A staff writer for Vibe magazine since its first issue, Powell covers the music beat, specializing on hip-hop, a topic which he lectures on frequently. His revealing profiles of the biggest and baddest in the music business have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Essence as well. He is also the co-editor of In The Tradition: An Anthology of Young Black Writers, and most memorably, was a featured player in The Real World series on MTV.