Chris Rock explores the history of the black hair industry in Good Hair. Photo courtesy of Terry Hines & Associates.

Chris Rock’s latest movie is one he has wanted to make for 18 years. It’s on the bulletin board in his office of dream projects as a movie he’s always wanted to do. It’s about… hair.

Good Hair is an in-depth look at the black hair industry and the importance of hair to black women specifically. The film follows Rock all over the country on his mission to research black hair, including visits to a relaxer manufacturing plant, hair salons and barbershops. The most memorable was his visit to the Bonner Brothers hair fashion show, which gave him the idea for the film after first attending in 1991.

“Hair’s a great one because its political and its sexy,” says Rock, who decided to make the film after one of his daughters came up to him crying and asked him why she doesn’t have good hair.

The movie features a wide variety of well-known figures talking openly and honestly about their hair, ranging from Maya Angelou and Rev. Al Sharpton to T-Pain and Salt-n-Pepa. Each interview is certainly insightful –- Pepa revealed that the actual reason for her famous asymmetrical hairdo was because she had to shave half her head after a perm burned her scalp.

“The topic is a topic in which all that other famous crap just goes out the window,” Rock says. “And when you interview [...] the girls they go right to their kitchen of their mother doing their hair, and the guys immediately think about their mothers and aunts and hot combs and the smell going through. There’s something about the topic that just strips all that stuff away.”

What surprised Rock the most during filming was how much money black women are willing spend on their hair –- black hair is a $9 billion industry.

“You know Beyoncé spends five grand to go to the MTV awards or the Grammy’s. You didn’t know Kiki was spending five grand to go work at AT&T or something,” Rock says. “That was like mind blowing.”

Rock also traveled halfway across the world to India, where women shave their heads as part of a religious ceremony to sacrifice vanity. The temple then sells the hair to American companies for use as weaves. Though the temple uses the profits to support local hospitals and charities, the women have no idea what their hair is actually being used for.

“It would be like if you woke up tomorrow and somebody told you they’ve been selling your toenails for 20 years, like what? It wouldn’t even make sense to you,” says Rock, who describes the movie as his “passion project.”

Though the documentary may seem like a departure in style for Rock, the movie is first and foremost a comedy.

“Everything I do is a comedy. No matter what I do,” Rock says. “If you found out I had pancreatic cancer tomorrow, I’ma figure out how to have the funniest pancreatic cancer you ever seen. Ok? I am a comedian. Snoop’s a crip, I’m a comedian. To the death! I represent comedy to the death!”

Rock is currently being sued for $5 million by a woman claiming that she showed him her documentary titled My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage, from which Rock allegedly stole the idea for his film. Good Hair may or may not be the first movie to delve into the topic of the black hair industry, but according to Rock it won’t be the last.

“There’s gonna be more hair movies… I’m sure CNN’s gonna do a hair thing, you know what I mean, like ‘Soledad O’Brien gets down to the nitty gritty. Dreadlock! Black in America 5, the dreadlock edition,’” Rock says.

Even though the movie is certainly enlightening, Rock is quick to say he’s not trying to start a social change.

“I’m just trying to make a movie that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking…it’s just hair.”