CN: What new and exciting things are going in your career?
MW: I’m about to start filming this summer with Russ Parr. He has a film called “35 & Ticking” that’s coming out in July, and it’s really funny and amazing. He’s starting production on his latest film this summer, and I’ll be working with him.
Last year, I completed an independent film with Chris Rock called “2 Days in New York”. It’s a sequel to a film we did called “Two Days in Paris”. I hadn’t worn my hair natural in a while, but I rocked it in the film with Chris Rock. I’m not sure when it’ll be released but keep your eyes open!
CN: Any thing you want to share with the CN community? Words of encouragement?
MW: Your website is beautiful, Nikki. Thank you for providing this space to celebrate our versatility and beauty.
We are very versatile by nature. Our hair is just one aspect of that versatility. I think, again, to embrace yourself in every way that you come, is the key to embracing your beauty. I was actually a little worried about my recent photo shoot. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but sometimes our natural hair just doesn’t photograph well. You can’t see the depth and the dimension. You can’t see all the waves and coils. So I was a little bit skeptical, but I wanted to represent who I was at the moment and also represent that other side of us that is not rocking the weaves, or wearing the flat-ironed hair. The side of us that is beautiful naturally. What’s funny is that the editor asked me how I was going to wear my hair and he said that would be great… he was totally supportive. I’m so happy with the way it turned out and it showed that you don’t have to be weaved up or pressed and dressed to be beautiful. I’m glad that the photo shoot demonstrated that well.
If someone is thinking of transitioning or big chopping, hopefully the pictures are inspiring. I know hesitancy can come into play because we aren’t shown these images. We usually see straight, pressed hair, or flowing curls. I wanted to show myself, natural, rocking a little afro and still be considered beautiful. Our hair is unique to us! Who else out there has the ability to rock an afro!
I was in New York City last year… around the same time that I was still wearing the weave to transition back to natural. I remember riding down the street, looking at the women as they passed by, trying to get an idea for what I was going to do with my hair. I was amazed. Eighty percent of the women that I saw had someone else’s hair on their head. It was kinda disturbing to me. I feel that if you’re always wearing someone else’s hair, are you not happy with your own? Why aren’t you happy with your look? It’s not about me championing the cause for natural hair, because trust me, I’ll go and do what I want to do in a heart beat depending on what I’m feeling. But I do feel that if you’re wearing weave much of the time, then the problem is much deeper, and you need to find the point at which you love yourself and embrace yourself first. If that still means you want to rock a weave, so be it. But you have to make sure you’re embracing who you are and loving who you are.
It’s about freedom. My hope is that you’re not walking around in any state, be it natural, permed, or weaved, feeling like you have to do that to live up to some standard of beauty that someone else has set. It has to be about what makes you feel beautiful.
