"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, '' Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'' (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

in late 2005 to moderate chart success. The song was nominated for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...

at the

2007 Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

. A

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

version of "I Am Not My Hair" featuring

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

was also released.

Song information and release

The song's original version with only Arie singing featured

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and prominent

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

over a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...

drum track. This version was released digitally on November 15, 2005 through online music services such as

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

, Rhapsody, and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

, followed by the

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

release on December 6, 2005. "I Am Not My Hair" was the most successful release from ''Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'', being the only single to chart on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, peaking at numbers ninety-seven and sixty-five, respectively. A

featuring Senegalese-American singer

, entitled Konvict Remix, was released to U.S. rhythmic and

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

radio formats on April 3, 2006, and later to iTunes on June 20, 2006. The song's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Barnaby Roper, used this remix. Akon's writing credit was added with the release of the remix. The remix was added on later editions of the album, replacing the original version. On the April 16, 2007 episode of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', Arie stated that her record label insisted that Akon be added to the single to make the song more mainstream. She said that she did not want Akon to be featured on the song, without mentioning his name. According to Arie, the original version of "I Am Not My Hair" was a duet with

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

singer

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

. The song's original concept originated from Pink's decision to do away with her

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

locks, while the last verse was written after Arie watched

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

's performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, where she appeared bald from

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

to treat

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. This version was made available on iTunes on October 17, 2006, and was used in the Lifetime television film '' Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy'', which premiered on October 23, 2006.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was directed by Barnaby Roper and used the Konvict Remix of the song.

Track listings

;U.S. CD single and digital single #"I Am Not My Hair" – 3:49 ;U.S. promo CD single #"I Am Not My Hair" (Konvict Remix featuring

) – 3:52 #"I Am Not My Hair" (

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

Remix featuring Swizz Beatz) – 4:09 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Wiggedout Radio Edit) – 3:58 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Konvict Remix w/o Akon) – 3:21 ;UK CD single and digital EP #"I Am Not My Hair" (Konvict Remix featuring Akon) – 3:52 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Swizz Beatz Remix featuring Swizz Beatz) – 3:36 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Wiggedout Remix) – 7:18 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Yoruba Soul Remix) – 3:28 ;UK digital single #"I Am Not My Hair" (Konvict Remix featuring Akon) – 3:52 ;UK 12" single #"I Am Not My Hair" (Konvict Remix featuring Akon) – 3:52 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Swizz Beatz Remix featuring Swizz Beatz) – 3:36 #"I Am Not My Hair" (

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003. He produced h ...

Remix) – 4:02 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Wiggedout Remix) – 7:18 #"I Am Not My Hair" (Yoruba Soul Remix) – 3:28

Official versions

* Album Version – 3:49 * Konvict Remix featuring

– 3:52 * Konvict Remix w/o Akon – 3:21 *

Remix featuring Swizz Beatz – 3:36 * Wiggedout Remix – 7:18 * Wiggedout Radio Edit – 3:58 *

Remix – 4:02 * Yoruba Soul Remix – 3:28 * Remix featuring

– 3:45

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2005 singles 2006 singles Akon songs India Arie songs 2005 songs Songs written by Shannon Sanders Songs written by India Arie Songs written by Akon Motown singles Melissa Etheridge Songs about hair