From music and sports to politics and social impact — REVOLT is leading the charge in creating content that is changing the narrative of Black culture globally. On September 22-23, REVOLT reimagined the intersection of culture and creativity with the inaugural REVOLT WORLD. The launch of this new three-day immersive experience paid homage to the impact of hip-hop and was a well-deserved celebration of REVOLT’S tenth anniversary. With the theme “We Are Hip Hop” in mind, REVOLT WORLD uses Hip Hop’s global influence as a catalyst to engage in thought-provoking discussions, spiritual nurturing, network building, and music appreciation.
On the third day of REVOLT WORLD, REVOLT CEO Detavio Samuels sat with me backstage to engage in a conversation about the significance of the company’s tenth anniversary, REVOLT WORLD, REVOLT’s direction for the future and so much more. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Evolution Of The Revolution
On Thursday, October 16th, 2014, REVOLT launched REVOLT Music Summit in Miami. This music-centered summit would serve as the MVP ( minimum viable product) to lay the framework for the REVOLT Summit and REVOLT WORLD. With every evolution, REVOLT was able to dive deeper into creating experiences that center the Black experience while educating and entertaining.
A few standout features that set REVOLT WORLD apart from its predecessors were the Wellness Hub, Career Fair and spiritual programming. The Wellness Hub offered guided meditations with True Voice and Sound Bath Meditation with Reggie Hubbard. A lively Praise and Worship session with Pastor Mike offered spiritual centering and healing on Sunday morning. The Opportunity Center housed a Career fair that offered headshots and on-the-spot hiring with companies like Walmart, State Farm, Pepsi, and Comb Enterprises.
REVOLT WORLD was intentional about the impact they wanted to make on the Black community and what they were willing to do to change the narrative.
Stephanie Tharpe: What is the difference between REVOLT Summit and Revolt World?
Detavio Samuels: We started this as REVOLT music conference and recognized that the culture is more than music. That’s how it turned into REVOLT Summit. We decided to have some impactful conversations since the elections were coming up, and we started building out. As we step into REVOLT WORLD, everything is about the culture simultaneously. That is a massive and ambitious undertaking. The biggest difference is it’s just bigger and badder. We’ve got talent from all over the globe, an audience from all over the world, and the programming is so much more expansive. We have programming from praise and worship with pastor Mike to music by Uncle Waffles. Another significant difference is audience and attendance. We moved four times the tickets we moved last year and plan on doing the same next year! The difference has been the expansion from a programming, talent audience, and people standpoint.
Stephanie Tharpe: What fueled the decision to have a career fair at REVOLT WORLD this year?
Detavio Samuels: Revolt is an engine for transforming change that happens to make media. Revolt is not just here to create content. We are going to change the world for the Black diaspora. We are currently in a time when diversity and inclusion are under incredible attack. People like Edward Blum are taking down affirmative action and are now trying to take down the Fearless Fund. We as a people need to stand firm and unite together. We do not need anyone else to help—we will do it ourselves. Our commitment to the culture is unwavering. We will do it ourselves if they don’t want to give us jobs or teach us about our history. The last thing I’ll say is our chairman, Sean Combs, always says, “No one is coming to save you.”
The Revolution Will Be Digital
Only four percent of all media in the U.S. is Black-owned and receives less than two percent of advertising dollars. REVOLT has excelled despite the statistics and was named the country’s fastest growing Black-owned media network. With cult favorite programming like Caresha Please, Drink Champs, Assets Over Liabilities and The Jason Lee Show, REVOLT has cemented itself as a force in the greater media landscape.
Stephanie Tharpe: What was your vision for REVOLT when you assumed the CEO position?
Detavio Samuels: The beauty of where we are now is that we have a chairman who is a visionary leader. And he is always 1000 steps ahead of everyone. When REVOLT started, he named it REVOLT to lead a music revolution. When I came to interview, our nation went through Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Amhaud Aubrey—a week before I started my current position, George Floyd died. The brand is called REVOLT, and it can only do one thing: lead a revolution. Our only job was deciding which revolution we wanted to lead for our people. And so, at that point in time, we locked in on social justice. I’m super proud that this brand has gone from a music revolution to a social justice revolution. Now, we are a big part of trying to lead a revolution to amplify Black voices and creators. It’s been ten years, and the brand keeps growing stronger.
Stephanie Tharpe: How has REVOLT been able to redirect and refocus to becoming the nation’s fastest growing Black-owned network?
Detavio Samuels: It’s all about having a point of view on where the future is going. When I came to Revolt in 2020, we were very much a cable network. We love our cable business, and it separates us from other platforms. Some of our peers and friends, like Jet and Essence, don’t have cable networks. So it makes us special. We also realize in today’s media consumption climate, fewer people are watching cable. The future for our audience, which is Gen Y and Gen Z, is very clearly digital.
We quickly pivoted to build the biggest digital footprint possible. The dream has gone from being a singular cable network to a multi-platform, multi-channel media empire. Our brand wants to be wherever the culture is. That’s what makes REVOLT unique. Because we have yet to see the culture all in one place, that’s what REVOLT WORLD is. That’s what we’re trying to build here.
Stephanie Tharpe: REVOLT is very intentional with its programming. What goes into curating the network’s shows?
Detavio Samuels: One of the ways that REVOLT is playing the game differently from everybody else is everyone is attacking T.V. and video as if they are T.V. and video. Our chairman is Sean Combs, and we are approaching everything like its music! So, what is the next hit? What is the next level? Who is the next voice that needs to be amplified? We’re blessed that from the chairman down to our Chief Brand Officer, we have an incredible ability to spot talent. Sean Combs is known for spotting the best talent, but there’s also a team that lives this culture daily and is identifying the right people. For us, it’s not only about finding the right voice that needs to be amplified; it is about ensuring we have a balanced ecosystem and platform. And we’re playing in all the spaces the culture deserves to play.
Stephanie Tharpe: Where do mainstream television networks go wrong when cultivating Black programming?
Detavio Samuels: The first place they go wrong is they don’t have any Black people doing it. Or if they do, they’re not in a position of power to determine whether shows get greenlit. I’m among the youngest and one of the only Black people in Hollywood with green light power. That’s a problem because hundreds of Black people should have that power and determine which of our stories get told. When that happens, you don’t get the story told through our lens; you get a warped version of what they want to condition us to be.
Stephanie Tharpe: One thing that REVOLT has consistently done with the REVOLT summit and now REVOLT WORLD is to have tough political conversations covering the Black perspective from the left and right. Why is it important from a media standpoint to take that approach?
Detavio Samuels: They call it programming for a reason. One of my favorite quotes from the chairman that he said explicitly to me is, “Either they program us, or we will program ourselves.” That’s why you see us trying to take such a balanced approach. It is not about our point of view on what we think is right, which is how most media works. We believe that Black people are smart and intelligent. So, if you arm people with the facts and give them the point of view from every angle, you can trust them to make their own decisions about what’s suitable for them, their families, and their communities. We’re making a difference because we’re not telling our people what to believe. We’re the ones who are bringing them all of the information and then letting them be empowered to make decisions. You don’t want all of the same stories. You want the battle happening to create discussions so that people can choose and decide for themselves.
The Black Experience Is Global
African/ Black Diaspora in the United States encompasses Black Americans, including descendants of enslaved Africans and nearly two million African immigrants. A significant issue that has plagued Black Americans for centuries is uniting with the Global Black/African community to initiate equality, change, and brotherhood. REVOLT recognizes the global impact of Black American culture and hip hop. They used REVOLT WORLD as a gateway to bring the international Black/ African community to common ground with panels like The Global Impact of Hip Hop w/ Abdul Abdallah, French Montana, Mr. Eazi, Rotimi, & Spice.
Stephanie Tharpe: REVOLT’s big ambition is to build the largest media company in the world, not just for Black people. How do you foresee integrating other cultures but still centering it around the Black experience?
Detavio Samuels: I don’t see us integrating other cultures. I believe that we are the sauce; we are the juice. We’re the magic. When you look at hip hop, the whole world moves to our soundtrack. We don’t have to change. The problem is that the world wants to tell whatever stories they want. If you follow the path of hip hop, it has always centered on Black stories, and the rest of the world has always come in. So what we’re trying to say to Black people is, let’s be unapologetically ourselves. Then whoever wants to come in can.
Stephanie Tharpe: Does REVOLT have a plan to bridge the gap between the international Black/African community? If so, what does that look like?
Detavio Samuels: REVOLT WORLD is a perfect example of what we’re trying to do: inviting a global audience, bringing talent from the U.K., Nigeria, South America, and South Africa all into one place, and saying, this is a place of unity, peace and progress. On REVOLT, we have the Internationally Known show where we play music from across the diaspora. At REVOLT WORLD, you’ll see a dope conversation between Chakabars and 19 Keys, bringing that conversation from Africa to Atlanta. That’s how we’re trying to build unity. In the most recent interview from Assets Over Liabilities, they had Akon. So, we want to give the same credence to stories that come out of Atlanta, New York and L.A., to stories that come out of the U.K., Nigeria, and the Congo. Wherever Black people are, the strategy is relatively simple. Everything from the culture, all in one place. I’m looking forward to more of that, and Revolt World is just the beginning.
Stephanie Tharpe: What will your legacy be?
Detavio Samuels: I always say I don’t need people to tell my story or mention my name. I want my legacy to be connected to all the stories created and built that I had the honor to touch. Whether it was serving, empowering, or enabling, that’s what I want my legacy and story to be.
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