Throughout history, our hair (think: hair salon and barbershop talk) has kept the Black community united. And, four-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, Doechii, took that line of connection literally.
The Tampa artist performed on last night’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with her cornrows tied to both of her background dancers. “It was more than just her look, but a collective look for all the performers,” the hair artist behind the iconic moment, Malcolm Marquez, tells ESSENCE. With all three women in identical ensembles, “we connected all the dancers by the ends of their cornrows to create the illusion of a continuous braid.”
As a statement take on classic cornrows, Doechii referenced the wardrobe from Solange’s 2016 performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for the hair artist to execute. “Connectivity was a theme we wanted to explore—how hair (specifically braids) connects us to each other, but also how hair connects us to ourselves,” Marquez says. He also added in references from Spanish artist Carlotta Guerro, whom he worked with on a Vogue Italia photoshoot in 2019.
Performing two songs “Denial is a River” and “Boiled Peanuts” from her latest album, Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii’s hair look also spoke to music icons of the past who are recognized on the album. “Her sound right now is about paying respect to classic hip hop artists, like MF DOOM,” he says. “The connected braids were really a way to honor the ancestry of us as people but also artists.”
To achieve the look, Marquez and his team extended the stitch braids (braided by Yanna) about 50 more inches using pre-stretched hair and Shine ‘N Jam Magic Fingers. “We found that tapering the end of the braids as thin as possible was the best way to create the most seamless connection,” he says, sealing the end with 30-second hair glue. “From there each braid was hand sewn at the exact same length for each braid.”
However easy the technique was, the look required a week of rehearsal in prototype braids to test out the size and length they could move most in. “This is my first self choreographed performance and one of the most important things I wanted to highlight was my connection to black women through Hip Hop,” Doechii wrote in an Instagram post.
Once Marquez knew how to execute the look, he installed the actual braids the night before and morning of the show. “Between makeup, fittings, sound-checks, we only had about an hour to connect the girls,” he says. Set with GÖT2B® Smooth & Hold Mousse, the connected braids were the cherry on top of the night’s masterpiece.