S2:E30 Kevin Powell I Voice of the Village

"Remember, 1992 was the year that Naughty by Nature had a huge song called O.P.P. It was a megahit. Jonathan [Editor-in-Chief] asked me if I wanted to write an article about Treach from Naughty by Nature. I was like, heck yeah. He didn't tell me that Albert Watson was shooting the cover, the famous photographer Albert Watson, and he didn't tell me that my story was gonna be the very first cover story for Vibe Magazine."  Kevin Powell

Finger on the pulse is often used to describe someone who has the ability to read the ongoings of culture, synthesize the information, and in the case of my guest Kevin Powell, write, speak, produce, and publish work that chronicles our collective experience.

Many people remember him from the early nineties in the MTV series, The Real World, where he was an original cast member. I became aware of Kevin when he joined Quincy Jones as a senior writer and part of the editorial team at the startup and groundbreaking Vibe Magazine. Since then, Kevin is the author of fifteen books including his new collection of poetry, Grocery Shopping with My Mother. In the works is a biography of Tupac Shakur, utilizing Kevin's treasure trove of interviews and conversations, several gathered while a senior writer at Vibe, and his first documentary film, titled "When We Free The World," about healthy manhood vs. toxic manhood, about fathers and sons. 

Following in the footsteps of Toni Morrison and Nikki Giovanni, Kevin is a writer in residence at Prairie View A&M University in Texas for the 2022 - 2023 school year. As a highly involved human and civil rights activist, he is a leader in the movement to redefine manhood away from sexism and violence; has a deep responsibility to mentorship and development of people of every age as agents of change; and is committed to voter education and empowerment.

Kevin is a longtime proud resident of Brooklyn, New York and it was great catching up with him. Join me, your host, Brad Johnson, and Kevin as we honor one of the most celebrated political, cultural, literary, and hip-hop voices in America on Corner Table Talk. 

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