ego magazine
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Life style magazine for young womenTRANSCRIPT
Top20
Bikini Body Diets
Dark Ego
ChrisetteMichele
Why I Cut It All Off!
Bootylious Men
DWELE
SPOTLIGHTON
2 WEEK
INSIDE: WIN A TRIP TO
HAWAIII FOR TWO
darkegomagazine.com
May 2011, £3
Egocw.qxp2_Magazine design 11/05/2011 18:20 Page 1
Cover
41 Chrisette Michelle,
Why I cut it all off!
55 Hot Summer sex positions
44 Top 20 bootylicious men
68 Secrets to a successful
marriage
Fashion & Beauty
30 Summertime must haves
34 100 Hot looks for the
Summer
37Quick holiday diets
39 Flaming Hot hairstyles
Entertainment
20 What’s Happening events
22 Music & Film reviews
25 Must watch TV
27 Spotlight on... Dwele
Men & Relationships
50 Is he Father Material?
53 How to Blow his mind!
57 Falling in love
60 Do you love him?
Contents 45
35
31
27
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34
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Midn
ight
Midnight...
My Bedroom Eyes...Xtra Volume
Xtra Seduction
Issues, Views or Comments
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My “click” was mixed with a Puerto Rican, a
mixed girl with hair DOWN TO HER BACK
and beautifully tightly curled, a girl from
Africa and the most beautiful white porcelain
like girl from Spain, and me!
I was the president of the African American
club in High School and we all participated
and celebrated each other’s culture, beauty
and differences. I kept this free attitude with
my heart and hair all my life but my hair care
regiment was ALWAYS serious no matter the
style. Around 18 me and my BFF coloured
our hair mine was strawberry Red I LOVED IT
I was able to keep it soft and silky because it
was a simple wrap style (like Faith Evans at
the time).There wasn’t much heat or hair-
spray.
I wanted my kinky roots shortly after again
and wore a little TWA sometimes braiding it
up, and playing with different hair choices.
College was a challenge for my hair. I was
super busy. I was introduced to something I
thought I’d never ever do, THE WEAVE. My
manager at the time suggested it as an easy
alternative to my ritualistic hair regimens.
It was
fun
BUT I
missed
my
naps
though,
I was in
college
and did
the BC
a year
or so
later
and
walked
into Def
Jam
and got
a record deal.
IT WAS MY FRO, a Bob Marley track jacket,
ripped jeans and an audition of “Golden” and
this song called “ A Day In Your Life” both of
which I had written and was able to play on
the piano.
hen we first heard the golden
pipes of Chrisette Michele Ego she was in
the middle of a natural hair transition. Since
being signed to a record label and thrust into
the spotlight, fans have seen Chrisette’s hair
go from short and coily to long and sleek,
depending on what video she’s in or what
appearance she’s making.
So when we saw photos of Chrisette looking
stunning with her hair shorn short, we knew
we had to reach out to her to find out exactly
what inspired her to make the switch back to
natural.
Ego: So as you know we write about hair,
beauty and lifestyle and from day one we
took notice of you because you started out
natural – or at least with a natural texture.
Then you switched to relaxed hairstyles. Can
you tell me about your hair journey from the
days before you became signed to a label?
Chrisette: Wow, well I’ve always been seated
right next to my mom at the salon once a
week. She gave me freedom to experiment
with styles and ideas from maybe 12. I was
always playing in my hair and loved to re-in-
vent myself often. One thing I was never
afraid to do was CHOP my hair off to mimic
the cool styles I’d seen in magazines. Mon-
ica was always fun to play around with in the
90’s especially, I think she is incredibly styl-
ish. I also would grow my relaxer out maybe
every 3 years and cut it all off for an afro.
Growing up in a mixed school (8 black kids),
my hair was fun for ATTENTION from my
friends who all had beautiful hair.
W
Egocw.qxp2_Magazine design 11/05/2011 18:20 Page 4
and tour family that when we all landed
home in 6 weeks I would apologize to my-
self and begin a new relationship with my-
self beginning with my hair. The boys took
me to their favourite barber Manny over in
Sherman Oaks and applauded my decision
to be honest with myself and showcase
what I believe is beautiful. I’m proud of my-
self. I know that there is a place for my
beauty in this world and I plan to celebrate
who I am, beginning with my roots. I had
about a 1/2” of new growth but I wanted to
go lower like my Mother’s hair as well as
my make-up artist’s hair. The boys told the
barber “She wants a Number 2 clipper!!!
And fade it out on the edges!!! No Hard
Line!!!” and I said “No shape me up”
Ego: What are your hopes for natural hair
in the future?
Chrisette: Well for my natural hair, I wanna
be as fly as my cousin Christine who thinks
I’m cool but she is definitely super fly. Her
kinks are all over the place and I adore
them. As a community, I’d like to see natu-
ral hair in mainstream media. Kelis did it,
Lauryn Hill did it, MAXWELL, Tracy Ellis
Ross, Corrine Bailey Rae, Solange, Tyra
Banks, Beyonce, Laura Izabor, Ledisi, India
Arie, Jill, Janet, Rihanna. There’s a very
SPEACIAL beauty that only we own. We see
every other hair texture represented very
well except ours and it breaks my heart. I’m
excited to be a part of the natural girls. It’s
my intention to be this way for a while.
Ego: Where can your fans see you next –
are you touring for the summer? What’s
coming up next for your music?
Chrisette: I just finished a most wonderful
tour around the country with so many sold
out dates and even more beautiful people. I
must say thank you to everyone who joined
me and my band New Genesis. I feel amaz-
ingly blessed to still be here. I must say that
I am so grateful to Ego for being ever so
kind towards me for so long. I’m truly grate-
ful. God bless you.
Ego: Is there pressure in the industry on
female artists of colour to conform to a
certain standard of beauty?
Chrisette: There’s definitely pressure, I
try not to admit it sometimes because I
hate the
appearance of insecurity. The honest
truth is you wonder if you’ll get the same
attention if you don’t look like everyone
else. I’ve been able to tear down the
issue of CURVY GIRLS in the industry.
I’ve been able to have successful al-
bums and Grammy attention as well as
an award, Billboard chart attention and
television, and magazine attention.
There’s still more work and stereo types
to be smacked down, but with grace and
honesty and an understanding tongue, I
believe that people will begin to see
beauty comes in many more forms then
what we expose to the public. I am beau-
tiful and I believe that there are many
beautiful women to which I can give a
voice.
Ego: Talk to us about the decision
you’ve made recently. we saw photos of
you with your hair cut really really short,
but you’re wearing a hat. Did you shave
your head, or is this a big chop, to start
a fresh with your natural hair texture?
What inspired you to go natural again?
Chrisette: My hair and I had a really bad
argument. She was being sprayed with
alcohol and burnt with irons. She was
being over processed and yanked and
pulled by weave strings and suffocated
by glue. She told me if I didn’t straighten
up and fly right that she was leaving. I
was out on tour, and day after day of this
torturous regimen I began to feel like I
was hurting myself. I wasn’t being fair to
my body. I was ingesting and supporting
harsh products and literally ruining my-
self beginning with my hair. I told my
band
“The honest truth is you
wonder if you’ll get the
same attention if you don’t
look like everyone else”.
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