Artist’s Manager Says Rihanna Stole Her Client’s Bejeweled Doobie Wrap

Spotted this over at Necole Bitchie’s and just had to share. Last night Rihanna was the first ever recipient of the AMA’s “ICON” Award. Many had opinions on whether she deserved it or not but the main attraction of the night was Rihanna’s choice of hair style. While we and our sister girls may consider this a “doobie wrap” apparently this is a style that one manager says Rihanna ripped off from her artist.

Read the letter below:

“I am writing to express my extreme frustration and anger over the blatant theft of a image that my former artist and I cultivated. A few years ago I worked with an up and coming female rapper named Patwa. She’s a Bronx born 2nd generation Jamerican who fused hip hop, reggae and culture into her music. During 2010 we began generating a buzz in the underground hip hop community. This lead to a couple of meeting with some big wigs at def jam, Geffen, Atlantic and yes Roc nation who manages Rihanna. While meeting with A&Rs with these labels we were continuously told that the imagery we were trying to brand was not “lady like” was “to street”, “to hood” and “to ghetto” we were told that “white America would never get behind such ignorance”. Ratchetness had yet to become an accepted house hold term. The image we were trying to run with was what Patwa knew from the streets which was the doobie wrap. She wore it proudly with jeweled pins to signify she was a Queen and this was her ghetto crown. Something that many females coming from where she came from could relate to. You know when you get that hair wrapped you feel like the Bomb You just got your hair did no one could tell you nothing. After putting a couple of videos up we met with a certain head honcho in roc nation who will remain nameless. We were offered what amounts to a development deal if we softened image and sound. Sticking to our guns we declined because we really believed in the look and knew with a proper push it would catch. So we left that office with our respect. Unfortunately offers started to dry up. Maybe we were too hard and middle America would never understand the doobie wrap. Eventually Patwa and I stopped working together and she returned to school and I to a less then glamorous 9 to 5. I’ve never told her but i always wondered what if we had softened up and changed that hair.

 

Fast forward to 11/24/13 and who do I see grace my flat screen while sitting in my modest one bedroom apartment wearing a doobie wrap with jeweled pins at the AMA’s. Roc nations own Ri Ri. I honestly felt violated. You see during 2011 Patwa and I crossed paths with Rihanna at a Roc Nation event. Rihanna who on that evening was wearing a hairstyle that she “borrowed” from Cassie, complimented the jeweled pin wrap said it looked nice and even inquired as to who did it? We of course were flattered out of our socks and felt almost validated. Two years later it appears middle America is ready and Rihanna really liked what she saw. By no means did we invent the doobie wrap or name. However prior to the AMA’s no one had attempted to wear the doobie as a hairstyle in public. No one!!!!!! I just find it very insulting that something we brought to those people was to “ghetto”. But now Rihanna can accept awards while proudly displaying it. I am really hurt by this and wanted to scream. But I wrote to you guys. Wanted to let someone else know that she stole that look from Patwa.”

Now I’m not sure about you, but I was wearing jeweled bobby pins back when the French roll was hot. A doobie wrap keeps the hair laid. I’m not understanding how one person can coin this look because it’s been a “thing” since….forever. Granted, Rihanna didn’t create the style either, but I doubt that after 3 years Roc Nation said “Hey, remember that Jamaican artist no one knows? Yeah, let’s borrow that doobie wrap idea. It’ll be a huge hit!”

Girl, no. What exactly are you doing for your former client by sending this letter out? Do you want a piece of that ICON award? Patwa doesn’t even wear her hair like that anymore. She wears it down. Who do we have to send a letter to regarding the hair style she jacked?