Brooke Obie

xoNecole’s inaugural digital cover star and natural hair icon talks community, Black trauma and what makes her feel loved.

Issa Rae is ethereal when she walks into the Black-woman-owned hair salon in downtown LA to star on xoNecole’s first digital cover. The salon seems named for her: Melanin on 6th. The glow on her skin that you see in photos is no filter; that’s all her light. She’s wearing a burnt orange bikini top and slacks from The Sei’s prefall ‘22 collection like she invented the color. But her hair is the real show stopper.

With this cover shoot, we knew we wanted the images of Issa to tell a hair story, celebrating her role as a natural hair icon. Since she became a viral sensation in 2011 for writing, directing and starring in her YouTube webseries The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, Issa’s natural hair has been a focal point. Her subsequent starring role in the HBO series she created, Insecure, launched her into Hollywood stardom. Her commitment to rocking and styling her natural hair – in the face of an anti-Black industry and world that seeks to degrade and even punish us for our hair – revolutionized the way natural hair is portrayed on screen.

“I hadn’t seen that length of hair, that texture, be featured on television from a lead before [Insecure],” Issa shares later that day during the filming of an episode of xoNecole’s podcast She Comes First. “And so, I do feel like we were able to change the game. And I feel honored that [Felicia Leatherwood, Issa’s longtime hairstylist] was able to be a part of it and showcase what she does amazingly.”

Read the full cover story with Issa Rae here. 

Watch Brooke Interview Issa Rae here: