What I wanna know is this? Where were my sistahz warriors? Where were my twisted and locked brothaz with their fragrant oils, beaded bracelets, gauze tunics, and Afrakan sandals? Didn't you hear the alarm sound off in the middle of the brisk night? Yeah, that's right we all participate. Tonight when we needed you the most you weren't there. Why didn't just one brotha speak UP or speak OUT? Just ONE brotha! Just one brotha who was not content to make a trick out of his sistah-daughter-mother. One is the magic number. One makes the difference. Why didn't just one brotha whispa, Sistah don't you know your worth? - Excerpt from Superwomen & Goddess by Akua Auset.

Celebrity Make-up Artist & Author Akua Auset, formerly known as Nick Roques, talks with us about the magic we carry within our womanhood and the challenges our young goddesses are faced with within the world:

What does Michael Jordan, Jill Scott, India Arie, Queen Latifah, Laila Ali, R. Kelly, and Mos Def have in common? They have all worked with Celebrity Make-up Artist & Author Akua Auset (formerly known as Nick Roques). A young single mother at the age of twenty-one, Akua went from being a hungry artist on welfare to being sought after by legendary beauties, the super powerful, and luminaries in the entertainment and advertising industries. Akua Auset is now adds to her long list of milestones the publication of her new book “Superwomen & Goddesses: Workin’ Your Power & Magic: Book One”. This 96-page captivating and intelligent book for young women looks at the driving force of human beings in the commercial modern world of sex, beauty, celebrity, power, and cash, and reveals how females can tap into and utilize their intrinsic magnificence to create the things they require and desire.

One thing that we admire about Akua, is that she challenged her emotions on how she saw herself within the world, and not only did she overcome all of the esteem issues that she was dealing with from a very young age, but she took the lessons that she learned and created a positive purpose for them by offering the gift of beauty to women all around the world; because when a woman or a young girl feels beautiful, then she will in return feel confident! With that said Akua was so inspired by her own two teenage daughters and the passing of her maternal grandmother, that she created “The Butterfly ProjectTM Programs”. Her program offers Hollywood-style makeover retreats for high school-age girls as well as a four-day workshop assisting girls in becoming magnificent human beings by clarifying what they desire, who they are, creating a haven of community, and knowing why they are on this planet.

ymib: What is Superwomen & Goddesses: Workin’ Your Power & Magic Book One about?

Akua: Superwomen & Goddesses: Workin’ Your Power & Magic Book One looks at the enchantment of Celebrity, Beauty, Power and Money in America’s commercial culture and asks “Are You Being Pimped?” People want money, love and a nice body and are willing to do anything to get it. This book is a conversation within the context of Ancient Afrakan wisdom and science on how to create the things that you require and desire through the clarity of knowing what it is that you REALLY require and desire, who you TRULY are as a goddess and a superwoman and what your life’s mission is. There are some pretty strong and controversial elements in the book.

ymib: Tell us about the chapter “Are You Being Pimped”?

Akua: It’s one of my favorite chapters in the book because it addresses the historical and mental root of this pimp/ho mindset and culture. “Are You Being Pimped?” should really become a campaign like “Got Milk?”…”Are You Being Pimped?”

ymib: What is your definition of a Superwoman & what is your definition of a Goddess

Akua: Superwomen defined is a female who thinks, feels and behaves with a mind that “anything is possible.” Goddess are women who inspires life in everything she touches.

ymib: What are you hoping to achieve from your book Superwomen & Goddesses?

Akua: To be the big sistah I never had. I busted my head and stubbed both toes in my formative years because I didn’t have the address and map of where I was going. It doesn’t have to be that way…that’s the function of The Ancestors and Elders in Afrakan tradition. To guide, develop and launch the younger generation so that they too will one day be Elders and Ancestors.

ymib: What topics/things would you like to cover in future books?

Akua: Everything is about Spirit and Sexuality if you look underneath the surface of all things. Book Two will talk about community and the relationships that make up community. I am being initiated at this very moment into those mysteries and lessons.

ymib: What things/advice would you tell your two daughters about the following that you would want them to carry with them:

Inner Beauty: It is the power of your mind that makes you attractive to others. Certainty and celebration about who you are, where you came from and why you are here gives your footing in life a solidity that is inspiring and magnetic.

Outer Beauty: The key element of inner AND outer beauty are the same. The power of the mind manifests into correct and daily habits of nurturing a WELL body. You are honoring your Spirit when you eat rejuvenating foods, move your body, and nourish your body as a sacred temple of the queendom of the Most High within.

Sisterhood: I am you and you are me. Women have a sacred bond with the Moon as well as to each other. We are linked biologically through our menses. When our relationship with our SELF is harmonious then our relationships with our sistah-goddesses will thrive on a level so powerful it will transform LIFE itself. Oftentimes, sistahs get bogged down – as my beloved says, “with the mundacity and trivialities” of life. Gossiping, criticizing and fretting over inconsequential things is a symptom of a sistah who doesn’t get her Creative power and who isn’t focused on her life’s work. That creative/sexual energy must go somewhere.

Womanhood: Spirituality and Sexuality is all there really is…. The Yoni and The Lingham, Heaven and Earth, Male and Female, Yang and Yin…When we can marry these realms in our minds then our relationships which create communities which create societies which create global consciousness will work. Our greatest power as “womban” is the sacred gateway to life. Black woman opens her thighs and pours forth life.

ymib: Tell us about the inspiration of your name change from Nick Roques to Akua Auset?

Akua: Your name is a very powerful creation tool. Every time someone declares your name they declare you as the vibration of that name. In 1999, I went through a complete mental evolution in regards to my religious, cultural, political, social and personal beliefs. I became acquainted with the true history and glory of my Afrakan and Native American Ancestors and at that time desired a name that would be consistent with our culture. In 2006, the time was right for a spiritual graduation at a new level of wisdom and service. So with the assistance of the Ancestors and Spirit, I was granted a name that spoke to my life’s work. Akua Auset means, “the throned goddess who brings the sweet message of resurrection.”

ymib: Do you remember the exact moment/place that you were when you decided to begin writing your book?

Akua: There wasn’t a moment. This book project was an evolution. The first book I wrote was a beautiful hand-made book I created for my younger sister as a high school graduation gift in 1999. I covered different topics including: Spirit, Men, Wellness, and Purpose. I had in my mind it would be nice to publish this for other young sistahs. In 2004, when me and my daughters where displaced from our home for the second time I began to continue the conversation of the book I started in 1999. I called it “The B*tch and The Goddess.” I wrote it in one night. I put it away and then in 2005 just before I left LA for Chicago I created a workshop for high school age girls inspired by a two-year leadership program I participated in. In the process of that planning I wanted the structure and the topics of the workshop printed in black and white so that the girls would have a reference and that was the initial intention of this book. In the process, I wrote a few epiphany pieces: Two of which are included in the book, Can A Sista Get At Least 50 Cent, A Call To Superwomen And Goddesses. This book has been a rolling stone since 2001.

ymib: If you had to give a speech to a room full of no-one but hip-hop artists & "video vixens" that tend to exploit the stereotypes, loosely/briefly put...how do you think you would begin your speech, and how do you think you would end it?

Akua: I would begin by asking them the most important questions that you could ever ask anyone. “Who are you?,” “Why are you here?,” and “What’s your cause?”. Then I’d re-presence them to who they were as little people. “What did they desire then and what is it that they long for when they are alone and no one is watching.” Clarifying those specific elements can be transforming on levels that are truly miraculous. The talk ends with my plea…"As long as there are “bitches and hoes” then “niggaz and dogs” will never be kings with goddesses…and then mama dies. I am you. You are me. You Are The One. The Resurrection Begins With Me.

ymib: In what ways would you like to see your book incorporated within our communities (ie.workshops centered around the topics covered, etc.)?

Akua: I’d like SUPERWOMEN & GODDESSES to be for young women, what “Are You There God It’s Me, Margaret?” was for young women of my generation (late 70s)… a handbook that they return to throughout their lives. I’d like to see after-school programs, high schools, college, churches even… develop courses and dialogue on the topics in my book.

ymib: Did you yourself learn anything new or maybe something that you had not realized about yourself when writing this book, and what, if any, were the challenges with composing it?

Akua: Authoring and self-publishing this book gave me even more confidence and trust in the power of the Universe that our intention is a magic wand. That I could sit and write down a list of goals in 1996 including my desire to publish books and now see in ten years time the manifestation of that in my hands and in other people’s hands across the globe to places as far as Australia is truly magnificent!

ymib: What things do you like to do with your daughters to celebrate their beauty?

Akua: We go on adventures together. Road trips when we were in California, dance and yoga classes.

ymib: Could you share with us 4 things that we as adult Goddesses need to do more of and /or need to show more of to our young Goddesses?

1. Create and nurture meaningful relationships (Make all women your sisters, mothers, elders. Make all men your brothers, fathers, elders. Adopt elders and Spirit guides…your winning community.)

2. Create a sacred sanctuary, a place and time to restore your SELF.

3. View your body and the body you came through into this life as a sacred temple and gateway. Eat, move, and anoint your body with healing foods and products. Your body is the sacred space of the queendom of the Most High. Avoid energy (people, products, places) that is toxic i.e. death to the temple.

4. Seek, Find and Pursue your life’s work unrelentingly.

ymib: You state on your website that you went through challenges in school with low self esteem, what challenges were you faced with in school, and how do you feel you overcame those challenges and confrontations?

Akua: My mother always said, “be yourself and don’t pay the other kids any mind.” I didn’t know how to do that. I was so fragile because as an only child with no father or real community outside of my mother…I was so lonely and didn’t understand who I was. In 1999, when I became aware of an Afrakan world view and began to dismantle the idea of the Western mindset of “me, me, me” – I began to see the value of knowing who you are and where you come from, the provision of community and the importance of having purpose.

ymib: Favorite affirmation or inspirational quote?

Akua: The power & intelligence of God is where I stand. Everywhere I look I see God. There has always been, there always is and will always be peace, love and abundance.

ymib: What is the most important thing you learned working with celebrities?

Akua: Michael Jordan taught me about mental toughness and mastering your emotions with your mind. Jill Scott inspired me in just being comfortable in your skin. Some of the more infamous personalities taught me the ugliness of cultural and communal poverty. In other words, it’s a recipe for disaster when you don’t know who you are and don’t feel as if you’re part of a powerful people that claim you as their own.