Journey on Akhe

A few verses from God in the Qur’an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and lastly 2pac...

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:06:00 -0400

A few verses from God in the Qur’an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and lastly 2pac about the importance of Mothers. Always be good to your mothers y’all.

“And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims.” [Noble Quran 46:15]

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility and say, “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.” [Noble Quran 17:23-24]

A companion of the Prophet came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I want to perform Jihad in the way of Allah. He asked, “Is your mother alive?“ I replied, “Yes.“ The Prophet then said: “Cling to her feet, because paradise is there.“

A man came to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah! Who from amongst mankind warrants the best companionship from me? He replied: “Your mother.” The man asked: Then who? So he replied: “Your mother.” The man then asked: Then who? So the Prophet replied again: “Your mother.” The man then asked: Then who? So he replied: “Then your father.” (Sahîh Bukhârî 5971 and Sahîh Muslim 7/2)

“And there’s now way I can pay you back, but my plan is to show that I understand. We all appreciate” (2pac)

MY FIRST INTERVIEW ON 91.7 WVXU PUBLIC RADIO I recently got the...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:01:00 -0400

Radio host, Mark Perzel and I in the WVXU studio's. Mark is the Executive Producer and Host of 91.7 WVXU’s local news magazine, Cincinnati Edition.

One of the studios of WVXU where local & national, daily programming is coordinated for Cincinnati.

WVXU also has a professional recording studio where they record special projects. Pictured here are a # of plaques by the Cincinnati Boys Choir & others. Perhaps Elementz will be up here 1 day!

MY FIRST INTERVIEW ON 91.7 WVXU PUBLIC RADIO

I recently got the opportunity to do an interview on 91.7 WVXU with Mark Perzel, host of “Cincinnati Edition.” The focus of the interview was Elementz Urban Arts Center and our progress in changing the lives of inner city youth through urban arts. This was my first time being featured on Public Radio and my first time in the studio’s of WVXU.

When it comes to Radio, WVXU is pretty much all I listen to now a days so it was a pleasure for me to be able to tell the story of Elementz with Mark.

Click the following link to listen to the interview on WVXU’s website - http://www.wvxu.org/post/elementz-hip-hop-youth-center

4/12 - Owning Our Islam: A Conversation on American Muslim Identity

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:01:00 -0400

Join Salaam Community Network this Friday for the second of our quarterly conversation series of 2013. Usama Canon will be our guest speaker as we explore a conversation on American Muslim Identity. The program will be followed by tea and dessert.

All of this Lord willing this Friday 6:30 PM at the Clifton Mosque, Islamic Association of Cincinnati.

RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/events/312254582234274/

Short Bio on Usama Canon:

Born and raised in California, Usama Canon embraced Islam in 1996 and has been a student of the tradition ever since, studying various Islamic Sciences both stateside and abroad under some of today’s foremost scholars. During the last decade, Usama served as the Outreach Director and an Arabic Instructor at Zaytuna Institute, as well as a Muslim Chaplain for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Usama is the Founding Director of Ta’leef Collective, a community based non-profit focused on assisting converts to Islam and creating healthy social and sacred spaces.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF ELEMENTZ 8 YR ANNIVERSARY...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0400

WE ARE FAMILY! Classic picture of Elementz members, alumni, staff, board, founders and friends

DJ Notes & Visual Arts instructor, Ben Thomas hanging up a new Elementz mural. Ben created this beautiful mural only 2 hours before the event based upon the new Elementz Logo.

The talented young ladies of our Generation Steppers program. During their performance they stopped for a moment to remind everyone about the meaning of the words Peace & Respect

Studio Kre8v impresses everyone with their newest hip hop dance routines.

Vocalist & Spoken word artist, Arris Payne performs.

Elementz volunteer, Gary Ward, and other attendees enjoying the performances

Guest artist Napoleon connecting with DJ Apryl Reign. This was Apryl's first time doing an event with us since she had her twins girls last fall.

Elementz Zumba instructor, Miyah Gooden, does a demonstration with participation from the audience

R&B and Soul artist, Petawane, of Harlem, NY performs with our talented young musicians of the Queen City Band.

A classic picture of me with Islord and Nitty. Of the 4 founders of Elementz, Islord was the one who thought of working towards creating a youth center themed around Hip Hop.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF ELEMENTZ 8 YR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

On Thursday 3/21 Elementz held an Open House to celebrate its 8th year of service to inner city youth. We were embraced by a full house of youth and supporters.

This was the first event of 2013 in which every member of our team played a role. Our program instructors organized repeat youth performances that were held throughout the evening. We held an Open Mic on our first floor “Street Stage” and Hip Hop Dance & Step performances on our 3rd floor “Sky Stage.” Our board members did everything from helping us serve food to getting our story out to local media.

My co-director and I in particular each spent a great deal of time planning this event. We listened to feedback of our Staff & Board in regards to how to make the Open House successful. Neither of us are graphic designers but we were able to worked together to create a poster that was both cool and representative of Elementz. We also got new decals made for both the inside and outside of our building. And of course we both made a lot of personal invitations to our supporters.

It felt really inspiring to see that all of our collective efforts lead to us producing a successful celebration that also captured the feeling of “family” that our organization is known for. God has willed it.

View a short video segment from the event on Local 12 WKRC

View photos taken by Cincinnati’s local press, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Local 12 Video Segment on Elementz Giving Youth Positive...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Local 12 Video Segment on Elementz Giving Youth Positive Outlet

Local 12 News Reporter, Angela Ingram, recently produced a remarkable video about the positive work that Elementz is doing in the inner city. The video features footage of performances taken during Elementz 8 year Anniversary Open House as well as interviews with our talented young artists Tafari McDade, Courtney Wilkinson and yours truly (Abdullah Powell, Creative Director of Elementz).

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW TRAINING w/ IYDE - “EVEN...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:11:44 -0400

International Humanitarian Law Training with the Red Cross

Our group learns about some of the chaos that Red Cross Volunteers pass across when trying to provide aid for those in need during wartime situations.

My mentee answers whether the question of which targets are lawful during war according to IHL Law

Picture of the IYDE Youth Leadership Group After Training. The T-shirts read, "Even Wars Have Limits"

Picture of all the youth and Red Cross Facilitators Who Participated in the IHL Training

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW TRAINING w/ IYDE - “EVEN WARS HAVE LIMITS”

I recently participated in fascinating training with our leadership group from the Institute of Youth Development & Excellence (IYDE). The focus was on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and it was facilitated by the Red Cross.

I actually was completely unaware of IHL or common practices that Countries are supposed to follow during war time situations with regards to soldiers, sailors, prisoners of war and civilians. We learned how soldiers are supposed to distinguish between which targets of war are lawful and unlawful. We also learned how respected the Red Cross is around the world as a neutral party.

This was a good first training for our leadership group with IYDE. Now the group must use their creativity to come up with a new project that relates to the IHL training. I intend to make posts about our #journey so stay tuned…

“GAME NIGHT” WITH FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS IN...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:01:07 -0500

Family, friends & neighbors gather for "Game Night"

My Wife, Aunt and friends of family playing scrabble. In this pic the dictionary is being used to show proof of a words existence.

Me playing "Spaids" with family and neighbors.

“GAME NIGHT” WITH FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS IN HOLLEYDALE

The other night my step mother and father-in-law hosted “Game Night” in their home in Holleydale, Cincinnati. ”Game Night” consists of family, friends and neighbors coming together to play a variety of board and card games in order to socialize. The kids are usually playing Nintendo Wii while all the adults are upstairs competitively playing games Spaids & Scrabble.

I had to make a post about this because I’ve never seen any thing like this hosted in someone’s home. The entire house was packed with people like it was a recreation center or hangout spot. I spoke to the founder of Game Night about why this gathering was established and she said that it started years ago so that family and friends would stay connected and so that her children and other family members children would have something to do that would keep them away from the streets.

I was very impressed by everyone’s friendliness, and to see everyone having clean fun. Folks were playing very competitively but there wasn’t any swearing, gambling, or arguing amongst each other. Although a few of the sisters did get roused up a little while discussing the validity of a few words in scrabble. When I think of the word “community” these are the type of functions that I think of. Families and neighbors knowing each other and staying connected to one another.

TEAM ELEMENTZ Recently I helped organize two seperate meetings...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:01:00 -0500

Elementz Staff - D. Burbridge, R Crawford, Jori Cotton, M. Barksdale, A Penn, A. Powell (Me), G. Ward, B. Johnson, Chris Powell, E. Leathers, T. Kent, Ashli Dees, Nitty Morris, Ben Thomas, Kasib Hasan

Elementz Board - Me, Art Shriberg, Fred Neurohr, Diane Jordan, Peter Block, Tonya Warren, Tom Hagardy, Tom Kent, Tysonn Betts, Fanon Rucker (Not in pic Amanda Gray, Elle Morris, Regina Russo, B. Ross)

TEAM ELEMENTZ

Recently I helped organize two seperate meetings with members of what I call “Team Elementz” which consists of the staff and board of Elementz. Both of these meetings were equally important to me as I felt the need for the various members of our team to bond and renew our passion for Elementz in this new year of 2013.

My agenda for the staff meeting was set with the intention of creating a stronger bond between new & veteran staff members by having food catered from a local soul found restaurant called Rasheeda’s and allowing for everyone to break bread and socialize. Following the dinner staff discussed what some of their passions were outside of Elementz, and shared their individual ideas of “what Elementz is today.” Our arts instructors then shared their future plans and goals for their programs in 2013.

On a separate evening myself and others from Elementz’ board of directors gathered for a meeting in the home of our board president, Peter Block. For additional facilitation of this meeting I worked with Senior Learning Facilitator, Liz Kitchell, who also happens to be the wife of our board secretary, Fred Neurohr. Our night started with a wonderful dinner prepared by Peter and several board members. Afterwards me and my fellow co-director, Tom Kent, laid out our vision for Elementz in 2013. This was followed by breaking out into small groups to brainstorm ways that we all could contribute to a shared vision, possible ideas for Elementz events in the new year and ways to further connect Elementz to the community.

After both meetings we took group pictures of both the Elementz staff and board for this first time in the history of Elementz. Its truly a pleasure for me to work with a dynamic team that is passionate about serving urban youth. We all are very optimistic about the future of Elementz and ready to work together towards having a successful year.

ELEMENTZ & TEMPLE SHOLOM - DOING JUSTICE Video from...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:00:00 -0500

ELEMENTZ & TEMPLE SHOLOM - DOING JUSTICE

Video from Elementz’ recent experience with the Jewish community of Temple Sholom. This was our 2nd year of collaborating with T.S. and this year they came to visit us on our home turf in Over the Rhine. The theme of the day was “Doing Justice”, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..

During this experience Elementz instructors taught urban arts to nearly 50 youth and adults from Temple Sholom. This included stepping, hip hop dance, visual art, and spoken word. Myself along with two youth leaders from Elementz (Tafari Mcdade, Damon Hoskins) also facilitated a presentation for adults of Temple Sholom in which we shared perspective on what its like to grow up in the inner city and why its important to have positive outlets for expression like Elementz.

Towards the end of the gathering Temple Sholom lead organizer Chris Kraus and I shared a few words for the everyone in attendance to reflect upon. Chris shared insight from the chapter of Micah 6:8 in the Torah which reads: “Only to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God.” I focused on reminding everyone of the importance of “doing justice” by stepping outside of yourself to walk in your neighbors shoes.

Through this program and continued collaboration, Elementz and Temple Sholom hope to contribute to the idea of what justice is in our community.

THE SCN/TA’LEEF CONNECTION — I had a very inspiring...

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 12:01:00 -0500

The SCN/Ta'leef Connection - Left to Right (Tala Ali, Sakina Grome, Abdullah Powell, Aliyah Farooki-Qidwai, Usama Canon, Khayyam Qidwai, Tarek El-Messidi, Sulaiman Arancibia, Amr Safwat

Brother Usama and Sulaiman keeping a sense of humor while challenging our group to really consider the core purpose of WHY each of us were involved with SCN

Me, and my other teammates from SCN working on our commitments for 2013

Brother Sulaiman from Ta'leef Collective facilitating our consultancy using the S.W.O.T. Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

SCN hosts event at the Clifton Mosque with guest speaker Usama Canon on the topic of Creating Safe Community Spaces. Our event attracted a full audience.

Me and Khayyam from SCN with others after the event

Tea being served by Sister Tala Ali of SCN. Our goal was to create a unique experience by serving those who attended

THE SCN/TA’LEEF CONNECTION —

I had a very inspiring weekend recently with my teammates from the Salaam Community Network (SCN) and Usama Canon who is the founding director of a similar organization in Fremont, California called Ta’leef Collective. Over the last decade Ta’leef Collective has been paving the way in America for their work in providing a safe space for seekers of Islam, new Muslims, and Muslims who are recommitting to their faith. Because SCN is aiming to do similar work here in Cincinnati we sought out consultancy with Ta’leef.

On Saturday we spent a full day of consultancy with brother Usama and Sulaiman Arancibia of Ta’leef, all of which was hosted in one of the conference rooms of Elementz. Throughout the day Usama and Sulaiman challenged us to really think about the core purpose for “why” each of us were involved with SCN and they also stressed the importance of us holding each other accountable as leaders of SCN. With the facilitation of Ta’leef we also laid out our goals and strategy for the rest of 2013.

Usama Canon is also becoming one of the many renowned voices of inspiration within the Muslim community here in America. Because of this the Salaam Community Network hosted a program on Friday night at the Clifton Mosque on the topic of “Creating Safe Community Spaces” which featured brother Usama as the guest speaker. During the event SCN volunteers made effort to create a welcoming environment and towards the end of the program we served Moroccan tea to everyone. Our goal was to create a unique experience for those who attended. The program attracted about 100 people from the community and was well received by the audience.

As a team all of us from Salaam Community Network felt more connected and re-energized from our weekend consultancy with Ta’leef. Through my interactions with brother Usama and Sulaiman I am even more-so looking forward to traveling to Ta’leef in California later this year to experience their organization and take part in their Mu’alif Mentorship Training Program.

I was also very grateful that we were able to host our consultancy with Ta’leef at Elementz as it allowed for me to talk the group about my passion for our work with urban arts & youth. Towards the end of our consultancy everyone expressed their support for my work at Elementz as I gave the group a tour of the building and explained the core of Elementz mission. It felt good to hear brothers Usama and Sulaiman say positive things about Cincinnati as a result of spending time with SCN and the Muslim Community and visiting Elementz. Lord willing, our #JOURNEY has only begun.

SCN - Creating Safe Community Spaces w/ Usama Canon

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:01:00 -0500

Today the Salaam Community Network (SCN) and I are excited to have Usama Canon with us to host our first community program of 2013 themed on the topic of “Creating Safe Community Spaces. Usama Canon is the founding director of Ta’leef Collective, an organization out of Fremont, California that provides its Muslim community with an alternative “social & sacred space” that is relevant to the American cultural context.

Our program tonight with brother Usama is free and will take place at 6:30 pm at the Clifton Mosque (3668 Clifton Ave). Earlier today at 12:50 Brother Usama will also be giving the weekly address (Khutbah) during Juma Prayer at the Clifton Mosque. Click here to Facebook RSVP

Watch Celebrate Mercy’s short video below which features Usama Canon speaking on the importance of Muslim Communities providing safe places for converts, disenfranchised Muslims, & seekers of Islam.

The following is a picture video that I created for an...

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:01:00 -0500

The following is a picture video that I created for an instrumental that I produced entitled “Questions & Answers” which is from my recent instrumental album, JOURNEY: The Sound of Life.

The photography was taken by my wife, Nazeerah Abdullah, and arabic calligraphy in the 2nd picture of the video was created by Isa Abdul Wali. The calligrapy is from one of the most renowned chapters of The Qur’an entitled, Surah Ikhlaas, which is a short declaration of the absolute oneness of God.

In 2013 be on the look out for other music video’s from my album, JOURNEY: The Sound of Life, here at JourneyOnAkhe.com/music and on my YouTube page.

Listen to my instrumental album JOURNEY: The Sound of Life - www.AkheAbdullah.Bandcamp.com

Years ago in Columbus the three of us were making names for...

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 20:30:00 -0500

Years ago in Columbus the three of us were making names for ourselves in basketball & getting into other things that teen’s get into but now its about serving God and handling our responsibilities as men. Here we are together at the Clifton Mosque in Cincinnati. Its amazing where many of us end up on our journey’s. #MenSharpenMen

YOUR SUPPORT REQUESTED FOR MY WORK WITH URBAN YOUTH AT ELEMENTZ...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0500

Thought Leadership Events to Introduce Urban Perspective to the Community

Studio Kre8v Brings Hip Hop Dance to the Cincinnati Reds Open Day Parade

Final Group Picture at Old Elementz Location of Elementz Founders, Youth, and Staff

Members of Temple Shalom Come to Aid Elementz in Move to New Location

Packed Crowd Gathers to Embrace Elementz at its Opening Reception in New Building

Pic of Staff & Youth from our S.T.A.R.S. program with Mayor Mark Malory at Fountain Square After Live Performance for Summer Youth Employment Program

Visual Arts Classes with Elementary Students from SCPA

Stepping Program for Young Women

Elementz Introduces Spoken Word Program for Youth

End of Year Staff & Youth Group Pic

YOUR SUPPORT REQUESTED FOR MY WORK WITH URBAN YOUTH AT ELEMENTZ IN 2013…..READ, SHARE & #GETINVOLVED

Greetings of Peace,

“God’s work is being done through Elementz,” said an alumnus of Elementz who had recently returned for a visit while on a college break. After almost eight years of working with youth, I am encouraged to see our alumni in college, finding jobs, and starting to raise families of their own. When I visit with our alumni and hear about their progress, I understand that real progress is happening here and this gives me hope when I look at the new generation of youth that we are now serving.

As we come up to the end of an amazing year of growth and change here at Elementz, I am coming to you to request your financial support for this wonderful organization that represents young artists from the urban core. Read on to see why I am so enthusiastic about the work Elementz is doing.

This has been a year of expansion, innovation and risk-taking for Elementz. The most significant decision of this year was our relocating from the West End to a new location in the heart of Over-The-Rhine. With our move we are proud to say that we’ve been able to stay on course and stay connected to youth in the neighborhood, while connecting to an entirely new group of youth who commute to Elementz from other areas surrounding the inner city. Most importantly we’ve still been able to maintain the “family-like” environment that youth have known us for over the years.

With our new location we’ve also expanded our mission to become a neighborhood urban arts center that engages young people in a safe space, where they can develop skills in a variety of urban art forms. We still offer the core programs of recording arts, djing, hip hop dance, and graffiti but now we are also offering lessons in spoken word, stepping, R&B, musicianship, and video production. Our focus is to engage teens and young adults into these programs but we’ve also started teaching adult dance classes on weekends as well as day to day after-school programming in urban arts with elementary-aged children.

Part of our goal this past year was to have a more balanced number of young male and females from the urban core. Our “Beats & Rhymes” program still mainly attracts young men from the urban core giving them a positive outlet to express themselves through producing music and record songs. On the other hand one of our newest program “Generation Steppers” focuses on giving young women lessons in stepping, while developing character qualities like self-esteem, teamwork.

This year we’ve also made an intentional effort to be “thought leaders” and to help our community understand the perspective and life of the urban core. We’ve hosted a variety of workshops themed around urban issues with organizations and religious institutions like Public Allies, Temple Shalom, The League of Young Voters & the Christ Church Cathedral. Topics of these workshops have included racial profiling, getting to know your neighbor, youth leadership and civic engagement, and perspective into the lyrics of Elementz songwriters. These workshops have been meaningful experiences both for the outside community as well as our staff and youth at Elementz.

All of the good things that I’ve mentioned above have helped me maintain my passion for Elementz and the youth that we serve. Although I struggle with wanting to make more of a difference in the lives of our members, I am often reminded that one of the most important things that we are accomplishing is creating an additional support network for our youth.

One of the most important things that we are accomplishing is creating an additional support network for our youth. Through interviews and daily interaction with our members we’ve discovered that many of them come into Elementz with a support system that may include only one or two people. Many of our youth are dealing with issues of being nearly homeless, constantly transferring to different schools, and the big challenge of figuring out what goals to pursue in the future. However young people find in Elementz staff, board and volunteers caring people who are committed to helping them navigate through their lives.

Your contribution at this time will help us continue to make a difference in the lives of urban youth. Any contribution, large or small, will make a difference. You can mail your check, payable to “Elementz” to Elementz, 1100 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202, or, to make a donation by Credit Card, visit our website www.elementz.org and click on “Donate Now.”

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Abdullah Powell

“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”
― Booker T. Washington,

This past weekend the Salaam Community Network and I organized a...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:31:00 -0500

Me welcoming everyone and introducing the theme of our discussion with verses of the Qur'an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) about keeping family ties & imitating people of other faiths

Me giving further introduction to the need of Muslim strengthening relationships with one another through socializing.

Flyer for Dinner & Dialogue Event (my design!)

Guest panelist Nashid Shakir speak about his journey to Islam, the dynamics of his family, and making sure non-Muslim relatives respect your religious practices

Guest panelist Riyad Shamma, speaks of the dynamics of his family, maintaining family ties, and giving gifts to non Muslim relatives on Muslim Holidays

Sisters breaking bread

This past weekend the Salaam Community Network and I organized a community potluck Dinner & Dialogue themed on helping Muslims keep ties to relatives who practice other faiths and who celebrate holidays outside of the Islamic tradition. This subject is an important one for our Muslim community here in America where there is much diversity and a number of holidays and celebrations some of which are religious and others that are secular.

The community dialogue was facilitated by me (Abdullah Powell) and featured guest panelists Nashid Shakir, Riyad Shamma, and sister Sakina Grome all of whom are active in our local Muslim community. Each panelist brought a unique perspective to the community dialogue and shared their experience in keeping ties to their non-Muslim relatives around holidays. The central theme that each panelist emphasized was the importance that our Islamic faith places on keeping ties to our relatives even if they practice different faiths, and the importance of honoring and respecting relatives while abstaining from taking part in any “religious” activities that lie in the traditions of non Islamic holidays ourselves as Muslims.

After the dialogue we all ate homemade food, socialized, and made prayer together. It was encouraging to hear some of our attendants say that they felt more at ease in responding to their relatives of different faith’s around the upcoming holidays.

In 2013 the Salaam Community Network and I intend to organize several Dinner & Dialogue events throughout the year focused on relevant social issues in our Islamic community. We pray that Almighty God accepts, guides and blesses the efforts of SCN.

College Roommate Pursuing his Dreams in Over-The-Rhine

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:00:00 -0500

The Cincinnati Enquirer recently featured an article profiling my friend James Marable aka “Nudy” who is the founder and store owner of an urban street wear store called ORIGINAL THOUGHT REQUIRED (OTR). OTR, located at 1307 Main St. in Over-The-Rhine Cincinnati, provides a relevant outlet for local urban clothing designers to sell their apparel with the world.

Nudy and I were college roommates at the University of Cincinnati and I’ve always known him to be a leader and creative thinker. Back in 2004 Nudy and I went to New York for the first time with my music partner, Infinit Evol and we both came back to Cincy from that experience feeling inspired by the urban culture and pace of the city. Here we are nearly 9 years later and now Nudy and I are both providing relevant outlets for different segments of Cincinnati’s urban community through Original Thought Required and Elementz. Its great seeing Nudy and others from my college network still here in Cincinnati bringing fresh ideas to our city.

Click here to read Nudy’s profile article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and learn about his store Original Thought Required (www.OTRfresh.com) by viewing the video below.

You can also follow Nudy here on Tumblr at http://nudysaid.tumblr.com/

The following is a promotional video for Elementz first weekend...

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:01:23 -0500

The following is a promotional video for Elementz first weekend Dance Production called “Perceptions II - Souls (A Hip Hop Dance Production)”. ”Perceptions II” is scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday and it features Elementz exciting hip hop dancers of Studio Kre8v performing with our talented vocalists & musicians from our S.T.A.R.S. program.

Through acting, live music and dance “Perceptions II” will portray an urban family’s coming of age, triumph over adversity, love and depict a life story that everyone can identify with. The production will also pay tribute to renowned musicians who have passed away such as James Brown, Heavy D, Aaliyah, and Tupac Shakur. The story of “Perceptions II” was written by Kasib Hasan, who is both the founder and dance director of the Studio Kre8v program here at Elementz. The music performances and band are being organized by my father, Chris Powell, who is the founder and director or the S.T.A.R.S. program of Elementz.

“Perceptions II” is an all ages performance so I hope to see a lot of families in attendence this weekend. Click the links below to purchase $10 tickets for either of the 3 shows scheduled for this Saturday Dec. 15th at 3 PM & 7 PM and Sunday Dec. 16th at 5 PM. All proceeds benefit the Studio Kre8v dance program at Elementz

Purchase tickets now for the 3 PM show on Saturday December 15th - https://elementz.cincyregister.com/perceptions12153pm

Purchase tickets now for the 7 PM show on Saturday December 15th - https://elementz.cincyregister.com/perceptions12157pm

Purchase tickets now for the 5 PM show on Sunday December 16th - https://elementz.cincyregister.com/perceptions12165pm

Recently I attended a monthly workshop called “New...

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Recently I attended a monthly workshop called “New Pathways” which is sponsored by ArtsWave. The workshop was focused on “The Engine of Innovation: Team Selection and Dynamics.” One of the primary goals of the workshops is to help Elementz and other arts organizations of Cincinnati learn ways to systematize innovation within their organizations

Pictured here is me doing a teamwork exercise with other leaders in the arts community from CET (Cincinnati Public Television) and the Contemporary Arts Center.

This past weekend Muslims from throughout Ohio and surrounding...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Sister Sakina and I hosting a workshop themed around care for new Muslims in relation to our efforts with the Salaam Community Network

Guest of Honor Andre' Carson, he's a congressman and a muslim

Family pic after a wonderful evening of dinner, conscious entertainment, & lectures

Beautiful Islamic Calligraphy

Noor Vitamins is a new brand of vitamins that was founded by Muslims and is both Halal & FDA certified

Assorted Islamic books in the vending area by the Al-Furqaan foundation

This past weekend Muslims from throughout Ohio and surrounding states traveled here to the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in Weschester for a 3 day regional conference themed on building a vibrant Muslim community. The conference was hosted by the Islamic Society of North American known as ISNA which is an organization that has existed for over 40 years. ISNA hosts conferences and conventions that bring together Muslims and Non Muslims from all over the United States in order to build understanding of issues that are relevant to the diverse community of Muslims living in America. My family and I both volunteered and participated in different functions of the ISNA convention.

During this years conference sister Sakina Grome and I were invited to speak to the community about our efforts with the Salaam Community Network in relation to the issue of how we can create a support system for new Muslims in our community. The subject of “convert care” is very significant with Islam being one of the fastest growing religions in the world and with the amount of new Muslims converting each year. Other Muslim figures and personalities spoke on a number of other important issues such as how to respond to provocative media, contributing to a just society and ISNA also brought in guest speaker and Muslim congressman, Andre´Carson, to talk of the importance of being civically involved to make sure Muslim values are being represented.

During the conference a number of vendors set up shop with various artistic, education and material items. I met Muslims that were a part of a newly established Muslim vitamin company, saw beautiful Muslim calligraphy, smelled fine oils and saw a number of interesting books from established distributing company Furqaan Bookstore.

Other highlights of my weekend were eating dinner with my family while enjoying Muslim artists that recited meaningful poetry and songs. I also was truly grateful that I was able to spend time and recite the Qur’an with one of my elders who traveled from his hometown for the conference. During my first few years of being Muslim my elder and I would often sit in the Mosque after the dawn prayer (Fajr) and he would teach me how to recite the Qur’an. It was encouraging to hear my elder tell me how proud he was of my progress in reciting the Qur’an with good pronunciation and my general practice of Islam.

Lastly I’d like to ask for God to allow for our community to take the good of the information that was shared this weekend and to make us successful in creating vibrant communities. I also ask God to send his blessings upon all those who organized, attended and volunteered at this weekends ISNA conference including my beloved wife who spent most of the weekend helping with babysitting and registering attendees. BE IT SO! (AMEEN)

#JOURNEY

IYDE Consciously Health Program - Effects of Cigarettes & Hookah

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:01:04 -0500

Yesterday my mentee and I attended the Institute of Youth Development and Excellence (IYDE) ”Consciously Healthy Program” about the negative effects and spiritual dimensions of smoking cigarettes and shisha. With concern and the correct approach I hope that we can help influence our families, friends, neighbors and communities to move away from smoking which in truth is harmful to all of us.