'Coming 2 America' stylists reveal 7 secrets about the film's iconic hair

Over 30 years after their turn in the hit film "Coming to America" (1988), Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall have reunited in the long-awaited sequel, "Coming 2 America."

The film follows Prince Akeem (Murphy) and his loyal sidekick, Semmi (Hall), as the royal reunites with his illegitimate son, Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler). 

Hair-department heads Carla Farmer and Stacey Morris, who has been Murphy's personal barber for over 20 years, were tasked with modernizing the looks for a new era and revisiting some of the iconic '80s styles.

The two have collaborated for decades on films like "Dolemite Is My Name" (2019) and "Sylvie's Love" (2020), but Farmer said this project was especially meaningful because it was all about Black excellence.

The duo spoke to Insider, sharing behind-the-scenes facts about the film's styles and inspirations. 

The characters were styled based on their generations

Zamunda's princesses — Meeka (KiKi Layne), Omma (Bella Murphy), and Tinashe (Akiley Love) — are seen with styles ranging from puffs to Bantu knots. 

The stylists told Insider that they were mindful of having these hairdos reflect the eras the characters grew up in, diverging from the styles of Prince Akeem and Semmi that were based on the first film and more so influenced by European culture.

"And this new generation we felt would be more influenced by the African culture or African American culture," Farmer said. "Because here in America, too, the kids are embracing their natural hair, we felt that in Zamunda the kids would embrace their natural hair even more so."

The Nextdorians were given a more urban look

In the sequel, we meet the residents from the rival city of Nextdoria, led by General Izzi (Wesley Snipes) and his children Bopoto (Teyana Taylor) and Idi (Rotimi). 

In one scene, Bopoto appears in a jaw-dropping Afro, which Farmer said was a purposeful contrast. 

"They were from a country that didn't have as much money as Zamunda, so they were more influenced by an urban culture," Farmer said. "So when you saw Teyana, she was going to have a different hair hairstyle all the time, because that's kind of what the urban women do."

Farmer added that this also tied into Idi's looks, like his different color dreadlocks. 

The Zamundans were given a slightly updated and polished look

Morris told Insider that she brought the royals into the 21st century with a few minor alterations, like making Prince Akeem's style "a little more refined" and adjusting the shape of Semmi's hairdo.

"And then Arsenio, from a different generation, before he had that flat top, he had more hair," the stylist said. "So it was just an updated version of that, not as square because that was kind of like the '80s and '90s. And I put a little texture into his hair and a side part to bring him up to date."

General Izzi's hair was inspired by a style from Rwanda

Morris said that General Izzi's unique and intricate hairdo was based on a Rwandan style called Amasunzu from the Tutsi tribe. The stylist put her own fantasy spin on the hairdo, which dates back to the 1920s and is used in the film as a portrayal of class.

"That style was worn by powerful leaders, nobles, people who had money, and it signified a few different things," Morris told Insider. "And I followed what Carla was doing as far as putting the jewels and different things in the hair."  

"... that was important because we like to adorn ourselves with jewels to enhance our beauty and our hairstyles," she added. "And it's just a statement of pride and identifies that you had status or some type of wealth."

Fowler's hair needed to be hidden at first

Lavelle is first introduced with a high-top hairstyle, which, unbeknownst to viewers, was used to cover up his dreads. 

The character sported two different hairdos, one when he was in New York and the other when he stayed in Zamunda.

"We actually put a piece to cover his dreads so that there could be a change when he went to Zamunda," Morris said. "Carla and I had to get crafty last minute and figure out how to do that, and we decided we would cover it." 

The pair used a styled piece for the top of the hair, and another barber, Victor Paz, designed the sides and back to match. 

"So every time that he worked and needed that hair, Victor had to not only put that piece on, but he had to build the rest of the hair to match it because it was only a top piece," the stylist added.

Braided hair deliberately appears in the film only once

Leslie Jones makes a hilarious turn as Lavelle's mom, Mary Junson, sporting multiple looks throughout the movie, most of which were the work of her own stylist, Dennis Bailey. 

However, Farmer said she created the braids that Mary wore in one scene. 

It is also the only time you will see pure braids in the film since both Farmer and Morris wanted to veer away from typical styles and show the versatility of Black hair. 

The prosthetics team was in charge of styling the barbershop characters, though Morris was able to help with a few looks

Murphy and Hall reprised their multiple roles from the original movie, including Morris, Reverend Brown, Saul, Clarence, and Randy Watson, and the prosthetics team can be credited for those transformations. 

Mike Marino recreated Rick Baker's original looks with the help of wig maker Diana Choi, but Morris also got to help the team bring these styles to life. 

"I was lucky enough to be invited in to assist them with styling two of the characters — Randy Watson and the barber Clarence," Morris said. "Anything where you see the characters and the prosthetics and stuff like that — the hair — they usually have their own team, but they invited me in to help."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We found the best way to fix broken makeup