ABOUT AKILI

Writer | Creative

Akili King is a 28-year-old graduate of the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Studies. She focused on Creative Writing, Africana Studies, and Journalism, along with a French Minor. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and later moved to Paris for her freshman year of college. She is currently based in Brooklyn, New York and is a journalist and Senior Beauty Editor at ESSENCE Magazine. She is also a columnist for The Cut and Vogue.

Previously, she was Senior Editor at Rose Inc and a Beauty Editor at Vogue Magazine. At Vogue, she wrote the weekly column Best Beauty Instagrams and bi-weekly column to accompany chef Tabitha Brown’s Vogue cooking show. Most notably, King created Texture Diaries– a column that celebrates and affirms Black hair and beauty– which she still writes today.

Her writing covers the spheres of beauty, wellness, music, and culture and other bylines can be found in the likes of Complex, The FADER, Coveteur, i-D, Milk Makeup, Fashion Fair, DRØME, NeuNeu Media, and more. King has interviewed inspiring individuals such as Taraji P. Henson, Tamika D. Mallory, Nazanin Mandi, Mara Brock Akil, Ijeoma Oluo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Maxwell, Kelly Rowland, and many more.

King is also passionate about DJing, poetry, film/screenwriting, Yoga, pole dancing and overall wellness. She has written one poetry book, AWAKENING, so far, with hopes of writing many more.  She started writing for fun when she was at least 5 years old. As she grew up, she developed a fascination for the world of beauty and reading magazines– but noticed there were rarely diverse images represented in either spheres. Starting in college, she was inspired to be a part of changing that. Her goals are to continue writing meaningful pieces– through a beauty and wellness lens– that uplift those who don’t often feel seen in the media.