The team behind the Oscar-nominated animated short, Hair Love, are walking in the spirit of the film by inviting a Texas teen who was suspended for his dreadlocks to the prestigious award show next Sunday. DeAndre Arnold, a high school student who was suspended and told he wouldn't be permitted to attend his graduation ceremony in the spring unless he cut off his dreadlocks, got the invite from Hair Love's director, Matthew A. Cherry, along with producers Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union. "We love the way that you carry yourself and we wanted to do something special for you," Dwyane told the teen, who received a wave of support from the public following the injustice he faced. "You and your mother Sandy are the official guests of the Oscar-nominated team behind Hair Love at the 2020 Academy Awards."
"We've all been so inspired by your story and this is the very least we can do to thank you for standing up for yourself and for your right to wear your natural hair at school," Matthew told him. The Oscar-nominated director told "CBS This Morning" that "just hearing [DeAndre's] story, it really just represented everything we were trying to do with the short film, Hair Love. We really wanted to just normalize black hair, normalize us." Matthew is also using DeAndre's story to shed light on the CROWN Act, which bans the discrimination of people based on their hair. He believes that the act, which has passed in California, New York and New Jersey, should be nationwide. "If this law was in Texas, this situation with DeAndre wouldn't happen," he said.
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As for DeAndre, finding out that he was invited to the Oscars was a "surreal moment." "It's hard to take in," he said. "I've got excitement and then it's just like, 'Is this really happening? Am I in a dream?'...it blows my mind that people that have so much voice, they're on my side and they're with me. I love that. I appreciate that. I really do." The teen was especially thrilled for his mom, who has been fighting by his side to get his story out. "My mom deserves any special treatment she gets," he said. "She deserves this. She's been working so hard, on the computer day and night, just to try and help me get my word out. When you have people like this in your corner, there's no way you can lose. No way." Matthew revealed that both DeAndre and Sandy will be "provide[d] full wardrobe and glam for the big night." The Oscars take place Sunday, February 9th.
Trippie Redd Imagines Life With A Bald Head: "Dr. Evil Redd"
Meanwhile, Adam22 is looking for royalties.
Fashion plays just a part of hip-hop these days as music itself. Fashion and hip-hop have gone hand-in-hand since the beginning of the genre and these days, when there are so many artists out, it’s necessary that one sticks out. Trippie Redd is one of hip-hop’s most unique looking figures right now. His colorful dreads and face tatts have made him a poster child for Soundcloud rappers worldwide.
Over the past few years, Trippie’s maintained his dreadlocks but has continuously experimented with the colors. We’ve seen him rock red, blonde, and more recently, green in his hair. However, it seems like even with the ever-changing shades in his hair, he might be looking to switch up his look. Taking to the ‘Gram, the rapper imagined what life would be like if he channelled his inner-Adam22 and rocked the bald look. “Dr. Evil Redd,” he captioned the photo while the comment section was crazy. Adam22 chimed in demanding royalties while Rico Nasty compared Trippie’s head to a dinosaur egg.
Although a few people thought that he actually shaved his head off, it would appear that Trippie simply used the power of Photoshop. He took to Instagram throughout the night revealing that his hair is still on his head. Maybe we’ll see him buzz it off in the future but clearly, right now isn’t the time.
2 Chainz Chops Off Signature Dreadlocks Ahead Of His Future Collab Dropping Friday
2 Chainz says goodbye to his locs.
2 Chainz has had an exceptionally busy 2020 so far. Though he’s already dropped new music and has more projects in the works coming soon, the rapper shared how busy his barber has been so far this year as well. On Wednesday evening, 2 Chainz took to Instagram to share a photo of his chopped off dreadlocks.
“The second cut of the year,” 2 Chainz wrote on the photo. While it may seem excessive to some for someone to get multiple haircuts within the span of less than a month, it’s important for Tityboi to stay fresh at all times, of course. Many took to the comments to share what they initially mistook his locks for at first glance. “Thought that was a tarantula,” one user wrote, which is not a far off comparison. Others thought 2 Chainz had left the fryer on too long, confessing that they thought they were looking at burnt french fries.
The most recent announcement of his aforementioned upcoming music came just yesterday. 2 Chainz revealed that the track he had alluded to in his mysterious “New Music Friday” tweet on Tuesday will be a collab with Future called “Dead Man Walking.” He shared a snippet of the song and the accompanying visuals in a brief clip on his Twitter and Instagram. Based on the outfits and accessories they’re shown wearing in the video, this collab appears to be “the hardest song in the world” that the artists claimed they had made way back in July. This statement alone was enough to get us excited for this long-awaited collab, but the sneak peak took the hype to the next level. Stay tuned for “Dead Man Walking” dropping Friday.