Afrobella of the Month — Najwa Moses, Styleaholic and Icon-in-the-making

Najwa Moses is striking. Najwa Moses is bold. Najwa Moses lives her life full speed ahead. She’s working hard towards making herself a brand, and from the interview we had a week or so ago, I’m convinced she knows what she’s doing.

She’s a podcaster, a videopodcaster, a writer, a fashionista, a marketing maven, a self promoter, a fashion do, and an unabashed fashion don’t all at the same time. And in this era of changing media, she’s one of my new heroines. I caught up with her in a fun phone interview recently, and we chatted about anything and everything.

One of Najwa’s first roles in fashion was doing business development for a not-for-profit organization through the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “My job was to help promote the work of local designers, helping them get to trade shows, helping them do numbers, PR, whatever whatever. One of the first things I created was called a shopping party. All these shopping parties — Shecky’s, Gen Art, all of them were quote-unquote “inspired” by the concept I came up with,” she declared proudly.

“Wow,” I interjected.

“I know, right! I don’t get credit for that? When you’re 20 years old or 21 years old and you don’t have a big company with lots of money behind you… when you put something out that’s a novelty idea, you’re really leaving it out there for other people to pick up. And that’s unfortunate. But I’ve learned, and you know what, they can’t take creativity away.”

That pick yourself up, dust yourself off attitude has taken her from strength to strength. Najwa’s shopping party was called The Closet, and it involved a lot of indie designers who weren’t aware of their potential. She started the event in 2001, and she learned as she went along. “I understand how things work a little bit better now.”

The last time they held the event was in 2005. At the time, she was also writing for NPR, covering New York Fashion Week, and immersing herself in the culture of style. Still, she found herself yearning to do her own thing. “That’s when I learned about podcasting. It was like — you want your own radio show? Come learn about podcasting. I was like, hell yeah! Jumped into it, did a bunch of great audio interviews, got a brand new website and I was like, oh no, this website must have video. I lost my mind, forgetting how expensive video is,” she laughs. Her website is Styleaholics, and it’s as fabulous as you would expect.

Najwa’s got a lot of personality, and she talks at the speed of traffic in New York City. For example, she had me cracking up when I listened to this Showbuzz podcast, where she recounts visiting Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Pioneering forms of new media doesn’t come cheap, but Najwa’s trying to be savvy about it. Now she has her own YouTube channel, where she features her videopodcast “The In List.” She’s interviewed fashion icons and fabulous celebrities including Diane Von Furstenberg, Kelis, and Marc Ecko (I don’t know what it is, but I find him completely fascinating). She’s starting to make some commercial inroads, too — check her out pimping the Toyota Camry at one of her fashion events. It’s all part of her brand-building master plan.

“I cross many worlds. I don’t just stick with the black fashionista world, or the fashionista world. I am also into the music scene, the food scene, very international high end stuff, or very underground scenes. I think I represent many different types of people and subcultures.” No kidding. In addition to the podcasts, videos, and writing for sites like AOL’s Styleist and Bluefly, Najwa is also the ambassador for Ugly Talent NY, a character model agency started in 1969 that exclusively traffics in “interesting” faces. Multicultural? Old? Tatted up? Obese? Or generally unusual? Ugly NY is looking for you. “The models range from a 300lb Sumo wrestler to a Styleaholic like myself-and I’ve personally have never been happier to be UGLY,” says Najwa.

Which brings me to another defining trait of Najwa’s. Her style. I had to ask her what’s up with that defining look. “My style is just really eclectic. I’m always a little left of fashion, and at the same time, I have to pay attention to that and understand that not everyone will look at me and say oh my God, that’s brilliant. For me, it’s about creating a statement and making sure everyone is noticing me. Because you want to make sure when you walk into an event, all eyes are on you. And in New York City, there’s a lot of people for eyes to be on.”

Believe it or not, being a plus size chick who dresses flamboyantly is working for her. “I’m not a size two. People well say oh my God, is that a detraction? But you know what, it actually helps me. Because it’s like, who is that curvy girl with those big ass boobs and that big ass hair coming in here? You can’t help but notice me. And I’m confident. And I believe in the designers I’m wearing, so it is what it is. Even this year, I’m like, how can I go crazier?”

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Tune In!

I’m so excited! Yours truly will be featured as part of the Blogger’s Roundtable on NPR’s News and Notes today.

Tune in and tell me what you think!

Afrobella, Interviewed

Today yours truly was on NPR’s News and Notes for like, five minutes. Click here to listen — I come in towards the end of the exchange. I was super nervous and very excited, can you tell?? I wish circumstances allowed me to be on for the entire roundtable, I had a LOT to contribute to the earlier discussion of Nas’ alleged album title, which his record label denies. Perhaps there will be another time. Fingers crossed. Much thanks and respect to Afrobella of the Month Farai Chideya for the opportunity!
I was also featured in an interview on Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot. Geoffrey is a well respected Jamaican writer who has won numerous writing awards and nominations for his work. He lives in Miami, and his blog really captures the pulse of the local literary scene.

I was extremely honored to be featured in both of these interviews, and I’m proud to share them with you!

Clutch Features Afrobella!

Yours truly is being featured this month on Clutch Magazine! I love Clutch, and I’m honored to be interviewed. Check it out and tell me what you think!!

Full Figured Fabulous

Most of you probably saw this photo of the current case of Mo’Nique’s F.A.T Chance making its way around the gossip blogosphere in July.

From the second I saw that photo pop up on sites like Perez Hilton and TMZ, I steeled myself for horrible comments. If you’re at all sensitive about weight issues, those comments will hit you like a slap to the face. I won’t give them the honor of quoting any of them, but I read some horrible generalizations about size and black women, a variety of incredibly cruel fat jokes, and many remarks about how the program is “promoting obesity.” I beg to differ. Anyone who has watched Mo’Nique’s F.A.T Chance knows that the point of the show is to uplift the self-esteem of women who aren’t typically celebrated as beautiful in society. It has nothing to do with exploting the participants or celebrating an unhealthy lifestyle. And if you don’t believe me, I asked somebody.

The bella directly below Mo’Nique in the pink body paint is 23 year old Arena Turner, a former sixth-grade since teacher who taught at a middle school in North Miami and hails from the outskirts of Liberty City. I was lucky enough to interview her for my job, because she was hosting a local screening event for the show’s first episode. And just like Mo’Nique did when I met her, Arena immediately struck me as a really cool chick.

A little backstory — I went to the Miami casting call for F.A.T Chance last year, and met Mo’Nique. She’s truly a presence — at the end as tired as she was, she hugged me and made me feel special and beautiful and important. It was a magical moment.

This season, Mo took the contestants to Paris, and Arena said it was the experience of a lifetime. The contestants bonded and toured the city of lights, and had some magical first experiences — Arena drank her first glass of champagne ever! As part of the competition, the ladies got body painted for an artistic photo shoot. Arena admits that she was initally concerned about appearing nude. “I’m a school teacher so I was worried about the message I was sending. I don’t want [my students] to think it’s OK to pull off your clothes for money. But at the same time I wanted them to get the message that hey, you need to love yourself. Love yourself enough to come out of your shell and say look at me, I am beautiful. I’m beautiful with all of my clothes on, or with nothing on at all. That’s what the competition is all about,” she explained. “The whole competition is about stepping outside of your comfort zone, and being comfortable with you. Just loving yourself enough to say OK, listen. I’m a big girl and I can let it all hang out because I’m beautiful. I’m a work of art!”

I asked Arena what she had to say to the haters, and she got very real with me. “I feel like, if everyone loves themselves enough on the inside, then everything on the outside becomes beautiful. And just because people are messed up on the inside and don’t love themselves, they go ahead and pull and pick and point fingers. I mean, come on!”

I asked her how the comments made her feel, and she let me know that they didn’t slow her down at all. “My skin is thick. When I read the comments, it didn’t pierce my skin at all. I was like, wow, people actually thought enough to leave 500, 600 comments on this! Wow! They’re really looking at this, and they see it’s ok to be yourself, it’s ok to be beautiful. Then I read some comments where people are saying we’re promoting obesity. We never said go eat two hamburgers and be fat! We never said that! What we said is, love who you are, love what you are, and be proud of yourself. Nobody ever said go and be the size of Arena, or go ‘head and eat yourself to Mo’Nique’s size. We never said be obese. Me myself, I work out every morning. Mo’Nique encouraged us to work out at the hotel, she exercises.”

The photo was intentionally out-there. Intentionally in your face. And it makes me wonder — what do people want, anyway? You hear regular complaints that the fashion industry promotes eating disorders, models are too skinny, we’re banning models who are under a certain weight. Okay. Then the designers say, let’s go the opposite way and make a powerful statement. When Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano used plus size model Velvet in their runway shows in Paris, people were spewing pure hateraid, talking about this is just gross, nobody wants to see that, blah blah blah. It’s like, you can’t please people. Arena agreed with me on that point.

“There are people who have committed suicide because of what society thinks about them. But you know, it doesn’t matter what society thinks about you if you truly love yourself,” Arena retorted. And in the end, she brushed it all off. “People are gonna talk, they’re gonna talk. Small-minded people talk about people.” There’s no disputing that.

Whether you saw the photo as empowering and magnificent or horrific and disgusting, you have to admit that it took a hell of a lot of guts to pose for a picture like that, and I’m not talking about their weight. Speaking as a woman who doesn’t currently own a pair of shorts and has used every kind of excuse to not wear a swimsuit in front of strangers, I have to applaud the courage of these women to take it all off.

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Looky Who I Met Yesterday

I attended a Russell Simmons book signing event last night at my old stomping grounds, Books & Books, and it was fascinating to watch. Here’s a somewhat lengthy account of what transpired, an edited version of this will appear later today on Riptide, the Miami New Times blog. And in case some of y’all didn’t know, I’m also the calendar editor there. Holla at me if you’re throwing a local event!

Some came dressed in club girl chic, barely-there dresses and look-at-me attitude. Some came in show-stopping hip hop gear, designed to demonstrate street cred. Everyone came with their business face on. Russell Simmons was about to be in the house, and the vibe at Books & Books was electric last night.

By 7:00 p.m., anticipation hung low and thick in the air. Simmons was already 20 minutes late for the televised interview he’d agreed to give NBC 6, and his event was scheduled to start. There was a crowd of fans, all clutching copies of Simmons’s latest book, Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success. In order to meet Mr. Simmons, they needed to purchase a copy of the book at the counter first. Some fans weren’t feeling that. “He ain’t reading? He ain’t talkin’? Forget it,” shrugged a young, dreadlocked dude as he turned away and left. For every one of him, there were at least two more ready to buy a copy.

Suddenly, he stood before me, wearing a faded blue teeshirt, jeans, and smiling that familiar smile as he apologized profusely to the Books & Books staff for his tardiness. I beamed with recognition. “Hey,” I said before Russell Simmons was whisked away. I followed the crowd into the store, where he was being spruced up for the television interview. They posed him in front of a sign that features a giant book cover, and proudly announces that Simmons’s tour is sponsored by Cadillac. Simmons asked his marketing manager: “Is this going to be a q-and-a session?” When the answer was no, he sighed in relief. I stood off to the side, pen and notepad in hand. He looked over at me. “Hey, whatcha writing?” he asked. “Any words of wisdom,” I replied. Simmons pointed over to the marketing dude. “He says there aren’t going to be any,” he replied with a wicked smile. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” I responded. By now, the eyes of the room were on me: That girl, with the notepad. She talked to Russell! She must be someone important! At least, I assume that’s what people were thinking – shortly after, at least four people gave me their business cards, and asked me which magazine I worked for.

Note to the television reporter – watching the man’s prior interviews would have given you better insight as to what questions to NOT ask. Simmons just had a dust-up over at NPR of all places, and every reporter from Miami to Madagascar has asked him the same, exact questions. Even the CEO of hip hop gets tired of talking about bitches and hoes sometime. Needless to say, questions about Simmons’s book came at the beginning of the interview, and he grinned and pontificated about being a better contributor to the world, tapping into the peace of God that is within all of us, the connections that exist between all humankind. Then came the obvious questions about rappers, clean versions, banned words, and Don Imus. Russell shut that down quick. “When we see a rapper and notice the misogyny in his songs, we never look at ourselves and notice that we live in a totally misogynistic society,” he rebutted. He likened 50 Cent and Eminem to poets and painters who have always sought to express the realities of their lives. Then it was on to the fans and all of those books that needed signing.

A beautiful woman in a dress that was hardly there approaches the table first. She presses him for time, a commitment of some sort. Her eyes are pleading and her smile is bright and intermittent, like the camera flashes that illuminate the room. “Russell, I’ve been calling you all day,” she says. He commiserates with her briefly, placates her, signs a stack of her books, and she is gone. The crush of people swells as fans stream in with their books in one hand, their dreams in another. The entourage goes into action mode. One cool brother from Atlanta instructs fans to open their books to the signing page. He provides them with bookmarks that advertise Russell Simmons Jewelry. An assistant in a pink Baby Phat shirt stands besides Russell. Her job is to take all of the items that fans thrust at him, and place them in a shopping bag under the table. And everyone’s got something to give – CD’s, bound proposals, books, business cards. “I’ve got SO many business cards,” cackles the cool brother from Atlanta. “He personally goes through everything,” his marketing manager reassures me. I want to believe him. I curse myself out for not yet having an Afrobella business card.

One very intense gentleman presses a heavy bag of folded garments at him. “Nah, this is too much!” Russell protests. “I’ve come a long way to give this to you,” the man insists, sliding the bag towards him. One mother instructs her reluctant son to bust a freestyle.

After the fans get their books signed, many of them don’t want to leave – they stand off to the side, taking pictures, gawking, giggling. The room is practically packed. By this time, I’m standing at the back, next to three members of Russell’s entourage, all of whom are wearing the very distinctive Simmons “green” bracelet. They are cackling at those who have come in hopes of a handout. Simmons’ latest girl, the gorgeous model Denise Vasi, (** edited at 7:06 p.m.: Denise Vasi herself contacted me to contradict this statement. She was NOT in Miami last night. Also, she is not Russell Simmons’ girlfriend. Apologies, Denise!) A gorgeous, golden skinned, green eyed model type sits next to a large gentleman who takes time between texting on his Blackberry to make snarky asides about the fans. She is wearing grey heels that look like works of art. She comes across as disinterested and self-possessed. Which is fine, she’s absolutely stunning and perhaps that comes with the territory. I didn’t get annoyed until I actually saw her roll her eyes dismissively at a hard-working Books & Books staff member, who apologized for blocking her view. I wondered to myself, are these the people that zen-master Russell Simmons chooses to surround himself with? Every day? The energy I felt from him was so positive. A wave of disappointment washes over me. I watch the model and two other entourage members make faces and laugh at people until almost all of the fans have left. Then it’s my moment in the spotlight. I’m being invited to take a picture with Russell.

I sit beside him as he signs a stack of books, which will be available for sale tomorrow. He smiles at me, and we pose for a picture. “I’m gonna post this on my website,” I tell him. “Really? What’s your website?” he asks. “Afrobella.com,” I respond, but he’s already turned away. I am suddenly shy, my hands are sweating. “I saw you on Bill Maher,” I begin, and he wrinkles his nose. “That was a bad interview,” he says. (Yes it was; the two couldn’t stop talking over each other). “And I heard about the NPR thing,” I continue. He laughs out loud. “That was even worse,” he says. “Well, how do you deal with that? With so many people coming to you with their own agenda? Asking you the same thing over and over?” He looks at me for a moment, Sharpie in hand, still signing as he considers an answer. Then he shrugs. “I don’t know. I definitely could have handled it better,” he replies, before another assistant draws his attention away from me. And just like that, it’s over. They whisk him out of the store, to the rental car, to the private plane, and on to the next city.

** Big thanks, love, and respect to everyone at Books & Books, and Susie J. Horgan, who took the picture of Russell smiling. I am greasy as hell in that first photo, damn. And Russell looks like he’s about to fall asleep.

Afrobella On Your Radio!

A month ago I was interviewed on Cocoa Mode, an XM Satellite radio program that airs every Saturday & Sunday at 1:00pm ET on The Power, XM Channel 169. The DJ, Shawna, was good enough to send me the audio from our last interview, which I will share online with you as soon as I have some downtime to tinker with technology over the weekend.

But in other news, Shawna’s invited me to become a member of her Glam Squad, which means that I’ll be interviewed semi-regularly about all things Afrobella. So on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., you can tune in to hear me talk about natural hair products and other fun stuff on Cocoa Mode! If you’ve got XM, check it out!

Afrobella of the Week — Titi Branch, Miss Jessie’s Entrepre-bella

More of you have commented about my first Miss Jessie’s post than any other thing I’ve written. As of today, the original post has 75 comments since I first wrote it in August, and my recent review of the products has gotten 45 comments so far. Few other products have produced so much debate within the natural hair community.

There are those who swear by Miss Jessie’s, and those who swear AT Miss Jessie’s, because of the price, the product’s ingredients, or what people view as unnecessary hype. Ever since I started this site, I’ve wanted to get to the bottom of the Miss Jessie’s controversy and learn what the sister/owners themselves, Miko and Titi Branch, had to say about their wildly successful products.

I got lucky.

Following her fantastic interview with Organic Beauty Radio, I got in touch with Titi Branch. And we had a long conversation that was enlightening on many levels. I learned a LOT more about Miss Jessie’s, and more still about attitudes towards natural hair within the community itself. Titi was a real eye-opener and she willingly put herself on the line and did her best to answer the controversial questions as well as the softballs.

First things first, the price point. I was initially afraid to contact Titi, as I had no idea how she’d respond to my first criticism of Miss Jessie’s. I don’t want to generalize the natural hair community, but I’m a bella on a budget. $38 to $58 on a tub of hair product just isn’t reasonable for many afrobellas, particularly for those who have never tried Miss Jessie’s before. But Titi surprised me by agreeing with me completely. And now, Miss Jessie’s has just released some new, smaller sizes made for bellas like you and me!

“The products were 16 oz, professional size, really big tubs. And that’s where the product started, in the salon. I think a lot of people didn’t understand that. They need to know we give a LOT of product, and it was originally done that way because people with natural and curly hair use a lot of product. But these [smaller sizes] are for the people who have never tried our product and just wanna try it,” says Titi.

I predict that those 8 oz and 2 oz sizes are going to fly off the shelves. The hype around Miss Jessie’s ensures a steady flow of curious customers, wondering if they should go for the Baby Buttercream or the Curly Meringue. Titi broke it down for me.

“The Buttercream series isn’t really for definition, they’re for moisture. The Curly Pudding and Meringue are for definition, and they have a little bit of hold to them. They’re best applied to wet hair,” she explains.

Using Miss Jessie’s products calls for an interactive hairstyling experience. Users are encouraged to bend over when styling, and to scrunch or stretch the hair. The site offers step-by-step instructions on most of their in-salon methods, like fingerstyling and shingling. A typical Miss Jessie’s in-salon treatment can last two weeks if carefully maintained, and they’re expensive. But still, there’s a misconception by women like myself, who just want to purchase a product, slather it on, and like Tim Gunn from Project Runway would say, “make it work!” And that ain’t gonna necessarily happen with Miss Jessie’s.

“The product is effective for different hair types, all dependent on the technique. So what someone with curly hair would do with curly pudding might be different that someone with a kinkier texture. What you have to realize is, everyone can get a curly result. But different people have to do different things in order to get that result, all depending on their hair texture. Someone with kinky, kinky hair can get a curly result by using Curly Pudding in a twist-out. Whereas someone with a curlier texture can just wet their hair, put Curly Pudding or Meringue, air dry, and go. You’ve got to take texture into account. I think a lot of people go to our site and they see the before and after pictures. We give a lot of explanation to reveal what we had to do to get the hair to look a certain way. You have to read all of that information to get it. We’ve got a couple of methods that we do in the salon, and they’re in-salon methods. When I talk to hairstylists, they get it. But sometimes people… they want to just put the product in their hair and they have a very kinky texture and they want to look like Tracee Ross. You can achieve the curl that you want, but you may have to do something different. You may have to get a silkener if you want your curl to look that particular way. You need to consider what you want to achieve, and that will determine how you get there,” Titi explained patiently. And this brings us to an important discussion in the natural hair community.

What defines natural? Are you less natural if you choose to fingerstyle your fro into ringlets? Or elongate your curls with weighty moisturizing products? Or get highlights to emphasize the kinkiness of your lush hair? What if you wear a protective wig or braids during the cold weather months? If you’re a 3B does that make you less natural than someone who’s 4B? And who the heck am I to judge you and how you choose to wear your hair anyway?

Titi was very forthright about their processes, including the controversial silkener, results of which can be seen in the before and after photos.

“The silkener is a chemical process. We use sodium hydroxide, which is commonly known as lye, and we put it in typically natural hair in order to stretch it out. There has been a lot of controversy about silkeners and chemical processing in the natural hair community. But I think the reason it remains such a popular service is because it really helps people to get what they want, that curly hair sass,” Titi explained.

I’ll be real honest with y’all. When Titi said the word “lye,” I could practically hear a menacing “dun dun dunnnnnnnn” in my head. If there’s any chemical that is universally loathed in the natural hair community, it’s lye. Just the way it rolls off the tongue. Ick. I was surprised at her admission, but I really appreciated her honesty. And Titi’s revelation made me consider some gentle criticism that’s been leveled against me by some of my readers that I’ll take this opportunity to address.

This site is called “Afrobella” for a reason. I want to highlight that natural, afro hair is beautiful. Black beauty is beautiful. I don’t think enough of us believe that. And so, I will always strive to primarily uphold the beauty of natural women, because I still believe that there’s a disparity in how we are viewed by society, and within our own community. There are many women out there who struggle to embrace their natural beauty, and my mission is to encourage that as much as possible. But at the same time, I don’t want to be a “nappy nazi.” I don’t need to put down someone else’s beauty to celebrate my own, I see too much of that as it is. I think there’s too much divisiveness among us already, and I don’t want to be part of that kind of pointless negativity.

So I might not always have product advice for your chosen hairstyle, but if using chemicals and/or wearing a weave makes you feel beautiful and looks right on you, then more power to you. But if your hair is unhealthy and thin because of the processes you’re doing to it, or you’re relaxing for the wrong reasons and you feel conflicted, I’m here with transitioning tips for ya. Either way, it’s all love, bellas. I want this to be a site about sisterhood, solidarity, and strength without judgment.

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Afrobella of the Week — Nadia Turner, Afrobella Idol

Sanjaya, Sanjaya, Sanjaya.

Bloggers can’t get enough of him, he’s gotten all sorts of press because of an acute combination of bad singing and funky hairdos. Sanjaya was already a star for those who choose to Vote For the Worst, but there’s one hair style that propelled him to top story status on celebrity blogs everywhere — that mohawk. Well, I’ll have you American Idol fans know that Sanjaya wasn’t the first contestant to bring that distinctive style to the stage. Nadia Turner was there first, way back in season four.

And unlike Sanjaya, homegirl can sing.

I was lucky enough to interview Ms. Turner recently, and she addressed the “frohawk” issue.

You see, Nadia Turner’s number came up not long after she wore the style for a rockin’ version of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time, and her style created a buzz at the time. I had to ask, is it possible to surmise that Nadia inadvertently started the funky hairstyle trend? “It’s funny, after I wore the mohawk, I started to see it everywhere!” she laughed in response.

Nadia’s star power, unstoppable style, and distinctive afro made her a memorable contestant on Idol that year. She was funky, talented, and always marched to her own beat. Sometimes that meant singing a song nobody else was familiar with. She got the boot after this performance of When I Dream, a Crystal Gayle song from 1977 that may have lost the young audience.

Season four was a strange season anyway — after Carrie Underwood won, not many contestants went on to rival the winner’s fame. Bo Bice had a hit album, The Real Thing, and has been dealing with some medical issues. There was a snarky article about Constantine Maroulis’s life after Idol in the Village Voice that made the media rounds. But fans who have been wondering where Nadia Turner has been can rest assured, she’s been quite busy in her post Idol-life.

“Let’s see. I did a movie, I recently co-hosted The View with Barbara Walters and Rosie O’Donnell… the Royal Family of Kuwait invited me to perform for them for New Year’s, so I flew over there and that was exciting. I’m starting my own clothing line… I’ ve been very busy! I’m a hustler,” she laughs. More than anything else, Nadia’s been fine tuning her long-overdue album, which promises to stay true to her funky rocker-chick roots. “My mom raised me this way that things will never come to you, you have to knock and let God open the doors that are supposed to be opened. And I’ve been knocking at a lot of doors,” she declares.

Nadia’s first film, an urban romantic comedy named Lord Help Us, is set to be released on May 8. Turner acted opposite recognizable African American actors like Aloma Wright, who played the recently-deceased Laverne on Scrubs, as well as Mad TV alumni Debra Wilson. And apparently they had a great time on the set. “You have no idea – homegirl is off the charts. On the set, Debra would just have us sprawled out on the floor laughing, like, is she for real?” says Nadia.

Nadia Turner’s struggles tie into two issues I’ve tackled here on Afrobella — being a natural beauty in Hollywood, and being a black chick who rocks.

She’s been working on a funk/rock/soul album that goes completely against the urban music grain. “The only problem with that is, when you go against the grain, people are afraid to take chances. They want to go with what they’re familiar with. That’s unfortunate,” she says. “I’ve had people from record labels meet with me and tell me, ok, how do we market a black girl who sings rock? And my comeback is, black people are the originators of rock. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix… We are the founders of rock and roll. We started it, how come we can’t have it back?”

Throughout her time on Idol, Nadia stayed true to her desire to rock. She belted out I’m The Only One, and made Try a Little Tenderness her official anthem early on in the contest. (click that link to check out her adorable afro puffs in the beginning!) From the way things have been going in the music industry, I wouldn’t look for Nadia Turner videos to crop up on BET or MTV, and she probably won’t get airplay on your local urban radio station. But she’s determined as hell, and I’m rooting for her.

When I ask Nadia, how hard has it been for you to stay natural in the spotlight? The question seems to have never occurred to her. She’s afrobella to the core, and has no plans to straighten her curly locks.

“For me, it’s not hard at all. I had straight hair from 12 all the way to 21 and just kind of woke up one day like eh, don’t wanna do it anymore. I just got tired of it. There were things going on in my life and I just went to chopping. It’s really been easy for me.”

Like many of us with natural hair, the journey to embracing her locks hasn’t always been smooth. Nadia’s got great advice for all aspiring afrobellas. “The thing to remember is, everyone’s hair is different. Even though we all might be trying to be natural, what works for your hair might not work for my hair. When I first started, I’d meet people who had natural hair or locs… and I’d be like oh, I’m gonna go try whatever they’re using! And then it’s just disastrous. I had to find things that worked for me. There’s a couple things I play with now. I started out with some roots kind of things for locs, and that wasn’t too good. Then I got some Paul Mitchell stuff I wound up being allergic to. Now there’s a young lady who I met in LA. My sisters’ hair is processed, but not over processed. They use Kinky Curly Curling Custard on their hair, and I really like that stuff. I met her in LA because she came to the show, and I actually have a link to her site on my site.” Well, Nadia didn’t have to tell me more about Kinky Curly, since I reviewed it back in November. I am still enamored with the Knot Today. Too much Curling Custard can leave my hair pretty sticky. But like Nadia says, not everything works for everybody. And if you’re going to buy and try Kinky Curly Curling Custard, just remember that your hair needs to be clean of any other products before you use it, to avoid that sticky factor.

Nadia even recommended some new stuff for me! “Right now, you know what you should try that should be pretty light on your hair? Matrix has a curl line, Curl Life, it comes in the green bottle… The stuff I buy is called the Contouring Milk. You can buy it at CVS or the salon… they run out fast, though. Everytime I go I have to buy four tubes, and they’re like $14 a pop! It just adds up because they don’t even come in big tubes, they’re like these little frou-frou tubes,” she observed.

I hate little frou-frou tubes. With the mass of hair I have, I prefer to buy a big container of product. Lord knows I’ll be going through it quickly enough! But both Nadia and I were happy with the current state of curly hair products on the beauty store shelves. “Suddenly, it’s like out of nowhere! Redken has a curl line now, a lot of the high end brands… it’s like they finally woke up and realized oh, people with curly hair need some assistance! I think it’s been in the past two years that I’ve realized how many other products there are for us to try,” says Nadia.

Here’s hoping that big things are in store for Nadia when her album drops. I’ll be sure to keep you bellas in the loop! I’m sure that we’ll be seeing more of this former American Idol afrobella quite soon. Her determination and talent will take her places for sure. “I’m a show stopper. That’s always how I’ve been, and I take pride in it. I’m gonna kick the door down,” she promises. And I believe her!

Click here to check out her MySpace page. And just in case you forgot what a show-stopper Nadia Turner is, here she is with my favorite performance from her time on Idol, singing the bejesus out of Dusty Springfield’s You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. Like Simon said at the time, “in a competition full of hamburgers, you are a steak.” And in my opinion, she makes a lot of the contestants on this season’s show look like they belong on the 99 cents menu.

Congratulations, Nadia! You’re Afrobella of the Week!

Afrobella of the Week: Mahisha Dellinger, Creator of Curls

I’ll probably always be buying and trying new curly hair products, but I’ve found my Holy Grail for now. My hair absolutely craves Curls Milkshake.

It leaves my tresses more moisturized and perfectly defined than any other product. After I reviewed a batch of Curls products, I became hooked. Now I’m dying to try the rest of the line. Many of their products sound like dreamy desserts – Coconut Sublime Moisture Max, Whipped Cream, Curl Souffle, yum! My love for the Milkshake drove me to learn more about the brilliant woman behind this amazing stuff.
Bellas, meet Mahisha Dellinger, the super-clever afrobella who founded Curls.

Like many of us, Mahisha had a crazy hair journey. Back when she was growing up, there were no readily available products to nurture and style her out-of-control mane. And the products that were available were chock full o’ chemicals.

“Do you know that I used to use grease and water on my hair? Grease was the main stay on all ethnic aisles. I didn’t know any better! And the white owned hair care companies that marketed to us surely didn’t care of the long term affects of synthetic oils, they were all about the mighty dollar!” Mahisha declares.

It took the exhortations of a bona fide afrobella to bring Mahisha around to natural hair care.

“It wasn’t until my high school years that I discovered pure oils and natural remedies. A good friend of mine was 100% natural — a purist if you will — and she sparked my interest. I am 100% naturally curly…now. However, I died and fried my hair in junior high and high school! I had every hair color you can imagine, AND I used hairspray daily!” Man, that brought back my own high school memories.

I got my first set of highlights when I was thirteen and I thought I was so bad ass. If I could talk to my high school self, I’d beg myself to leave the dye alone — hot pink, orange, and midnight blue streaks were not a good look for me. But of course, that conversation would probably go along the lines of Cartman’s conversations with his past self on that awesome time-travel episode of South Park. Which is to say, I’d tell my future self to mind her own business. “Whatever, I do what I want!”

Many of Curls’ products are coconut based, which appeals mightily to this Caribbean girl. Coconut oil works wonders for my hair. There are lots of other natural ingredients that Mahisha thinks are key to her products’ success.

In the eleven Curls products and 7 Curly Q products currently available, Mahisha loves to include super-moisturizing certified organic aloe leaf juice, vitamin rich organic sunflower oil, Chinese Hu Wu Shu extract, Japanese green tea extract, calendula, coconut milk, mango and shea butter. No wonder my hair drinks this stuff up so fast — it all sounds like a concoction I could possibly drink as is!

Mahisha shared the products that work best for her, and I’m thinking of changing up my hair care routine with the seasons like she does.

“I have so many favorites; it truly depends on the occasion, time of year, and my current hair care needs. For example, in the summer months I cannot live without Curls Goddess Glaze for frizz free curls with all day holding power. When my curls are just not quite up to par and are in need of instant recovery, I reach for our deep treatment, Curl Ecstasy, and my microhaircap! However I use, one product on a daily basis… Quenched Curls Moisturizer. It is indeed my foundational product, “underwear for my hair.” It refreshes, revives, and protects curls. It’s now formulated with sunscreen, so it is the perfect curl protector,” she gushed.

For those of you who have specific hair concerns, Curls also offers custom regime kits, just for you Transitioning Divas who need to do some one-stop-shopping.

Curls products smell absolutely heavenly, and now Mahisha’s offering Body By Curls, vanilla and brown sugar body wash and frosting that sounds beyond delicious. Six new Curls products are getting ready to hit the shelves, and I’m so curious to find out what they are!

I’ve been planning to write about Mahisha and Curls for a long time now, but this particular interview became especially timely due to the recent New York Times article by Randal C. Archibold, “I Have Taken on My Daughter’s Hair and Won.”

Mr. Archibold’s beautifully written piece evoked memories of my own dad struggling with my troublesome locks and incessant wriggling as a child. It’s definitely a sign of the times that Mr. Archibold considers the politics of black hair as much as he does:

“With some limitations, we give Lyla a say in her hairstyle. One braid? Two, three, four? Part in the middle or on the side? Sometimes she prefers to let it all hang out, curly, frizzy and wild. When we eventually braid it again, fretting over those knots and dirt accumulating in the thicket, I wonder if we are then crimping her style, making a political statement?

Who knew hair could be this complicated?”

Um, my hand’s raised. And I don’t recall getting a say in how I wanted my hair combed, either (feel free to add a comment, familia). At that age, what with my Diana Ross aspirations, I’d have voted to wear my hair in a big bushy free form style every day. I would have gladly been a mini-Chaka Khan, strutting across my school’s playing field.

I checked out Mr. Archibold’s list of hair essentials for his little afrobella, and it’s here that I must speak up. From jump, this is a bad list for parents of naturally curly kids. TCB Naturals has nothing natural about it. Mineral oil and petrolatum are the first two ingredients, and they are notoriously bad and unhealthy ingredients. In fact, petrolatum has been banned in European Union beauty products because of its carcinogenic properties. Continue reading »