Kevin Powell

About Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell (April 24,1966) is an African-American political activist, poet, essayist, hiphop historian, public speaker, lecturer, and entrepreneur. He is a current candidate for the United State Congress.

He became famous when he appeared on the first season of MTV's reality television series, The Real World: New York in 1992. He is the oldest member of The Real World cast. From 1992 to 1996, he was a senior writer for Vibe magazine. Powell's scope as a writer includes an emphasis on historical and contemporary social issues, particularly those regarding race, gender, class, and politics in America.

Kevin Powell has written numerous essays, articles, and reviews through the years for publications such as Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Essence, Rolling Stone, The Amsterdam News, and Vibe, where he was a founding staff member and served as a senior writer. He interviewed and profiled, among many others, General Colin Powell and Tupac Shakur. Most recently, Powell has been a Writing Fellow for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as well as a Phelps Stokes Fund Senior Fellow.