Month: April 2018

Racing Ahead

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Greetings fam! I hope all is well. Today, my youngest daughter and I created a beautiful memory together. We ran a 5K together! Now to bring this into perspective, my daughter is 10 years old and I have not run an entire 5K in 5 years. But nevertheless, we did it and I am filled to the brim with joy. As I sit here tonight, I have a few thoughts that I want to share (of course!)

  1. Mind over matter really works (sometimes)- My daughter has trained for 2 months for this 5K. I kept telling myself that I would train. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am pretty active. I do go to the gym as often as possible and I am a yogi. I also eat pretty healthily. However, I never trained. I knew that I would push myself to be in place for my daughter and that is just what the hell I did!
  2. Our children are truly watching, and they do want our support and approval. My daughter is very headstrong and opinionated (not unlike her mother). I never have considered that she was modeling my behaviors until today. I have always loved to run and be active. Watching her run by my side, in step, and with a look of sheer determination was heartwarming. Once we crossed the finish line, I felt how much she needed my encouragement and how much she appreciated my presence.
  3. Lastly, I got to see #blackgirlmagick in action. The young queens represented themselves so well. They were all so positive, so lovely, so determined. It was inspiring to be a part of the conglomerate. I have a desire to begin to work more with our girls. Today, the fire was stoked!

 

 

Peace,

Ashaki

Strange Fruit

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Greetings! I hope this post finds you well on this Thursday morning. I have not written about the never-ending atrocities of racism that my people continue to experience in quite some time. However, things will never change unless we speak about them and act upon them.

The Waffle House killer, Travis Reinking, was taken into custody a few days ago. And although his bond has been revoked, I can not help but to feel infuriated that this murderer was able to stay on the lamb so long and not have a hair on his pretty little head hurt. This case has white privilege written all over it! I feel the same way that I felt when Dylan Roof was taken to get some food by cops after his capture. In the words of an old friend—I am 38 hot!

The names of my people who have been killed at the hands of police officers in Amerikkka over years is absolutely staggering. According to the Washington Post, 68 African Americans have been killed by police this year thus far and in 2017, 223 were killed by police. And according to mappingpoliceviolence.org, black people are 3 times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts.

There is no arguing with data. And although I am an artist at heart, I also believe in the power of numbers. My point is that the so-called justice system is truly a “just-us” system. It has been created to protect the interests of those who have held power in this country since its inception. The killings by police is straight up modern day lynching.

So, excuse me if I do not want to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya”.  Amerikka has still not stopped harvesting “Strange Fruit”. May the families of the 4 victims of the Waffle House killer find some semblance of peace in their life. They have my eternal respect.

 

Peace,

Ashaki

Being in the Presence of Greatness

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Greetings and Happy Saturday! Yo, I am still feeling high and not because I took part in any extracurricular activities involving herbs. Last night, I saw a dream of mine come true; I saw Eric B. & Rakim live in concert. I cannot tell you how it felt watching him rhyme, move about the stage, speak to the crowd. For once in my life, I was star-struck.

He and Eric B. took us down memory lane. We heard “Don’t Sweat the Technique”, “Move the Crowd”, among other signs. They ended with the classic “Paid in Full”. The energy in the room was essentially the essence of pure hip hop at its finest. Other hip- hop royalty was in the room as well- Greg Nice, Special Ed, and one of my favorite female emcees, Yo-Yo. Yo-Yo put on one hell of a show as well, opening for Eric B. & Rakim.

This night is one of those moments that you wish never ended; a life-altering experience that will forever be etched in my mind. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to be in the presence of some of my heroes. Now, I can add the god MC to my bucket list. The living legend truly doesn’t know how impactful his jewels have been to me over the years.

So, in the words of my grandmother, “I believe I can run on!”. That show fed my spirit as I knew it would. I keep telling ya’ll I’m a hopeless hip hop romantic. Anyway, let me get out of this house and let my “third eye shine like jewelry”……

 

Peace,

Ashaki

I Can Feel It In the Air

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, peace, peace everyone! It has been much too long but, here I am- smiling from ear to ear. I have just finished the final edit of my book, “Life Is Still Good”, and I am over the moon. I have successfully talked myself out of publishing this book for the last 4 years and now I am finally in a place and space that I am confident enough to release it to the universe.

This book has been a labor of love; a truly transforming work. I share some of my deepest hurts, greatest triumphs, and longest held secrets. It has taken me years to cultivate the level of confidence that I have now. Do I still fear that the work won’t be well received? Of course, but the intention that I have placed within the pages overcomes any fear that I feel. This book is going to help some little girl someplace on this planet to know that her life is special and she does matter.

I am doing a special event on Facebook where I will be reading an excerpt live. I think it is important to read my words in my own voice. There is power in our voices and I have been blessed to have a very strong voice. If you would like to hear, like my page, I Lioness Publishing and tune in on Wednesday night at 8 pm EST.

Have you ever had a feeling that great things were coming……..Yeah, I am there right now.

 

Peace to the World,

Ashaki Omikunle Ali