Gospel Hip Hop Artist R.E.I.G.N., (aka Ashlei Williams) is a native
of Oakland, California. In 2008 she released her first 16 track CD
titled “Ready To REIGN”, and ready she is. R.E.I.G.N. is not only a
Child of God; she is an outspoken advocate for Christ. From the Bay
Area to LA, from the Pulpit to the Prisons, from the West Coast to the
East Coast she’s on a mission to “Reach Everyone in God’s Name”. Her
lyrics are clear and concise, laced with soulful hip hop beats and
rooted in the Gospel.
When you see her in the audience, she may appear shy and quiet, but
place her on stage and you will know why even Satan respects her skills.
That’s why a year after her arrival into this world, the devil
attempted to deny this day and alter history by attacking her body with
spinal meningitis. While in a comatose state, friends and family prayed
and after a couple weeks in intensive care God showed He had other
plans for her life. Just shy of a month, young Ashlei was discharged and
sent home to be with family, once again proving “He (Satan) Can’t Hold
Us Down”.
Showered with love and inspired by the creativity of her parents
(Artist & Poet), Ashlei was attracted to the arts and entertainment
at a very young age. But it was at the age of 19 when God laid it on
her heart to write a rap. Ashlei wrote her first rap as a birthday gift
for a friend. It was intended to be a joke, to get a laugh, but to her
surprise the audience enjoyed it and she realized that just as much as
they enjoyed it, she enjoyed sharing it. At that moment she discovered a
new passion in life, a passion for music.
After a couple of years of writing here and there, her passion for
music increased and her relationship with God grew deeper and deeper.
Her focus on music became more about ministry than melodies.
One Sunday morning Ashlei sat in Church praying to God and saying,
“Lord I want to do music, but what do you want me to do?” The Lord
replied “I want you to reach everyone in My name”. Ashlei wrote on a
piece of paper Reaching Everyone In God’s Name and realized she had just
been renamed “R.E.I.G.N.”
Following her heart and the Lord’s will, R.E.I.G.N.’s focus is solely
on pleasing God and being used to build and advance the kingdom.
Whether through her music or daily living, R.E.I.G.N.’s desire is to
inspire people to have an intimate and personal relationship with God
and experience His love. R.E.I.G.N. says, "Christ is REALITY, in fact,
ACTUALITY. The problem is most people don't believe that. My desire is
to make Christ undeniably tangible. I don't just want people to hear
what I'm saying but to see and feel what I'm saying also."
"So many people think God is hard to find. My job, as a Christian and
a Disciple, is to make God easy to find, and that I will do....Walk
with me."
Many lives have been touched by R.E.I.G.N.'s ministry. She continues
to go forth in her walk with Christ, and while others go platinum with
songs, R.E.I.G.N. is determined to go PLATINUM WITH SOULS.
