BALTIMORE — For the finale of our Black Music Month series, we spotlight a do‑it‑all talent whose music lives wherever she walks into a room. Ashley Adewumi Lakayla Yates — better known as Black Assets — blends powerful vocals, multi‑instrumental skill and a deep commitment to community to keep the soul of Black music alive.
“I think I’m all things,” she says of her stage name. “[It's] Black Assets intentionally — the "S" is on the end because I stand on the shoulders of giants. I embody my ancestors in my sound.”
That ancestry is embedded in her work, inspired early on by her late grandmother Clara Yates, whose home was “a place for all people” and taught Ashley the value of creating and protecting community spaces.
Black Assets calls treats music like an experience that she feels grateful for every time she steps up to the mic or grabs an instrument. She credits gospel and broader Black impact for being the roots of nearly every genre: “If you hear music, there’s a lot of Black influence in it.” That belief shapes both her performances and her mission to connect audiences to the history beneath the songs they love.
Her music is anything but one‑dimensional. The voice is powerful enough to reach the soul; the arrangements — with instruments, like the ukulele in sync and lyrics that linger — give the impression of a collective effort, which her name reflects. “I don’t think that I can be anything without community. I believe that I am because we are,” she says.
When asked to sum up her artistry, she offered two words: vocal visionary.
Black Assets shares stages across Baltimore — from the well‑known meetup spot Mama Koko’s to neighborhood events — and she intentionally brings other artists into the fold. She serves as a resource, connecting people to the “assets” of Black music and elevating the stories that deserve to be heard.
You can catch Black Assets live:
- Soul at Sunset residency — Thursdays, 4–7 p.m., Rash Field Park (Baltimore Waterfront Partnership) featuring 15 homegrown talents.
- Performances and community events across the city.
- Planned launch: annual “Soul Stage” event, November 2026.
Follow Black Assets and stay HERE or on social media.
Instagram: @blackassets
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackAssets
As our 2026 Black Music Month series closes , Black Assets reminds us that the music’s roots run deep — and that preserving that legacy means showing up, sharing space and lifting others along the way. WMAR will continue to follow local artists who carry that tradition forward.
