If you’ve been on Twitter recently you might have noticed that The Blue Ivy Carter is trending. “Blue Ivy” is the trend, actually, and everyone on the planet knows who the words Blue + Ivy are referring to. There is only one: cultural icon, the first daughter of Her Majesty Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, winner of multiple awards, including a NAACP Image Award and the youngest ever to win a BET Award. 

 

Blue is trending because she’s about to add to her resumé yet again. This is the news: 

Matthew A Cherry won an Oscar for his animated short film Hair Love earlier this year. It was announced back in July that Hair Love will become a 12-episode animated series on HBO Max. If you’ve never seen Hair Love, it’s now available on YouTube and I’ve embedded it below. It’s about a little girl, Zuri, who needs help with her hair. It’s about Black women’s relationship with their hair. It’s about Black fathers and their relationship with their children. And it’s about Black Love – it does all of this in under seven minutes. If you haven’t seen it yet, get your feelings ready because they’re about to come right up to the surface. 

 

Hair Love was released as a children’s book last summer. Now… there’s an audio version. And it’s “narrated by Blue Ivy Carter”. Pretty sure I don’t have to tell you the impact of anything that involves the Blue Ivy. Anytime she shows up anywhere, even when you can’t see her face, the culture loses its mind. Today is no different. I love how Matthew A Cherry presented the news too. He knew he wouldn’t have to embellish it. He knew that, well, all he had to do was post the link and the world would hear it from Blue herself. 

And of course the Carters, especially Beyoncé, are fully aware of Blue’s influence and impact. This can’t have been the first time Blue’s been invited to participate. Blue probably has her own team of agents fielding the offers that come in multiple times a day from people seeking the honour of her vocals and her presence. 

 

Beyoncé, as we know, discerning. The most discerning. She’s exceedingly selective about what she chooses to be aligned with and when and where she shows up and of course, as a mother, she would be that way for her children. This project in particular, then, is precious to her, is personal to her. She signed off, not only because she supports other Black artists but because the story serves Black girls, the “Brown Skin Girl” she performs and creates for, in her home and beyond. 

And even if this story might not be for me, or for you, the fact that Hair Love exists for the “Brown Skin Girl” is a win for everyone. Because we all have an investment in everyone being seen and known. And even if this story might not be for me, or for you, it doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the love that has gone into it. The love in every word, every illustration, every note. There is so much love in Hair Love, and there is so much power in that love. We’ve only seen a glimpse of what that power can achieve.