A woman’s hair is VERY important to me. Not as much as in the past, growing up. However, it is still very important due to the whole vanity issue behind it. Needless to say how much weight is placed on a woman’s hair… I just prefer her to embrace herself as much as possible… regardless natural or not. The further she is to the ‘conformed’ though, the more I’d prefer her to keep her hair TIGHT! No mess ups… Don’t like it.

 

Photos from Model Mayhem

Name:Raa

Occupation: Visual Artist

Homepage/blog:  www.handofraa.com

Who is your Favorite model?
Iman… Tyson (only b/c he’s a brotha from my hometown that made it THAT big)

What is your favorite book?
A few actually, but to name one for now….”As A Man Thinketh”

What is your favorite movie?
…Hard to just pick one… I’ll go with the most recent: “Chronicle”

Why did you become a model and what is your goal as a model?         

Because if ‘they’ can do it, why can’t I? My goal is to go as far as possible ‘as the title “model” goes.

How important is your hair as a model? Why do you choose to wear your hair the way you do?

Not so easy to say. As a ‘model’ it’s all about looks so one must choose carefully how they’d like to represent themselves. I simply DO NOT wish to look like everyone else who’s not an (recording) artist, that’s trying to get somewhere. Most dudes that aren’t ‘artists’ -such a cliche term- have low haircuts… All preppy with it, or just ‘non-threatening’. F*** that. I’ve done enough conforming growing up. Not that having locks distinguishes me THAT much. However, it’s low maintenance and keeps the money where it belongs.

 

Photo from Model Mayhem

 

What does your hair mean to you? Is it just an accessory that compliments your personality and style or is it deeper than that?

My hair means Culture. ‘My People’. My lineage to this earth, as that of something natural and divine all intertwined as one single hair spirals and falls into one perfect circle. It’s a symbol of my inner, thus outer, perfection. You can’t deny ‘tha schience, shon!’ LOL …. lil NYC humor. Real talk though. Naturally cushy and all! ‘This hair’ is visibly evident of ‘divine design’.

How important is a woman’s hair to you? Does a weave, relaxed hair or a natural head bother you or do you have a preference for either of these styles?

VERY. Not as much as in the past, growing up. However, it is still very important due to the whole vanity issue behind it. Needless to say how much weight is placed on a woman’s hair… I just prefer her to embrace herself as much as possible… regardless natural or not. The further she is to the ‘conformed’ though, the more I’d prefer her to keep her hair TIGHT! No mess ups… Don’t like it. I hate weaves enough as is… the least you can do is keep that hair together… Just how artificial grass looks crappy when it’s patchy.. neglected… Not ‘Dun’ Right!… Yeah… Same with Tha Harr..

Is the texture of a woman’s hair important to you?And length? 

Let’s see if I can be succinct with this one.

Short Hair -have a good head shape. Know your hairstyles, like you should know the best clothes to wear. Some may work for you, some may not. (Same with guys, no exclusion)

I personally appreciate most varying forms of women, so hair texture isn’t always an issue. I like the nappy… I like the nearly straight. …Actually, not a fan of [naturally] bone straight hair, though. Flat-ironed and all that, sure… It’s just the ‘fakeness’ I have issues with… uggh… Just keep it real, whatever it is you do with it… My only requisite. Or Be Damn Good At it!

Do you feel that Black Hair is an issue? Why or Why not?

To know a ‘problem’ it helps to know what the [root] is. Needless to say we all know where this straight hair came from, for ‘us’, in North America. We weren’t trying to imitate, nor emulate our other African cousins with naturally looser-than, or straight hair. So… Yea. “black hair”, as you say, is an issue, for a lot of people still. Do you see the President sportin’ a fro? Not even a ‘safe-leveled’ one like Rev. Jesse Jackson has? Didn’t think so. Thankfully a lot of us are moving passed a lot of repressed feelings and are coming into our own ‘skin’ or spirit I should say, by now giving our children more ‘ethno-centric’ derived names… Not Sue, Mary, Rick and Cliff… Now, it’s more acceptable to have a blue-collar and even white-collar jobs with a small Fro, or well groomed locks… Things are changing for the better in an external visible way…