What Is Kanekalon? The Viral TikTok Song Might Not Be For You

It’s always exciting when a new song goes viral on TikTok, especially when it’s from an indie artist. The platform can really make people’s careers. (No, I’m not talking about the “margarita” song.) The latest one taking over my FYP is called “You Wish” by hip-hop duo Flyana Boss. There’s a lyric in it that’s become the talk of TikTok: “I’m made of sugar, spice, kanekalon, and cinnamon.” Some folks are heading to Google to find out what kanekalon is, so maybe they should sit this trend out.

Hailing from Detroit and Dallas, multi-talented Bobbi Lanea and Folayan Kunerede are “two besties who make music,” and their latest track is catchy as hell. It makes for a perfect transition song, with creators mouthing the opener “Hello Christ? I’m about to sin again” in one look and finishing with “I said I love you to this man but I’m not feeling him” in a new look. All of that is great and no doubt, Flyana Boss is loving the attention their new song is getting. (They’ve stiched a bunch of videos!) But it’s when creators keep going with the song that trouble may arise.

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Right now, my FYP is full of white creators singing the next line, “I’m made of sugar, spice, kanekalon, and cinnamon,” often tripping over the word “kanekalon” because they don’t know what it means. When a woman of color — Black and Latinx women in particular — mouths the words, there’s a stark difference. They know kanekalon, a type of synthetic hair extension. That’s why being “made of kanekalon” makes sense for Black creators.

White TikTokers need to pay attention to what sounds they’re using on the app. It’s easy to stop before getting to a place in a song you don’t understand. You can also research the sound so you understand the context.

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Ignoring these things will quickly get you into digital Blackface territory, a term used to describe non-Black people using Black people and culture as emotional reactions online. But it’s not just about using or not using a song or sound. How you lip-sync the song matters, too. Think about why you’re adding a “sassy” twist to your video when you don’t usually act like that IRL.

TikTok creator Justin Jordan explained the harm of digital Blackface in his own video and how we can all make steps to change. “The problem isn’t the features on TikTok itself,” he said. “It’s as a culture, we think Blackness is funny. So we have to change culture, and people have been trying to do that for literally hundreds of years. We have a long way ahead. It’s not gonna happen overnight, and I don’t even think it’s gonna happen in my lifetime. But it’s just making people more aware of the cultural tools they’re using to be successful.”

And remember: artists don’t get money from you using their songs on TikTok. So be sure to download “You Wish” and other songs from Flyana Boss. You won’t be sorry. Each one is better than the next.

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