Thanks Willow Smith! Now My 6 yr old Wants to Whip Her Hair!

I have been hearing so much buzz over the past month about Will and Jada’s daughter Willow being signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint after releasing a impressive ditty called “Whip My Hair”. I watched as the tweets were talking about how cute the song was but never took the time to listen to it. So fast forward to yesterday when again, the innanets were abuzz after the release of the video hit the airwaves. Of course I had to check it out because it was making far too much noise for me not to.

My daughter and I crowded in front of my notebook as I cued up the video. When it was done, my daughter began trying to dance like Willow and wanted to watch it again. So I obliged. Again, during the video, my daughter was whipping her mane by in forth (ponytails mind you) and rocking out like she was an extra or something. It was kinda cute.

For three hours last night, she was singing “I whip my hair back and forth”.

I am all for cute and fun entertainment for my 6 year old. There isn’t much in that type of variety for her. In terms of real role models her age, there aren’t many—Dora the Explorer and The Backyardigans get major play in my house, but they are cartoons and not readily identifiable with my daughter. Raven Symone, Kyla Pratt, and others are super cute and very respectable but they are not in her age group. Neither is Hannah Montana whose real puppet master, Miley Cyrus is not for kids (anymore) . It is hard to find girls of color that my daughter can relate to in terms of entertainment, so Willow certainly foots the bill. I would rather my daughter whip her hair back and forth than walking around trying to be Nicki Minaj.

I’ve read the sideline pundits on most of the gossip blogs say that they think Willow is being “too grown”—but after seeing the video first hand and hearing the song, the material seems quite appropriate for young listeners. Just because she says she has haters doesn’t mean she is trying to be grown—haters come in all age groups.

Willow is fully dressed in the video and is dancing a way a kid her age dances. I see nothing wrong with her material and I do not think Will and Jada are pimping their kids out for fame. Their son Jaden is an actor in his own right, and Willow is now a star as well. Will and Jada do pretty well for themselves financially, so unlike the Octomom or Kate Gosselin, they don’t have to use their kids to make a living.

I can recall a young Keisha Knight Pulliam sashaying to a very provocative Ray Charles song in the late 80′s on The Cosby Show and lip synching the lyrics about “baby, you know I love you”. I don’t remember anyone being up in arms about this–it was cute and fun. So why the uproar 20 years later about a little girl saying she is whipping her hair is beyond me.

I am just a little salty because now Willow is being repeated in my home every five minutes. The girl is cute and all but my 6 year old keeps repeating the song over and over. Thanks Willow!

About The Author

The Cubicle Chick, otherwise known as Danyelle Little, is the owner and editor of TheCubicleChick.com. After losing her job in Corporate America in 2009, she found a way to channel her frustration into a site that focuses on work, life, and play. Danyelle blogs and administers this site full-time, freelances for several other sites and publications, and works as a social media consultant to other brands, bloggers, and businesses. You can learn more about her by visiting DanyelleLittle.com.

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