What is Kevin Powell's net worth? A look at 'The Real World' star's literary pursuits and his link to Tupac
Kevin Powell, a poet, writer, and educator, was the oldest contestant to be part of the show 'The Real World' consisting of the first-ever reality TV stars. Kevin along with six other strangers banded to be together in a New York City loft and live their lives out on camera. Back then Kevin was struggling to overcome the many issues that the African American community, especially the men were facing.
Kevin never backed out from putting across his point loud and clear, even if that meant a confrontation with his housemates which he got into a couple of times. Being the eldest, he sometimes felt that he didn't belong with the rest of the group who were relatively very young. He just couldn't find a focal point around which he could have built a connection with them.
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What did Kevin Powell do after appearing on 'The Real World'?
While his castmate Eric Nies in an interview credited 'The Real World' with being a gamechanger, Kevin had a contrasting opinion about the impact the show had on him. In an interview, Kevin admitted to having suffered for how the show portrayed him. He has no regrets about his strong opinions about certain things that he expressed very freely when the show debuted in 1992. “I got stigmatized as a politically angry Black man, and that stuck with me for a long time.
"It was very painful having to deal with that," Kevin told the outlet. As for his return to the franchise with 'The Real World Homecoming: New York', Kevin opined that he owed it to himself to interact with loft mates differently, this time around. “At the time, was I very heated in a different kind of way about racism? Absolutely. Am I a different person now? You will see that when you watch the episodes," he said.
Books written by Powell
After the original show ended, Kevin went ahead to live his life in New York. He released a book of personal essays, sold a screenplay to HBO, contributed as a writer to many publications including VIBE, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Essence, etc. Later on, he worked his way to become a public speaker and even returned to MTV for a hosting and writing gig for a special production titled 'Straight from the Hook'. Kevin is forever linked to Tupac who he covered three times for VIBE Magazine. Tupac trusted Powell to produce his interviews exactly how it was said, and Powell took on that responsibility seriously. “I made a commitment to him. He said to me in the first interview, ‘I want you to be Alex Haley to my Malcom X’, but I remember thinking what if I want to be Malcom X,” Powell had joked.
Now he is readying for a Tupac biography titled ''Tupac Shakur: A Biography' due for a 2021 release. Kevin is also an established writer and the many titles he penned included 'The Education of Kevin Powell', 'When We Free the World', 'The Black Male Handbook', and 'My Mother. Barack Obama. Donald Trump. And the Last Stand of The Angry White Man.'
Powell's humanitarian work
Kevin's website states that he's worked locally, nationally, as well as on a global level to end violence against women and girls, including an appearance on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' highlighting domestic violence statistics which were at an all-time high. Kevin had also dedicated his time towards relief work for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Hawaiian and Japan earthquakes as well as Superstorm Sandy in New York. Kevin is also known to host a party that doubles up as a clothing drive for the homeless every December since 9/11.
What is Powell's net worth?
Kevin is a political activist, a hip-hop journalist, a public speaker, and a writer. He was also a Democrat candidate and ran for Congress a couple of times but lost. Kevin also produced an exhibit on the history of hip-hop in America at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio which toured America and overseas. His net worth according to Celebrity Net Worth has been estimated at $1 million.
Catch Kevin Powell on 'The Real World Homecoming: New York' which premieres on Thursday, March 4, 2021, on Paramount Plus.