Don't Touch My Hair

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"Don't Touch My Hair"
Song by Solange featuring Sampha
from the album A Seat at the Table
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2016
GenreAlternative R&B
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Solange Knowles
  • Sampha
Producer(s)
Music video
Don't Touch My Hair on YouTube

"Don't Touch My Hair" is the ninth track on American singer and songwriter Solange Knowles' third studio album, A Seat at the Table. It was released by Saint Records and Columbia Records on September 30, 2016 with its music video being released the following week. It was written by Knowles and Sampha Sisay.

Background and writing[]

Knowles started creating the album four years ago and has been creating and editing tracks, including "Don't Touch My Hair", since its release.[1] During the writing of "Don't Touch My Hair" and the creation of the full album, she has posted personal essays on her website, Saint Heron, linking the ideas of these personal essays with messages in the album. One essay that has been linked to the creation and writing of "Don't Touch My Hair" would be ""And Do You Belong? I Do." In this she says “You and your friends have been called the N-word, been approached as prostitutes, and have had your hair touched in a predominately white bar just around the corner from the same venue."[2]

Music video[]

Solange Knowles debuted the music video for "Don't Touch My Hair" on October 2, 2016 on YouTube.[3] In the music video there are an abundance of different hairstyles like Marcel waves, brushed out curls, beaded braids, afros, and then a crown of looped braids.[4] It shows Knowles and cast of dancers swaying back and forth between frames, all moving in soft and elegant steps with the warm harmonies and falsetto, giving the music video a very gentle, yet strong tone because of the overall message and the facial expressions shown on Knowles and the dancers. The hair styling for the video was done by Nikki Nelms.[5]

Reception[]

Rolling Stone said the track "uses sparkling synths and drowsy horns as broadsides against those who might deny Knowles and other black women their bodily autonomy", conveying a message of brutal honesty in tender and rich harmonies.[6] Pitchfork Magazine wrote that "'Don’t Touch My Hair' moves at a heartbeat’s pulse, subtle and steady, yet vibrant" and "can be read as an explicit rejection of this behavior (the devalue and alienation of black spaces), as a simple establishment of boundaries, or as a powerful pledge of personal identity."[7]

Natelegé Whaley, writing for The Huffington Post, gave the song a positive review, highlighting in particular the importance of its message of praising black women's hair during such a socially volatile period: "Hair is used as a metaphor for our entire essence on this track and is the perfect symbol, as our hair is one thing that has always been policed throughout history and into the present."[8] Vogue Magazine found the song to be an uplifting message about hair, and noted how its message relates to a specific community while also being accessible and relevant to the broader community of women in general.[9]

Despite it not being released as a single, "Don't Touch My Hair" debuted and peaked, at 91 on the Billboard's Hot 100 the week of October 22, 2016, dropping off the chart the next week.[10]

Charts[]

Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 91
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12] 38

References[]

  1. ^ "A Seat With Us: A Conversation Between Solange Knowles, Mrs. Tina Lawson, & Judnick Mayard - Saint Heron". Saint Heron. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  2. ^ "And Do You Belong? I Do - Saint Heron". Saint Heron. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  3. ^ "Solange Knowles Dropped Two New Music Videos From A Seat at the Table". Vulture. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. ^ SolangeKnowlesVEVO (2016-10-02), SOLANGE - DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR (OFFICIAL VIDEO), retrieved 2016-12-02
  5. ^ Schott, Julie (2016-10-06). "What 'Don't Touch My Hair' Really Means". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  6. ^ "Review: Solange's 'A Seat at the Table' Walks Softly, Speaks Radically". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  7. ^ ""Don't Touch My Hair" [ft. Sampha] by Solange Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  8. ^ BE, Natelegé Whaley Digital storyteller passionate about giving millennials of color spaces to (2016-10-06). "Solange's 'Don't Touch My Hair' Is An Anthem Reclaiming Black Autonomy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  9. ^ Hartman, Eviana. ""Don't Touch My Hair"—Solange's New Music Video Has an Announcement to Make". Vogue. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  10. ^ "Solange - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  11. ^ "Solange Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  12. ^ "Solange Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
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