It's one thing to say you're "for the culture," but it's another thing to actually live it.
Amid Diddy's public downfall, following sexual assault allegations and a leaked video of physical abuse, the disgraced hip-hop mogul sold his majority stake in the media company he founded — Revolt — back to the company. And, in an unprecedented move, the company gave the largest shareholder stake of ownership back to its employees.
Revolt positions itself as a vehicle that empowers “the next generation of cultural leaders” by providing them with the means necessary to build global media brands according to its website. In its recent change in ownership, Revolt is an example of a company that decided to live up to its brand beliefs and challenge the status quo for how brands evidence their beliefs from the inside out.
Diddy's origin story has been retold throughout his almost 40 years in the entertainment business. The ambitious, Harlem-born extrovert went from intern to mogul, shaping the careers of some of the most notable acts in hip hop and R&B —from Mary J. Blige to Jodeci, Biggie Smalls and Mase.
By the late nineties, Diddy's Bad Boy record label dominated the airwaves and disproportionately influenced the popular zeitgeist.
The 2000s and 2010s were decades of expansion for Diddy. He started a clothing line, Sean John, that disrupted the fashion industry and elevated him to new heights and riches. He encouraged American youth to participate in the political process through his Vote of Die initiative and launched a premium vodka brand, Ciroc, through a lucrative partnership with the premium spirits company Diageo.
During this time, Diddy ventured into TV with hit shows like Making the Band on MTV and crossed over into movies and Broadway theater.
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In 2013, Diddy introduced Revolt, a lifestyle cable network he founded—in partnership with Comcast—that aimed to revolutionize television by combining art, music, fashion, and film through a Black lens—in a way only Diddy could.
Despite his many accomplishments and standard-setting endeavors, Revolt was arguably his most ambitious undertaking. There hadn't been a television station for Black people by Black people since Bob Johnson started Black Entertainment Television in 1980. Revolt set out to establish additional real estate in the media landscape for the contemporary representation of Black cultural production by the entire African diaspora.
However, the ambitions of Revolt were threatened as legal troubles began to mount for its founder. While Diddy is no stranger to legal woes, a lawsuit issued by his former girlfriend of ten years, singer Cassie Ventura, which alleged sexual assault and abuse by the mogul, began to sour his standing in the court of public opinion.
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After video evidence of Diddy brutally assaulting Cassie made its way across headlines and newsfeeds, Diddy's social capital plummeted, and practically anything associated with him was collateral damage.
Suffice it to say that the future of Revolt was uncertain. Although he was not running the day-to-day of Revolt, those duties were held by its CEO, Detavio Samuels; Diddy was indeed the face of the company.
Since its inception, his personal brand has driven the ethos and credibility of the company's audacity and positioning. Therefore, logically, as goes Diddy, so goes Revolt. However, in the wake of Diddy's fallout, Revolt decided to step out of the shadow of its founder and into the light of its beliefs—empowering cultural leaders.
Over its 11 years of existence, Revolt has receipts of living out its beliefs. From hit shows like Caresha Please, Drink Champs and The Jason Lee Show, Revolt has been empowering creators to establish contemporary media properties for themselves and create a platform to grow their own personal brand.
Under Samuels' leadership, Revolt brought groundbreaking programming to the market, like the two-hour-long cross-generation conversations with Michelle Obama and the Revolt Summit, which enabled the brand to secure 22 media awards in 2023 alone.
By retiring Diddy's sake in the company and reallocating his shares to its employees, Revolt continues to make its commitment to its conviction kinetic. The company consists of 80% people of color—the majority of whom are Black—who are themselves cultural creators. For instance, its VP of Legal and Business Affairs, Desiree Talley, is the creator and host of her own show, PopLaw, which focuses on legal education and entertainment.
Samuels himself is an author and show host. In my exclusive interview with Samuels, he underscored this observation by saying, "Our executive team mirrors our beautifully diverse employee profile. At Revolt, we are the New America." And this new, diverse America centers squarely on creators and their influence on culture.
When asked about the ownership move, Samuels said, "The company explored every option to put the brand, its mission, and our employees in the best situation possible. That said, we believe in linked prosperity—the idea that when we win, our ecosystem wins. For example, we've funded entrepreneurs without asking for equity, co-created shows with some of the biggest names in the game, and found ways to give them participation in the upside and recirculated hundreds of millions of dollars in the Black community.”
“At the end of the day,” Samuels continued, “This [transference of ownership] was simply another opportunity to live our values in a big way by putting our employees in a position to win, where they have ownership in this incredible brand they're building."
The story of Diddy's many successes over the span of his career is practically folklore for entrepreneurs—especially for people who look like me, come from places like me, and have dreams of making it big in media. But the story of Revolt and its move to empower its people—people like me—is even more inspiring.
Revolt is making history. As Samuels put it, "[Revolt is] not only the first Black-owned media company to do this but the first media company—as far as we know—and one of very few to ever do it at this scale, regardless of industry. Any time you're making history, you're not only shifting the narrative but writing a new one."
What's more, its impact could have a reverberation that would not only create wealth for its employees but also foster economic opportunities for a new generation of wealth for its creators and their communities.
This is bigger than one person; this is about the collective potential of people who share a common conviction. If fully realized, Revolt's ambition could potentially be a success story for many.
