I amla, your host, your guide, a teacher for Sam, and a soft place to fall for others.

And I was a miserable failure in my relationships until I love myself enough to be able to share my love with other people.

Welcome to the R-Spot, a production of Shandaland Audio in partnership with I Heart Radio. My guest today is a hip-hop activist meaning he understands

teachers and promotes the depth and value of hip-hop culture and that makes

him a cultural activist. He's also a television personality of writer and author. I first became aware of Kevin when I was still a

resident of the nation of Brooklyn. I think he was in college back then but he

wrote for the Black American newspaper, and he covered the story about the

killing of Michael Griffin and Howard Beach Queens, which was a huge story back then, akin to the Michael Brown

story in Ferguson except that Michael Griffin was killed by citizens, not by police.

Kevin is the author of 14 books, including my favorite,

the education of Kevin Powell, a boy's journey into manhood and my second favorite, which recently came out.

Kevin also served for many years as a writer for one of my favorite magazines, Vibe magazine, which was launched way back in the

day in the 90s with the blessing and the guidance of elder statesmen Quincy Jones.

Now, as a recent contribution to African Voices magazine also from the Nation of Brooklyn,

celebrating the 50 of Brooklyn,

celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

Kevin wrote an article that really is a love story

and a historical treatise about hip-hop. I'm not telling you this to impress you or

to establish that Kevin is somebody special. I want you to understand that he has a long-term

commitment and history to the evolution of people and humanity based on the

culture and contribution of people of color.

However, he's not stuck in just people of color because Eve Ensler,

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