be said of people putting ink on their bodies and branding. To SOME that is DEEPLY rooted in culture and tribal traditions. Where are those that are outraged by that? There are none that I have heard of because nobody OVERTHINKS that. I could care less about it, but I think it is just a question of how a person chooses to adorn him or herself. It doesn't have to be about style.

I have over 10 pieces on my body. They all mean something to me just as that woman's hair (past and present) means something to her. She has the luxury of hair not being permanent.

That is my answer to the original post. Be well.

(Put signature here that is either funny only to me or shamelessly promoting something that I do and not another person likes besides me (even my momma and my band don't like it 'eiver'-fo real-they hate it-seriously-they told me so)- That Bitter Dude From South Beach

http://www.thesquareegg.com

http://www.mp3.com/thesquareegg

Its a shame...i have to say I'm hatin on her a little for havin dreds fake or not and then cutting them off...but for people who seem to have knowledge you guys are missing valid points...many many religions (including the traditional ones ie Islam Christianity ect...) have points or transitional times when cleansing is not only appropriate but required...and through that the cutting of ones hair can be the supreme statement to a higher power...hair is also the carrier of energies good and bad...to become a priestess a witch (in the real form) or any other kind or eathly tradition some sects demand that the hair is shorn...if she felt (and excuse me for trying to think like her) her hair was constructed of illness and decay it needed to be cut...even a true ras is bald at birth and maybe this is a rebirth for her...plus sista just went through some tough ish....childbirth her relationship falling the issues with her album she may feel like she was called upon to do this....Peace

WOW!!!!

Its sad when a Way of Life takes a backseat to an artist(celebrity). Amerika(babylon) has given Us a F@cked up value System.


"If You cant stand for somethin', You will fall for anything"

Haven't posted for some time, just reading through, and I must say, I agree totally. First post i've felt for a while.

"REAL RECOGNIZE REAL, and even more than that, the fake, they REALLY REALLY recognize REAL!" -BlackThought

i know that religion is making a mockery of us. that's the thing, so many of our people (and i include myself) get caught up in the "if your hair ain't real, you ain't real) syndrome... and that's so untrue... untrue because, hell, there is no set definition of what REAL is... my reality is totally different from the next god or goddess. if it's not invading personal physical space, leave it alone... we're supposed to be working for the good of our global community, but we can't get passed material possesions and physical apperances...

~Wake 'em da f*ck up, is what da mudda say~ goddess soula e

Peace unto your soul and much knowledge to your mental, pray for our people.