explained, “He said to me in that first interview that he wanted me to be Alex Haley as in Alex Haley of "Roots" to his Malcolm X because I think he knew from the very beginning 'I have a very short window to live.' ” Powell’s first VIBE cover story on Shakur was the 1994, "Is Tupac Crazy or Just Misunderstood?" His 1995 cover story on Shakur, “Ready to Live,” – featuring an interview conducted while Shakur was jailed in Riker’s Island – became one of the magazine’s bestsellers. His third and last before the rapper’s murder was the 1996, “Live From Death Row,” a cover with Shakur, Suge Knight, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre in a shoot inspired by the movie poster for Goodfellas. In 2016, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Shakur’s death, VIBE published “Prayer, Passion, Purpose,” Powell’s previously unreleased interview following Shakur’s release from Riker’s Island in 1996. Powell wrote for Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Essence, Rolling Stone, New York Amsterdam News, Ebony, TIME, CNN.com, ESPN.com, BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Huffington Post. Powell’s articles evolved to draw connections between contemporary pop culture, and the heritage of black artists and writers, such as the Ebony magazine piece “Black Music’s Bosses, Legends and Game Changers.” He wrote the 2006 story of comedian Dave Chappelle's return to the public spotlight, in Esquire magazine: “Heaven Hell Dave Chappelle: The Agonizing Return of the Funniest Man in America.” Powell has also written reflections on his own history, such as “Letter to my Father,” “Me and Muhammed Ali" published in ESPN’s The Undefeated blog, and "The Sexist in Me,” a piece which marked the beginning of his work around redefining black manhood and advocating for women and girls. Highlights of his articles and essays include: “Between Russell Simmons and The World and Oprah,” examining the allegations of rape and sexual abuse against Simmons; his 2020 profile of Georgia politician Stacey Abrams in The Washington Post Magazine; The New York Times piece “A Letter from a Father to a Child,” a message to his future child about surviving a world filled with fear, violence, sexism and racism; and The New York Times article, “In Close Quarters, a Mother of 6 Battles Coronavirus,” a look at the plight of an urban family facing the COVID-19 pandemic in the Bronx. Since 1992, Powell has written 14 books. His first,