ISSUE 08 PREVIEW

The Noise Issue Black creatives reclaim the narrative Racism unveils a new brand Austin startups revolutionize the food industry Giving the mic to women in music Durags: a celebration of black culture

08

a note from the editors.

After starting as ATX staff writers together just two falls ago, we were honored to find ourselves continuing the legacy of previous ORANGE editors-in-chief. Over time, we have recognized the immense role this publication has played in allowing us the space we needed to learn and grow while unapologetically being ourselves. We wanted ORANGE to maintain that creative platform.

ORANGE has become a home for us, one in which we can challenge our peers and they can challenge us. As black and brown women running a magazine, it has been a joy each week to be surrounded by editors and staff members who understand the importance of amplifying the voices of those society neglects.

Issue 08 delves into the history of the durag, profiles UT’s exchange student population, interviews a women-hosted podcast and discusses the issue of mass incarceration in Texas, among other stories. The editing process is simultaneously a learning process. We are privileged to have a staff hailing from such diverse backgrounds, so much so that we come away from the magazine as more informed people.

Thank you for supporting the work of ORANGE Magazine. We’ll see you this time again next semester.

Best,

Hannah McMorris

Zoya Zia

orange magazine

music

She’s The Boss Giving the Mic to Women in Music

Story by Jennifer Hernandez Photos by Jordan Steyer

The days leading up to the premiere of “She’s the Boss” were full of nerves and excitement. The next few months would be riddled with life-changing experiences.

“LONGHORN HIP-HOP” WAS A Texas Student Television show dedicated to talking about news in the hip-hop and rap genres. Many of the hosts on the show have interviewed guests like Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper years before their mainstream success.

In the spring of 2016, Antonette Masando and Dasia Warner, now seniors at the University of Texas at Austin, met through working on the show. Later, while working on an episode of Austin Underground, UT alumna Khortlyn Cole reached out to Masando about a potential creative project, in hopes to contribute.

“Antonette is the brains behind the whole thing! It’s really her brainchild and she did such an amazing

rappers. She began to focus on her favorite inspiring women in pop culture and decided these influential women were going to be the central theme for “She’s the Boss,” highlighting the work, ideas and experiences that are not always talked about.

However, running a podcast is much more than content creation. The girls later found that there were surprising responsibilities that came with running a podcast. For example, they have received messages from Soundcloud accusing them of using a copyrighted melody from Kanye West.

Editing is another not-so-glamorous duty, but can be very fulfilling. Before “She’s the Boss” was announced

thing with it,” Cole says.

to close friends and family, it took several rounds of

In the summer of 2017, that brainchild was born. The

the flow of the episode.“Being an editor is the most

podcast known as “She’s the Boss,” highlights young female creatives who independently produce, publish and promote their work. There are currently six episodes out and they have already interviewed guests like Austin-based artist, Wande and music producer, Upper Reality. Before then, Masando discovered podcasts during the fall of 2013. Shows like “Brilliant Idiots” and “The Read” were big inspirations for “She’s the Boss.” “Over time, I started to add more and more and it became kind of like my television that I would go to every day for entertainment and information,”

editing in order for Masando to feel satisfied with challenging, but when you put music and transitions together to get the story to sound the way you want, it’s the most rewarding part,” Masando says.

As discussed in episode four of “She’s The Boss,” settling for mediocrity was not an option for the team.

“Antonette and I had this idea that it really is an art, like how artists can’t finish their work and it’s always unfinished, it’s really the same thing with the podcasting world,” Warner says.

she says.

The idea was that music was going to be the key

Through internships at KUTX and Human Influence,

think it’s amazing to see the power that music holds.

a creative media agency, Masando learned how to create a podcast from her peers. Elizabeth McQueen, host of the podcast “This Song,” helped Masando reach her goal of successfully launching a podcast.

“For the most part, I knew I wanted to talk about music, pop culture and ‘The Culture’ since I grew up on hip hop,” she says. “‘She’s the Boss’ came from a common thread in the kind of content I seek out.”

Masando is a huge fan of powerful artists like Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj, as well as other female

element that would bond the creators with the host. “I It brings people together physically and spiritually,” Masando says. “With art, it’s one of the spaces where people have the freedom to truly express the human experience in a way that people can understand, even if you don’t understand the language. Music has been one of my greatest teachers, comforters and ways to connect with people.”

Music certainly connects artists to their fans and representation alone is another way to create those meaningful connections. From Billboard charts to

orange magazine

style

Durags

The brief history of a $3 piece of silky cloth that transformed black culture.

Story by Brandon Pegram Photos by Peter McCain

T

he durag. A symbol of black culture. Black

The durag held the essence of what it meant to be

excellence. A crown. Found inside your local

“fly,” and contrastingly, what white America deemed

beauty supply or hair store (not Sally’s), the durag

“street culture.” The rise of durags in pop culture was

is a silk headwrap first used by black women to

not met without the criminalization of its wearers,

protect their hairdos. Multifunctional, the durag also

as it became just another indicator of black people

creates “waves” in black men’s hair, which are small

as stereotypical “thugs” and “vagrants,” a sentiment

radial ripples beginning at the crown of one’s head,

held by many white and older black Americans.

the pinnacle of achievement for many men with a

For instance, in a 2005 column from The Washing-

wavelength haircut. However, the durag has a storied

ton Post titled, “The Case Against Do-Rags,” author

history outside of hair care specifically. Durags have

Jabari Asim says, “I’ve resented those ugly things

found themselves on the heads of rap legends, pro

for years, and I know I’m not alone. It’s time we all

athletes, rap groupies and sadly, as accessories on

came out and aired our feelings in the light of day.”

the runway at New York Fashion Week. From haircare

While Asim may hold his own opinions, his distaste of

to unholy appropriation, here is the history of the

durags is similar among many black adults, especially

durag as it is known today.

those middle-aged and older. His column is layered in respectability politics and elitism toward his own

Beginning in the 1930s, black women used silk hair

community.

wraps to preserve chemically-processed hairdos while they slept. At this time, durags were not called

While durags rose to prominence in black culture

durags but rather, stocking caps, as women’s stock-

during the 2000s, there was also a faction of white

ings were cut to create the wraps. If you have ever

celebrities who loved them as well, which some

worn a durag or stocking cap and not had your

members of the black community found appropri-

mother create one from her own stocking, you are

ative. From Justin Timberlake, then a member of

surely missing out. Nevertheless, the stocking cap

NSYNC, sporting a Tommy Gear durag, to superstar

of the ‘30s remained a staple in haircare and evolved

soccer player David Beckham rocking one while

into the durag 60 years later. It was used specifically

meeting Prince Charles, white celebrities have taken

for short hair lengths or cornrows, no longer just for

a liking to durags even though it does next to nothing

protecting chemically-processed hair.

for their hair. Not to mention, it has no relevance within their cultural history. Recently public figure

In the late ‘90s as hip-hop rose to new levels of pop-

Kylie Jenner donned one at New York Fashion Week.

ularity, so did the durag. Popularized by black artists

The appropriation of black culture has been and con-

such as Nelly, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Ja Rule and 50 Cent,

tinues to be a problem in America, and the co-opting

durags were at the epicenter of the rap game. What

of durags is just another item in a long list of things

used to be a bedtime routine was now being worn

adopted by non-black people for selfish benefit.

outdoors and flaunted before the masses. Silky and flowy in the wind, durags became a staple of early

Recently, there has been a resurgence of the durag

2000s rap videos and photos, with artists rocking

due to social media. Thanks to Vann R. Newkirk II, a

them under fitted caps or opting for designs and

social media figure and writer for The Atlantic, there

two toned ‘rags. Durags even permeated the realm of

is now a #DuragHistoryWeek. During a week in the

professional sports, notably in the National Basket-

fall, “Black Twitter,” a sub-community of Twitter

ball Association, which in 2005, banned them in their

compiled of mostly black users, comes together to

dress code policy. Although there isn’t any concrete

celebrate all that the durag means to the community.

evidence, the legend of prominent durag-wearer

Full of memes, videos and full flash shots of some of

Allen Iverson, leaving the court after a 40 point, 10

the best waves on Twitter, the week aims to regain

assist game to tie up his durag and keep his braids

a positive connotation for the durag among today’s

fresh has been upheld. This anecdote solidified his

youth. This can especially be seen with #DuragDay

status as one of the most iconic basketball players of

spreading across American college campuses. Begin-

the past decade.

ning at Morehouse College, students took to the lawn

Dropping January 2018

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