This is the first video from the forthcoming, Coming Back A Champion. Zeke (LMBOChannel) is making his directoral debut - two cuts, that's it! We decided to intentionally make it raw home video style as to present me real & true to our lifestyle.
1) Oriana is ALWAYS spelled with one "n". This NEVER changes....EVER. If you get confused, just remember that "anna" is pronounced ann-uh, while "ana" is ah-na...the latter is accurate in my case...full pronunciation, Or-e-ah-na. 2) Lee is not my surname, rather what we call a "middle name", but what I simply use as my other name. Oriana + Lee are the two names specifically given to me by my grandmother, Oriana dually meaning "golden one" and "joy", while Lee means "poet" and was my grandfather's first name. Obviously, my Granny was very in tune when she choose my names. ;-)
3) I have not publically carried a slave name since 1994, though I am legally registered by my married name (Farrell). I am not a slave, so why would I use the erroneous name given to my ancestors by a slave master...this is my own personal perspective. Until I learn more definitively about my heritage, I will refrain from adopting any other surname, and will actually be legally changing my name to just "Oriana Lee" in the coming months. Kapeesh?
three days after the transitioning of whitney houston, the mere thought of it burns as intensely as it did on saturday evening when the first facebook update scrolled up the screen of my mac pro. the heartache...the heartbreak comes from deep within a place that always hoped she would come back a champion. she was sure to pull a george foreman before it was all over & at least sparkle once more; that's how eye envisioned it just days earlier as my daughter & i comparatively discussed whitney & dianna ross in the very context of what they will continue to mean to generations yet to come.
she was so many things, to so many people: daughter, mother, sister, aunt, godmother, friend, vocalist, actress, and so much more...a beacon of light shining in so many places all at once. it is evident from the various testimonies from her family and friends that she was well aware of the greatest love of all & did her best to display that love to them.
ultimately, that's what this life is all about. how. we. love. she may have not always made the best decisions; none of us do. she may have not always been in pleasant spirit; none of us are. she may have caused her fair share of hurt and pain to the people she loved the most; all of us have or will...eventually.
to hear loved ones speak of how spiritual she was exposes the roots of her very nature - spiritual, here on earth having a natural experience...a temporary experience, from which we all benefit. because of that spiritual connection, i feel like i lost someone i knew. she was like me or any of my girls, living a very real life in a very major way. yeah, she was on another level, but it's all relative...famous people are still just people. being in the industry numbs the star appeal once you start seeing celebrities in their own element & realizing that they too put their pants on one leg at a time. with whitney, it was beyond the star appeal for me, there was a like-spiritedness to which i & so many other around the world could relate.
*sigh*
the blessing in all of this has been the opportunity to celebrate her life both face-to-face & virtually with so many of those 'others'.
this last footage of her singing with kelly price has to be one of the most beautiful displays of love i have ever seen one sister express to another. so intimate. so genuine. sure, whitney's singing voice could be criticized, but that moment was so much bigger than her voice. eye believe that the most high was using that opportunity to remind us that ultimately & in the end, what matters most, is how we love.
by o
eye rip raps; on same microphones poetry.
eye balance formality with artistic integrity.
eye close deals, book shows, then pen prose.
eye cook meals before heading to post bills .
eye read to the youth; record to the beat.
eye flow, consult, lecture, teach & speak.
eye blog & tweet; send messages to senders.
eye fool to the internet; slave to lender.
eye write for the love.
eye fight for the write.
eye am a writer.
eye write.
