For those of you who are awake…

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It’s 4:00 a.m. and tonight I can’t get to sleep, so I listen. For those of you who are awake, this is a perfect song to take you into Sunday morning. I started it at a nice point, so that you can be at ease, but listen to the song in its entirety if you so please. It’s called Master Teacher. The question is, what if there were no niggas, only Master Teachers? Hope you can get it. Don’t be afraid to be great.

One, two
One, two, three, four

Baby sleep and time
to put her down now
I’ll be standin’ round
until the sun down

I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke

Congregation nod they heads
and say Amen
the deacon fell asleep again and

I stay woke
But I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke

Lovers holding hands
and falling deep in love
and sleeping and
passing conversation

Ooh, I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke

Pretty rings and pretty thieves
with shiny lights and little
pieces of tomorrow

I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke
___________ … the rest of the lyrics are here.

Peace and love,

Shila

It’s So Easy to Love Her, Selah!

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Since the first time I heard her voice, I have been in love with the sound of her. I don’t care how she looks, or how she wears her hair. I don’t care how crazy they say she is, or how many kids, I just love to hear her speak. I see myself reflected in her eyes, and I get weak. Her art is ministry. Her words are from the most high, she is god. And sometimes, I kneal, for, I am thankful for the gift of her experiences, revealed, through her poetic verses, Lauryn Hill… I hear you, as your soul transitions into happiness, keep blessing the best of us. I hear my ancestors speak through you, triumphant woman of the moon, peace to you.

It’s national poetry month ya’ll… Selah… and then he came…

Nothing can be done against the truth
No matter how we remain in denial, yeah
Wasting time, replacing time
With each empty excuse
But that’ll only work a little while…

Coping with despair
Knowing you’re not there
Ashamed to just admit I’ve been a fool
So I blame it on the sun
Run away from everyone
Hoping to escape this ridicule

Trapped in misery
Wrapped so miserably in this deception I wear it like a skin
Dying to maintain, oh I keep trying to explain
A heart that never loved me to begin

Oh I’m such a mess, I have no choice but to confess
That I’ve been desperately trying to belong
Lying to myself and everybody else
Refusing to admit my right was wrong

And then he came, selah
Oh and it means praise and meditation
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means, did ya think about that
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means, praise and meditation
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means that it is sieved

How beautiful his fruits, still in denial of its roots
My guilty heart behaved so foolishly
This treason from within that reasons with my sin
Won’t be happy til it sees the death of me

Selfishly addicted to a life that I’ve depicted
Conflicted cause it’s not reality
Oh what’s left of me, I beg you desperately,
Cause me to agree but what I know is best for me

Please save me from myself
I need you, save me from myself
Please save me from myself so I can heal

The choices that I make, oh have been nothing but mistakes
What a wasted use of space
Should I die before I wake?
In all of my religion, I’ve fortified this prison
Obligated to obey the demands of bad decision

Please save me from myself
I need you to save me from myself
Please save me from myself so I can heal

And then he came, selah
Oh and it means praise and meditation
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means did ya think about that
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means meditation
And then he came, selah
Oh and it means that it is sealed

And then he came
And then he came, then he came, then he came
And then he
And then he came

PRAISE & MEDITATION

-Shila

P.S. Nothing can be done against the truth.

Lovin Oprah These Days… She Can Rock an Afro!

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Cover of the Sept 2013 Issue

Page 27 of the Sept 2013 Issue

This is Oprah on the cover of the September 2013 issue of The Oprah Magazine. I am really digging her boldness these days. She is fun, open, and risky! That is a great way for a woman of her age to be- ageless at heart! The point of it all: Tressed to Impress, all about the hair. I really just think that she is visually showing what it feels like to experiment with and to explore hair. I love the textured fro. Beyonce’s stylist allowed her to borrow it and it weighs in at 3.5 lbs. Wow! It is reminiscent of Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, and Ms. Badu:

Diana Ross

Chaka Khan

Erykah Badu with Chaka Khan

Erykah performing a tribute to Chaka

Love it!

Esperanza Spalding’s lovely big fro’

Oprah says that she wish this wig were her own hair. I love it! She talks about hair because she wants to know why it has such a hold on women. I agree. Oddly, I asked my friend yesterday what he thought about my hair over the phone. I dyed my hair and the roots had begun to show and I wanted to know what he thought about that. He said to me: you are focusing too much on it! You have good taste and it’s beautiful any way you wear it. I believed him. He isn’t shallow at all (but he cannot stand weave!). I could come out any way that I pleased and he would not care. Gotta love a good friend! This is the biggest my hair has been. I only wore it like this for a photo shoot. I couldn’t handle it the next day day. The Afro pics were of me in Vegas at an NBA party! It was so much fun!

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Well, I believe that the hair/head is a crown and it should be cared for with love, but, if it becomes consuming then think about a cut! For me, hair is most beautiful in its natural texture. Not chemically processed or dyed. What you were born with is what you must love. Everything else is just temporary decoration. Colors and weaves should not define a woman. We must show our own hair and love it. I love my bush. Do you?

The Kush Queen aka Queen Duafe aka Shila Iris aka ishilai aka The Fifth Element for African Essence Blog

Poetry in Music- Vocalist ASA (pronounced ASHA)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Shila Iris

“I’m in chains, you’re in chains too

I wear uniforms and you wear uniforms too

I’m a prisoner, you’re a prisoner too, Mr Jailer”

Asa is a Nigerian- born singer who is currently performing all over the world. Her music is a feel good, conscious protest to modern day slavery. She explains concepts such as love, oppression, peace, and dreaming. Of course I have some songs that I play over and over because the messages speak to what I am, but all of her music has a sharp angle of awareness that we don’t hear a lot these days.

Vocalist Asa, click on the image to be directed to her website

Asa represents a new breed of artist largely indebted to beautiful poets like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and MeShell Ndegeocello. Her lyrics are far from cookie-cutter, lacking the repetitive, hypnotic trance that modern artists get over using. Asa allows you to think and to get involved spiritually with the rhythms. If there is a parent out there looking for some good music for his/her young teenage daughter to listen to, please try ASA.

Queen Style

My heart leaps when she speaks in her native tongue on songs such as So Beautiful, Bi ban ke, and Bimpe. On her album Beautiful Imperfection, my favorite song is The Way I Feel. It is reminiscent of Nina Simone’s efforts in addressing the struggles of Black expression. While Nina Simone was more direct with her messages of demur, Asa is still powerful, especially since people are seemingly trying to force the world to forget the crimes of colonization endured by people of African descent. It won’t help to forget, or brush these issues under the rug. It’s better to address them and learn about the real history of the mother land.

“I’m talking to you jailer

Stop calling me a prisoner

Let he who is without sin-

be the first to cast the stone

Mr Jailer

You suppress all my strategy

You oppress every part of me

What you don’t know,

you’re a victim too

Mr Jailer”

These are lyrics from her song Jailer, the first song on her debut album. Just wonderful! Check out ASA in all her efforts to spread a different kind of message, not driven by money. Her music is linked on her website. Check out your local library if you want to borrow her CDs to try them out first. The video below is cool, however, I normally like music more without having viewed the videos. I like to hear the message before seeing it.

My New Year Start’s Today

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Shila Iris

Today is February 13 and it is my birthday! I am excited! I never really get excited on my birthday but this year I am grateful for so many things, including all the new and wonderful people who have become a part of my world. I can thank my greatest friend in life (he knows who he is) for introducing me to so many new ideas, people, and feelings… we have a chemistry only true friendship can understand.

SMOOTH IS LIFE TRAVELS WITH YOU BESIDE ME… Thanks for being real and being so kind and tough and respectful and thoughtful and supportive. You have helped me evolve as an artist more than anyone. Peace and love to you always.

So… I love being an Aquarius. The sign defines me and I define it. Now it is time to write.

This is my first blog entry of the year. I wanted to write many times, but for some reason I could not! I think I had to get into the groove of the year. I was discouraged from making observations about the year and making resolutions until I made some major decisions about my life. My new year starts NOW- February 13. My birthday always feels more like a new year for me. In the past I have not been a big birthday person, but it means a great deal to me this year because I feel like I have more wisdom than I ever had. I have grown tremendously and I do not mind getting older. I welcome age. I can already see myself loving my gray hair when that time comes!

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT GETTING OLDER…

I’ve noticed changes in my body. It looks like I will have to get more active this year because my skin feels different and my face looks a bit different.

I’ve noticed changes in the way that I think. Things do not affect me the same. I want more now and I have this constant desire to find freedom.

I’ve started to face reality. I used to struggle with the here and now. I wanted people to be how I wanted them to be and I wanted them to change on the spot. I am not too concerned with these types of things anymore. My biggest concern is connecting myself with nature and seeing the world.

I used to have time to waste, but as I get older I realize that I need to keep pressing on. I do not want to play as much anymore (well, maybe just a bit). I love to have fun and smile every moment that I can… smell the flowers, if I may. I just realize that work and play have to match. THE KEY IS: USE MODERATION IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. Overuse and abuse make you grow old faster. Bad habits make you grow older as well. Only take what you need. Only buy what you need. Only use what you need. I accept enough to get by. Do not be greedy. Have you ever been at a cook out and watched that one person load their plate up until it is spilling over? Then they laugh and make meaningless comments trying to come up with an excuse as to why they are being greedy? DO NOT BE THAT PERSON. Take a little and leave some for others, move on. Do not accept anything for free. Work for the things you desire in life.

2013 HAS BEEN GREAT!

I ushered in January with history and poetry and art. I celebrated Kwanzaa with a group I perform poetry with: The Griot Project. We celebrated our 2^nd Annual Kwanzaa this year. We had all observed Kwanzaa in the past, but we decided to celebrate it together and invite people to our celebrations. For 7 whole days we did this. Each evening we had a brief ceremony, ate, had discussions, took pictures, gave gifts, and glowed in the midst of our ancestors knowing they were proud that we took pride in our African American Identity- no watering it down.

I made Kwanzaa gifts. Since I paint and create, I love to give people art. I used old vinyl records to create Africa-inspired designs.

I enjoyed making these gifts and spending time with friends. I invited my friend Robert over ON my day which was Nia: Purpose (we all take a day and do research and share our findings with everyone who comes). He brought his friend Jennifer who I had never met. She later connected me with another poetry group in Columbus,Ohio. I was very grateful. This is why I enjoy meeting new people because it seems we all touched each other and were there at that particular time for a reason. THAT WAS MY NEW YEAR!

I also spent time with my friends from Umojah Nation Reggae Band. We went to Oil City, PA. They had a 4 hour gig welcoming in the New Year! Yes, 4 hours! It was fun. I do not have a picture from that day because I think everyone was too cold to pose!

Well. this year I hope to do some extensive traveling and see my family more.

More to come…

Check out my birthday playlist:

1. Jill Scott: Spring Summer Feeling

2. Telepopmusik: Don’t Look Back

3. Esthero: Thank Heaven for You

4. Janet Jackson: When We Oooo

5. Madonna: Secret

6. Maxwell: Bad Habits

7. Corinne Bailey Rae: Closer

8. Portishead: All Mine

9. LiAnn La Havas: Don’t Wake Me Up