Cardi B's red bandana-print wig for Kay Flock's 'Shake It' music video was inspired by one of her most daring looks
Cardi B's team flew North Carolina hairstylist Elisha Michelle to New York to paint the print onto a custom wig for the rapper.
Kay Flock/YouTube; Lyrical Lemonade/YouTube
- Cardi B wore a custom wig in rapper Kay Flocka's new music video "Shake It."
- The red bandana-print wig was designed by hairstylist and wig colorist Elisha Michelle.
- Michelle said the design was inspired by Cardi B's outfit from the "Thotiana (Remix)" music video.
Cardi B stepped on camera in a red bandana-print wig for rapper Kay Flock's music video for "Shake It," which dropped on Friday.
The 29-year-old "WAP" rapper is featured on the track along with Dougie B and Bory300. The wig she wore in the video — which had 6.3 million views on Wednesday — featured a hand-painted design by Elisha Michelle, a Greensboro, North Carolina, hairstylist, and wig colorist. The wig installation was handled by celebrity hairstylist Tokyo Stylez, according to an Instagram post by Tokyo on March 30.
Michelle told Insider she was new to creating bandana-print wigs when she posted a video on February 4 debuting the design. She said the idea was inspired by the bandana outfit Cardi B wore in rapper Blueface's "Thotiana (Remix)" music video.
Lyrical Lemonade/YouTube
When Michelle's video gained traction, she shared it again on TikTok and Instagram, asking her followers to tag Cardi B. She says she's a big fan of the artist and resonates with Cardi B's drive. As of Wednesday, Michelle's original video has almost 425,000 likes on Instagram.
After seeing Michelle's post, Cardi B's team reached out at the end of March and flew her to New York to recreate the design on a new wig for the "Shake It" video. The wig, which was made by Kendra's Boutique according to Tokyo's Instagram video on March 30, was already dyed red when Michelle arrived. Michelle told Insider that the process of dyeing, hand-painting, and styling a wig normally takes her three hours.
The 31-year-old told Insider she has worked as a stylist and colorist for four years and describes herself as someone who can't draw. Still, she learned to hand-draw onto wigs with paint and a brush. After finishing Cardi B's wig, she stayed on set with the rest of her team to correct any issues.
Michelle shared with Insider that she gained about 2,000 followers on Instagram and received about eight requests to do bandana-print wigs after videos of Cardi B's wig went viral on social media. The hairstylist now has more than 16,000 followers on Instagram and said she's continued to work with social media influencers like YouTuber Nikita Dragun. Cardi B later posted a video of herself wearing the red bandana wig on Instagram and received compliments from musicians like SZA, Stefflon Don, and Supa Peach.
Michelle said she's handling the adjustment well but is looking into getting an assistant as her business grows. Most of all, she's happy that a rapper she admires was excited about her design.
"There's so much that I'm proud of, but I would say the most is just seeing that [Cardi B] was excited about the wig before I even started to create it and that she loved it," she said. "That's my whole thing when I create something for somebody. To see their smile afterward, then I know I accomplished something."