Celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop with Detavio Samuels, CEO of REVOLT

When I think about celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, Detavio Samuels is one of the first names that comes to mind. He is truly passionate about it, dedicating himself to exploring, celebrating, and advancing it for the next generation. I had the pleasure of discussing his journey of growing up in hip-hop, which truly resonates with him. It is the beat that drives his passion. However, I have come to understand that it encompasses more than just music and culture; it is ultimately about the individuals involved. Sharing their culture, voices, viewpoints, and tastes with the world has had a significant impact, resulting in the creation of billion-dollar industries. 

As the leader of REVOLT, his mission is to uphold and further develop the legacy upon which the organization was built. He also aims to make a lasting impact by empowering black and brown individuals through the creation of job opportunities. He believes that this will have a domino effect, leading to increased economic growth. He is not only talking about it, but also actively taking action. 

Cox: Detavio Samuels, you are a marketing master and brand creator in addition to being the CEO of REVOLT. I’d like to hear your original story. Where did your passion for marketing and branding begin? 

Samuels: It was the second semester of my sophomore year of college. I enrolled in a marketing course that ignited my soul. I immediately thought, “I want to do this marketing thing.” From then on, I set out on the path to becoming a CMO. 

Cox: How did you map out your post-graduation path to becoming a CMO? 

Samuels: When I researched all of the CEOs I admired, I discovered they all had MBAs. I knew I had to get mine as well. After completing my bachelor’s degree, I attended Stanford and received two master’s degrees: business and education. 

Cox: Okay, so you got your master’s degree in business, which was supposed to put you on the fast track to becoming a CMO. What was next on your journey? 

Samuels: I then moved on to do worldwide marketing for Johnson & Johnson. I decided early on in that position that I did not want to be in a client-facing role. I wanted to work on the agency side, where ideas were conceived and created. And it was because of this that I began working with black-owned businesses. 

In 2007, I started working for a Black man named Don Coleman, a former football player. At the time, he had established the nation’s leading cultural organization. I worked for him for nearly seven years. I’d made my way from the Detroit office to the New York office and had become tired of swapping thirty-two-second commercial spots. People would only pay attention to them when the Super Bowl rolled around. And that only happens once a year. I knew that wasn’t going to be what I wanted to accomplish with my life. 

But it did instill in me a new desire for sponsored entertainment and material. Back then, we had some really fantastic partnerships and even did a mini-movie with Lenny Kravitz. I then proceeded to work on the media side of things for Cathy Hughes and Alfred Liggins. I oversaw the cross-platform sales team and helped her turn around her digital business. This was something I did for a long time. 

Then, on June 20, 2020, I joined REVOLT. 

Cox: I admire how, whenever you felt unfulfilled in your profession, you left and embarked on a new trip and path. 

Samuels: It didn’t matter to me whether the job I had was in the C-suite or not. It has to do with me being the most dangerous. And you are most dangerous in your profession when you are acting on purpose, utilizing your strengths and talents to solve the world’s most difficult problems. I’ve always wanted to be more dangerous, but you don’t know what that looks like when you’re young. As I previously stated, I aspired to be a CMO, but the term is somewhat broad. Then, after getting a taste of it, I said, Nah, I want to be on the agency side. But I also didn’t want to do that. Then I realized I wanted to make branded entertainment.  

You don’t know where you’re heading at first, but as you mature, you become increasingly certain. I usually tell young kids that I’m doing great at REVOLT because it’s who I am. It isn’t because I am smarter than everyone else. I’m completely dedicated to my mission here. 

Cox: Speaking of purpose, you have demonstrated your capacity to elevate any company’s marketing and branding capabilities. What exactly do marketing and branding involve for a company and its activities, according to Detavio? 

Samuels: At the end of the day, marketing and branding, in my opinion, are all about driving customer demand for whatever you’re creating. Even if it’s your own brand, you want to generate enough demand for people to hire you for that role or invite you to speak on the biggest platform. You’re attempting to persuade others to consume your material and support your purpose. 

The primary goal of marketing is to generate demand. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to it as a function. Because you don’t have a business if you’re not driving demand for your goods. Marketing requires a great deal of intellectual thought. You are attempting to demonstrate to that individual what they desire, how they desire it, and how to arrange it in their head. 

The final piece is tying in the requirement for consumer demand to be developed and stepping into the current culture. You must always be a student and lover of culture. This is one of the reasons REVOLT is doing so well. 

Cox: You’ve made your way to REVOLT now. What was it about the company that drew you in? 

Samuels: So I’d been immersed in Black culture since 2007. I discovered the power of cultural marketing as well as cultural concepts. I understood that two things have always driven me in my career: hip-hop culture and Black culture. And I felt like Atlas from Greek mythology after thirteen years in the game. I tried to push and drive things forward, but the people across the table didn’t care. 

So, when REVOLT called, the company already had the success formula that I was looking for. It featured a global icon at the top, allowing me to create a plan based on the content we deliver. The company was firmly rooted in hip-hop, and they shared my concern for social issues. And the organization excels at speaking to the specific Gen Y and Gen Z demographics, which are in high demand from advertisers and companies. These four ingredients were like lightning in a bottle for me to seize. 

Cox: REVOLT is a proudly Black media company. What does the phrase “Unapologetically Black” imply to you? 

Samuels: It’s about Black freedom, which we don’t truly understand. We spend so much time worrying about how the rest of the world will see us. When we leave the house, we put on these masks to engage with the outside world. So being unashamedly Black implies you don’t do any of those things. You can be the same person at home as you are at work or everywhere else in life. I get to be myself with my pals. I dress and move in the same manner. 

And, in a society where Black people are frequently restricted, it is critical that we establish an environment in which Black people can genuinely be themselves. This entails allowing Black people to bask in the glory of their own distinct authenticity. There is no singular version of Black. At REVOLT, we aim to validate and validate the way anyone wants to show up. 

Cox: Speaking of hip-hop, we are commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. What does this celebration mean to you as someone who lives and breathes in this space? 

Samuels: For me, it’s critical that we celebrate hip-hop this year because, remember, it was intended to be a fad. So many people expected it would come and go in five to ten years. Consider this: it currently dominates music globally and has created multibillion-dollar businesses and industries. 

I also believe it is critical that the Black and Brown people who have contributed to it over the years receive their bouquets. 

Cox: I appreciate how you mention offering flowers to hip-hop contributors. 

Samuels: Hip-Hop and R&B are the most streamed genres worldwide. It’s crazy because clients can’t believe it when I tell them. It is heard all around the world, from Japan to Africa. It’s the reality that this is the music to everyone’s lives, but we never get credit for it. 

Cox: Why do you believe we don’t get enough credit for how much we contribute culturally to the world? 

Samuels: I believe it’s because they believe the Black population in the United States is just about 15%. On the other hand, this implies we influence and inspire the other 85%. You do not have to be the largest group of people; to me, the most influential is Japan. You can go there and witness people dressed similarly to us, speaking similarly to us, and paying attention to everything we do. 

This is what irritates me about businesses and advertisers when it comes to us, because they want to focus on the fact that our population is tiny in contrast to others. It only happens because they don’t pay attention to who has clout. As a people and culture, this is our fundamental superpower and capability. 

Cox: How important is hip-hop to you? 

Samuels: Hip-Hop has been my entire existence. It’s been my life’s soundtrack since I was nine years old. It’s a contemplative manner of speaking, dressing, and seeing ourselves. Personally, I believe it is critical that we honor hip-hop culture. It has made a significant difference in my life. 

It has become ingrained in American culture and has given rise to multibillion-dollar industries. We haven’t historically been involved in the economics of it all. So, while we celebrate this year, I believe it is critical that we consider how we will engage in the next billion-dollar sector based on our culture. 

Cox: We see culture and content colliding at this point in the age of digital marketing, social media, and consumer demand. What does it look like for you as someone in charge of a company’s attempts to stay current and competitive? 

Samuels: As customers change, so do the functions and formats. When you think about cable TV, consumption was once linear. However, there is a transition now with streaming services and social media. Culture is always the driving force in all of this. Consider formats, programming, and material to be pipes. The pipes may vary for many reasons, but the liquid that runs through them will always be derived from ourselves and our culture. 

The emphasis is on reflecting and comprehending what people want to consume in terms of cultural context, regardless of medium, such as audio, live events, video, text, and so on. It makes no difference where they are geographically since we want to ensure they have the opportunity to consume the ‘liquid or content.” 

Cox: Thank you for your time today, Detavio. Before you leave, I have one more question for you. As the current CEO of REVOLT, you oversee the company’s vision and leadership. What do you want your legacy to be once you’re gone? 

Samuels: That is an excellent question. I want to leave an impression and keep the company’s soul intact. REVOLT, as I often repeat, is not a media company. We are a catalyst for change. It’s not simply about making interesting material and engaging people. It is about being a machine that brings about social and political transformation for Black and Brown people all over the world. And I aim to leave a company that has made a big contribution to the globe. We currently spend approximately 65% of our production dollars with black-owned businesses. And I want us to bring to the forefront fresh Black businesses that the rest of the world would have overlooked. 

I never want the tale to revolve around me. I want people to talk about the businesses that started at REVOLT.