How This Rap Dad Is Helping His Daughter Embrace Her Natural Hair

I love being a '90s baby, but there are some aspects of Gen Z's childhood that leave me a little bit envious at times. When I was a wee lass, most of my friends and family members longed for relaxers at a very early age, and were relentless until our parents caved in. These days, little girls and boys are embracing their natural hair early on...including rapper Killer Mike's daughter.

The Run the Jewels musician posted about an exchange between his 10-year-old daughter, Mikey, and her mom, Muffy — one totally opposite from conversations I had with my own mother at that age. Basically, Mikey wanted to wear her hair in an Afro, and her mother wasn't too keen on the idea. "I talked to Mikey and then sent her mom this pic and suggested she buy a pretty headband to show it was on purpose," he captioned. "That was the compromise Mikey and I hatched." He went on to say that, while Muffy wasn't thrilled, she allowed Mikey to express herself with the hairstyle she wanted.

Like the proud papa he is, Killer Mike posted a photo of Muffy wearing her hair in an Afro. And thank goodness that Muffy caved — Mikey looks so beautiful with her 'fro. "Young #AngelaDavis on'em! Young #Assata aka #RebelRevoltRevival aka #KidPower," he wrote.

Mikey joins other young women like Jacinda Pender, the 19-year-old YouTuber who made a meme about embracing her big lips, and Chizi Duru, a college senior who posted a much-needed graduation cap hack for curly hair.

It's true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it's due time for those rigid standards of yesteryear to be expanded. Whether she knows it or not, Mikey's decision was bold. Natural hair was once (and sometimes still is) viewed as unkept and undesirable. Mikey's already finding the power within her coils...and that, in turn, has the potential to help her peers do the same as well.