Sudan Archives Pays Homage To Black Hair In “Selfish Soul”

Sudan Archives’ new song and video “Selfish Soul” is an ode to Black hair. The LA-based artist says the song is “about women and the celebration of hair. It’s about representation of different hair textures and embracing all colors and textures of it.” Joined by an accompanying music video, the Trey Lyons-directed cut sees Sudan Archives playing her violin upside down on a pole and standing on a roof.

“I feel like there’s an American standard of what beautiful hair is, and I wanted to show in this video that’s not what all beauty is; to showcase different hairstyles and different types of women and their hair. I was inspired by India Arie’s ‘I Am Not My Hair’, one of the first songs I heard about this subject,” Sudan shares in regards to the song. “She talks about extensions and weaves and natural hair and nappy hair, and that she’s not her hair; she won’t conform to the comparisons that would come up if you had a weave or sew-in or natural hair or Afro – that doesn’t represent her.”

“Selfish Soul” serves as a follow-up to Sudan Archives’ recently released “Home Maker,” her first original song since her 2019 album Athena. The musician is currently preparing for a tour run that sees her traveling to Boston, Brooklyn, Montreal, London, and Stockholm among other places later this year. Watch “Selfish Soul” below.